14 illinoisentertainer . com january 2025
BRUCE RUMMENIE 13
( Self )
Bruce “ Bruiser ” Rummenie has been a fixture and influential figure in the Champaign-Urbana music scene since the mid-1980s , playing guitar and writing memorable songs , including “ Pain as Big as Texas ” for blues-rockers The Mudhens . As a leading band in a Big 10 college town , the Mudhens ’ music followed students ( including this writer ) as they graduated and traveled elsewhere . Rummenie put down roots locally and kept making music . His other projects have included the Javelinas , Bruiser and the Virtues , the Freak Brothers , the Impalas , and others . Now is a great time to catch up since 13 collects songs stockpiled over the years and performed at downstate pub gigs since 2013 ’ s Tip Top Tap EP and 2011 ’ s This Noise is in My Blood with poet Steve Davenport . 13 contains , as advertised , 13 songs . The material varies in style but circulates around Bruiser ’ s wheelhouse of old-school blues a la Jimmy Reed and later contemporaries like Jimmie Vaughan . “ My Better 3 / 4 ” is an ambling ode to a spouse who pulls more than her weight in a relationship . The song features Bruiser ’ s weathered vocal and bristling slide riffs on his dobro . The easygoing “ Carriacou ” splits the difference between Jimmy Cliff and Jimmy Buffet as a reggae-pop love letter to a Caribbean getaway . The road trip heads stateside to New Orleans for the zydeco-spiced “ Cajun Girl ” with a bass solo by producer Dan Henry and linguistic assistance from old Mudhens bandmate Kevin DeForrest . “ Guitar Widow ” is a jump blues featuring tasty lead work , a swinging saxophone hook , and another lyric dedicated to Rummenie ’ s better 3 / 4 . The song should appeal to fans of the Honeydrippers and Brian Setzer Orchestra . Sung by Kenna Mae Reiss , the torch song “ We Still Got That Thing ” adds one more title to the Valentine ’ s Day set list at home . Reiss adds sultry duet vocals to “ Friction Activated ,” a song about a relationship that thrives on the edge . Rummenie stretches out with gritty slide soloing . “ Confession is Good for Your Soul ” rides a loping blues rhythm a la Muddy Waters ’ “ Mannish Boy .” Rummenie ’ s sly lyric admits that telling the whole truth may be good for a Catholic boy , but bringing every secret into the light “ ain ’ t treating my baby right .” “ I Hate My Job ” is on the nose and relatable , riding a contemporary blues groove a la the Fabulous Thunderbirds and boasting more sharp fretwork . Reiss returns to sing the lead vocal on the jazzy downtempo “ Romance Without Finance ” from the point of view of a material girl . “ You can ’ t buy my love , but my attention is for rent ,” sings Reiss . The taut blues of “ Woman ’ s Touch ” is offered as an answer song to James Brown ’ s “ It ’ s a Man ’ s Man ’ s Man ’ s World .” “ L ’ anse aux Epines ” is a deceptively breezy murder ballad propelled by Henry ’ s walking bass . Rummenie and cowriter Peter Roubal channel Randy Newman in “ White Shirts and Whiskey ,” a southern portrait of family decorum ( and what lies beneath ) at weddings and funerals . The album concludes with “ Don ’ t Drop Your Drawers in a Soybean Field ,” a bold move at this point in Rummenie ’ s tenure and an unexpected treat for longtime friends and followers . It ’ s the first song Rummenie ever wrote , according to 13 ’ s liner notes , unspooling as a cheeky tale of youthful indiscretion and consequences . Although it ’ s a bit of a goof , the song suggests that Rummenie had his musical mojo working from the start . ( bruisermusic . com )
– Jeff Elbel
8
GEORGE HARRISON Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary 2xLP set ( Dark Horse )
George Harrison chronicled his inner journey as the most spiritual Beatle in songs like “ Within You , Without You ” by Sgt . Pepper ’ s Lonely Hearts Club Band , nonalbum single “ The Inner Light ,” and “ Long , Long , Long ” from the White Album . But he took Continued on page 16