Reuben Torrey
Poorboy Legacy
self-released
Click to hear: “Wilderness Song”
Reuben Torrey is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter who recently moved to town. His debut CD, the six-song Poorboy Legacy, is a good introduction to what this young man has to offer local audiences.
The home-recorded album is a mix of original and traditional acoustic blues and folk songs, with a dash of electronic programming thrown over one number (“Wilderness Song”). For the most part, Torrey plays it straight, hewing closely to well-trodden folk and blues progressions. The result is, accordingly, a middle-of-the-road affair, though it’s a pleasant ride that may yet lead somewhere interesting.
Torrey’s proficient on his instruments, mostly guitar and bass, and his vocals don’t make you want to stop listening, but neither do they grab you the way the blues should. He’s still growing into his voice, finding his own style, which is understandable at 27.
This is readily apparent from the opening number, the title track, a bluesy stomp-and-shouter that falls just shy of sounding convincing. Though one doesn’t wish ill-fortune on the singer, it seems Torrey’s just not desperate enough, drunk enough or otherwise sufficiently demon-possessed to make this tale of poverty and woe ring true.
Two more subdued numbers, “Man on the Millionth Mile” and “The Parting Glass,” work better in this regard. “Millionth Mile,” a strong original composition, is based on blues idioms as old as the hills, but still manages to sound personal and original. After another quarter century or two, it’ll be sound even stronger.
“The Parting Glass” is an old Irish folk song that Torrey pulls off with style. He sounds remarkably like Walter Salas-Humara (of The Silos fame) on this track – an association that serves any singer well.
And speaking of The Silos, whose 1998 release Heater melded rootsy rock with electronic programming to masterful effect, the aforementioned “Wilderness Song” shows great promise should Torrey continue to stretch his style in this direction.
Torrey is a welcome addition to Portland’s acoustic blues-folk scene, where traditionalists like Samuel James and Micah Blue Smalldone rub shoulders with more modern-minded singer-songwriters like Steven Williams. As he soaks up inspiration and influence from these local sources, we can all look forward to hearing the results.
— Chris Busby
Reuben Torrey’s Poorboy Legacy is available at Bull Moose Music and at his live performances, like the gig on Sat., Dec. 16, at Dogfish Bar and Grille, 128 Free St., Portland, at 7 p.m. (no cover, 18+).
