Ray Wylie Hubbard’s New Album “The Ruffian’s Misfortune”
The Forgotten Outlaw, and the man at the forefront of keeping American roots filled with the rockin’, gritty heart of the 60’s music revolution, has just announced a new album, and has released a new song in conjunction. Ray Wylie Hubbard, known down in Texas as the Wylie Lama for the wisdom he imparts to songwriters and sound engineers alike to keep the music adhering to his “grit, groove, tone and taste” mantras will release his newest record The Ruffian’s Misfortune on April 7th through his own label Bordello Records. It will be his first album since 2012’s The Grifter’s Hymnal.
“I really liked ‘The Grifter’s Hymnal,’ and I think ‘The Ruffian’s Misfortune’ is still kind of a part of that,” Hubbard says about the album. In fact it’s reportedly the second album of a trilogy, with The Grifter’s Hymnal comprising the first installment. “This record is pretty much where I am as far as trying to make records that work on a couple of different levels, by laying down a groove with cool guitar tones and vicious nasty licks with lyrics that have a little depth and weight and even a little humor thrown in, too, as life is pretty much like that.”
The album was recorded in Driping Springs just outside of Austin in early/mid July. “George Reiff is the engineer with dumbo ears who hears things no one else hears and as a producer has ideas that can only come from someone baptized in the deep roots rock river of cool,” Hubbard said at the time. “Gabe Rhodes and Lucas [Hubbard] (Ray’s son) done the guitar things that needed to be done to insure some drool and Rick Richards laid down some grooves that a sideshow carnival shake dancer would love to wiggle to.”
Ray elaborated some more on the album in late August during the mixing process. “Here’s my mixing credo to make a roots rock record: take out the lip smacks, leave in coughs, string buzzes, pedal squeaks, 60 cycle hums and have George Reiff mix it…I really think if I were given the budget and opportunity to work with any producer/engineer in the world, I would still pick George or Gurf [Morlix] or Lloyd [Maines]…They have hearing given to only a few and they have impeccable taste and they dig the grit and honor the groove and they search for tone like it was the grail and nothing cliched or mundane or less than ultimate cool get by them.”
As part of the announcement of the new album, Ray Wylie has released a new song called “Chick Singer, Badass Rockin'” which pays tribute to the women of rock like Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde, while also taking a not so subtle jab at Music City with the line, “since Nashville country is pissants.”
Ray Wylie Hubbard will also be releasing an autobiography in 2015 called A Life…Well, Lived.
gbkeith
February 4, 2015 @ 6:22 pm
Cooler’n hell
Bill #2
February 4, 2015 @ 8:08 pm
God bless him.
Bear
February 4, 2015 @ 10:40 pm
Yes. Oh Ray… Thank god we have voices like yours speaking out and giving shout outs to women! Can’t wait for this record.
Bear
February 4, 2015 @ 10:46 pm
Bottle Neck slide… did he just give a nod to Bonnie Raitt? LOL!
This song is so awesome, who is the female singer BTW?
Jack Williams
February 5, 2015 @ 6:47 am
I could be wrong, but it sounds like it might be Chelle Rose. She’s a big Ray Wylie fan and he did produce her The Ghost of Browder Hollow album released in 2012. Also, she is a badass Appalacian rocker.
Mother Hubbard
February 5, 2015 @ 9:21 am
The female vocals on Chick Singer are Carson McHone, she is an Austin based singer/songwriter, badass chick singer 🙂
Eric
February 5, 2015 @ 12:26 am
“the man at the forefront of keeping American roots filled with the rockin”™, gritty heart of the 60”™s music revolution”
Once again, it is ironic how it always falls on country music to preserve old pop styles. Country kept the Western swing tradition alive and prospering long after swing and jazz had faded from the mainstream, and now we see the same with 60’s rock n roll.
Jack Williams
February 5, 2015 @ 6:49 am
The Grifter’s Hymnal was my favorite album of 2012. Can’t wait for this one.
Fred
February 5, 2015 @ 8:15 am
I’ve got high hopes for this album. If the rest of the record is as good as “Chick Singer, Badass Rockin,” I’ll be well pleased. And the cover art is rad as hell too.
Ray Wylie’s lyrics are so idiosyncratic, but they always paint a vivid picture. “Nashville Country is pissants.”
The guy’s an American treasure.
CAH
February 5, 2015 @ 11:11 am
So how many thumbs up does it get, Trig?
Trigger
February 5, 2015 @ 11:27 am
I don’t know, I haven’t heard the album yet. If you’re referring to the song, I would say 1 3/4 of 2 guns up, but this really wasn’t a review.
Matty T
February 5, 2015 @ 4:42 pm
Can’t wait to hear the whole album!
MarcusBrody
February 9, 2015 @ 12:12 pm
This is the album I’m most excited for this year. Ray Wyllie Hubbard is probably my favorite working musician and I love dirty rockish country, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this.
Also, if anyone who is on Facebook doesn’t follow Ray Wyllie, you should rectify that immediately. His long rants/stories are great and stuff like that basically justifies FB’s existence for me.
Hold Your Horses
April 1, 2015 @ 11:06 pm
Wish they’d add a credit- or at least a mention of whomever did the cover art on the album. It’s fantastic, but no way to tell who did it. Never mentioned anywhere. Wondering if it was the same artist who did the awesome web site homepage with Ray on the throne that was some of the most amazing art ever!