Artist:     Ryan Perry

Album:     High Risk, Low Reward

Label:     Ruf

Release Date:     3.13.2020

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Ryan Perry first burst onto the music scene as the front man of the Homemade Jamz Blues Band. Emerging out of Tupelo, Mississippi, the band’s youth, prodigious chops and hand crafted instruments challenged audiences’ notions of who could play the blues. High Risk, Low Reward, Perry’s first solo outing, continues to challenge listeners with a collection of hard hitting, intensely personal originals and a few well-chosen covers. Perry’s understated vocals and fondness for minor key arrangements recalls the work of low key bluesmen like Jimmy Dawkins and Fenton Robinson.

“I Ain’t Afraid to Eat Alone” kicks off the proceedings with searing guitar work, but it’s the lyrics that reveal Perry’s unique talent for subverting tropes. Like many blues musicians, Perry performs a song about losing his woman to another man. Instead of descending into pathos, Perry adopts a spirit of self-reliance as he sings the refrain, “I know what I bring to the table/So I ain’t afraid to eat alone.” “Pride” is a tale of domestic strife that shows a similar spirt of insight and self-awareness. As Perry sings “Throw my pride to the side, before I lose the one I love/Throw my pride to the side, and learn to rise above,” his attitude is a refreshing contrast to the blues’ usual swagger and bravado.

Perry’s confidence and willingness to challenge convention are apparent in his choice of cover tunes. BB King and Dave Clark’s “Why I Sing the Blues” is a beloved anthem that beautifully showcased King’s larger than life guitar and vocals. While Perry’s vocals don’t pack nearly the same punch, his restrained passion and dexterous guitar work do the tune justice. Willie Dixon’s “Evil is Going On” is most often associated with Howlin’ Wolf, one of the most flamboyant performers in blues history. Perry uses an inventive stop-time arrangement and soaring fretwork to put his own stamp on a familiar warhorse.

The stark, soul searching original “Changing Blues” nicely sums up Perry’s approach to making music. Over a stripped down arrangement, Perry sings, “Used to be set in stone, but now I don’t know/My blues is changing.” Perry’s confidence and individualism make him an artist who’s well-equipped to guide the blues through changing times.

—Jon Kleinman