Rock & Roll

The Dynamite Sound of 'Miss Rhythm' and the Singer That Helped Build an Iconic Label: Ruth Brown's Rock & Roll Bristles with Electrifying Emotion, Vocal Power, and R&B-Fueled Energy

Reissued in Audiophile Quality in Partnership with Atlantic Records' 75th Anniversary: Mobile Fidelity 180g Mono LP Is Pressed at RTI and Strictly Limited to 2,000 Numbered Copies

Rock & Roll, indeed. Ruth Brown's sizzling full-length debut - also known by it's eponymous title - symbolizes what was exciting, fresh, invigorating, and raw about the burgeoning style in it's halcyon days. Originally released in 1957, and reissued here in audiophile quality for the first time in partnership with Atlantic Records' 75th anniversary, the set remains a testament to one of the most pioneering and talented vocalists to ever command a stage.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's renowned mastering system in California, pressed at RTI, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's 180g mono LP of Rock & Roll plays with an immediacy, vibrancy, and fullness that showcase the reach, power, and emotionalism of Brown's voice. The sound of her support musicians - brassy horns, swinging rhythm combos, echoing backing vocalists, rollicking pianists, jaunty guitarists - is made clear and vivid, helping the upbeat fare to jump, juke, and jive with newfound energy and exuberance. In a related manner, Brown's slower, more understated material crackles with an intimacy and passion that let you know you're in the presence of a woman who has lived what she sings. The longtime Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member deserves nothing less.

In an era dominated by big-throated vocalists, few - if any - came grander than Brown. The singer, whose repeat million-selling '50s success with Atlantic Records led many to call the then-indie label 'The House That Ruth Built,' charted two dozen R&B hits in the span of a decade for the fledgling imprint. Rightly coined 'Miss Rhythm,' the extroverted Brown put Atlantic on the national map, became the best-selling female musician of the '50s, and established a precedent that would ultimately lead to Grammy and Tony Awards. Her early works have lost none of their fire or flair.