Michael Rubin — “5 Minutes of Passion” — Many Hats Records
Michael Rubin has been playing the harp for 41 years – since he was 15 – expressing himself through his magical instrumental wizardry. He’s performed in genres from blues to opera, and his favorite harp players include the legendary likes of Paul Butterfield, Alex “Rice” Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson II) and James Cotton. “But I love them all,” Rubin says.
He’s played in the pit of the Tony-nominated Broadway show The Civil War and backed up luminaries such as Ruthie Foster and Cyril Neville. “I enjoy being a sideman to all types of singers,” Rubin says. “I play harp well, they sing well. It’s a good combination.”
In recent years, Rubin has revealed a new combination – singer and songwriter – on his solo albums. His latest creation is 5 Minutes of Passion, the follow to his well-received I’ll Worry If I Wanna, from 2022.
His droll storytelling is uniquely his own: “If you want another blues song explaining if you want a woman you need some cash, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Rubin says.
He describes his “non-traditional” vocals with the same whimsical irreverence: “No one owns their lack of chops like Michael Rubin.” He accompanies all this with pioneering harmonica work that raises the chromatic harp to the level of its smaller, full-throated cousin.
5 Minutes of Passion overflows with11 original songs, including one instrumental, ash Rubin’s instrumental passion flows through every track. The storytelling begins with Dirty Words, which struts out musically as a Dixieland romp with a brassy pledge that may be hard to keep: “I ain’t gonna sing no more double entendres …. When I said behind I’ll mean behind.”
Doo Doo Daa is an instrumental harp workout with a touch of the blues, setting the scene for the wordplay of Big If, with its dazzling harp solos: “If I were king I would rule the world / If I had hair I would get all the girls.” Alien in a Chair launches other-worldly blues guitar into worldly advice: “Some people like to watch, all they’re doin’ is viewin’ it / You ain’t movin’ forward until you start pursuin’ it.”
5 Minutes of Passion offers slyly salacious advice on pleasing a woman: “If you keep talking about the harmonica / She’ll think you’re odd / Her eyes will start to droop, her head will nod / Just give her five minutes of passion and then pull out.” Dig That Ditch romps with a swinging big-band vibe and another sharp harp solo, shoveling out pointed advice: “You can’t dig a ditch til you know how to do it / But if you don’t dig that ditch, that ditch don’t never get dug.”
A plaintive harp opens Little Circus Town, with its fateful warning: “You can leave the little circus town / But you can’t quit the freak show.” Gravity is sardonic political commentary: “I don’t need no vaccination, the whole story’s a fabrication / I never once got polio or measles.” Nap is an spirited defense of a time-honored tradition with a wakeup call from a stinging guitar solo: “I’m putting taking a nap at the top of the to do list / Doing less don’t make me less than.”
Propaganda, with Greg Izor adding a chromatic harp solo, is a haunting, almost-instrumental, harmonica montage with psychedelic roots, fuzzy-sounding old-timey vocals and not-so futuristic lyrics complete in two lines: “The propaganda is in the hands of the people / And the people are in the hands of the propaganda.” The confessional Grudge is a straight-ahead blues shuffle with its angry guitar and attitude: “When I hold a grudge, I hold it a long time / You may think we’re making love, I’m fighting you in my mind.”
Michael Rubin playfully calls the sophomore release of 5 Minutes of Passion his “sophomoric” effort, but the maturity of his prodigious harp talents plus his wily wordplay already have him graduating at the top of his class.
Here’s a sample of Michael Rubin’s harmonica virtuosity:
Tracks and musicians:
Dirty Words – 3:44
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Guy Forsyth – banjo, backing vocals The McMercy Family Band (Lindsey Verrill, Dan Grissom, Ted Hadji, Ryan Conlin, Wilson Marks) – opening vocals Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums Patrick Harwell – trumpet, trombone Paulo Santos – saxophone, clarinet
Doo Doo Daa – 3:12
Michael Rubin – harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Big If – 4:16
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Josh Fulero – guitar Cesar Crespo – guitar Matt Smith – guitar Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums Paulo Santos – saxophone
Alien in a Chair – 3:32
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar Josh Fulero – guitar (lead) Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
5 Minutes of Passion – 3:30
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica The McMercy Family Band (Lindsey Verrill, Dan Grissom, Ted Hadji, Ryan Conlin, Wilson Marks) – opening vocals Sweet Gary Newcomb – pedal steel guitar Emily Gimble – keyboards Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Dig That Ditch – 2:33
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums|
Little Circus Town – 2:56
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Josh Fulero – guitar Cesar Crespo – guitar Emily Gimble – keyboards Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Gravity – 4:16
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar Emily Gimble – keyboards Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Nap – 4:44
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica, bass harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar (lead) Josh Fulero – guitar Emily Gimble – keyboards Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Propaganda (with Greg Izor) – 3:48
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonicas Greg Izor – chromatic harmonica (solo) Cesar Crespo – guitar Josh Fulero – guitar Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums
Grudge – 5:140
Michael Rubin – vocals, harmonica Cesar Crespo – guitar Josh Fulero – guitar (lead) Michael Archer – bass Jason Corbiere – drums