Superlatives are rare in album titles, and for good reason: unless you're a living legend or a legend-in-the-making like the Man in Black (1958's The Fabulous Johnny Cash) or the Queen of Soul (1962's The Electrifying Aretha Franklin), you're all but begging for a crash course in humility. So if you're going to stick a word like "phenomenal" in front of your name on a record cover, you damn well better have the goods to back it up. "Those are some big shoes!" laughs Ruthie Foster, who, just for the record, is really one of the most humble and down-to-earth artists you could ever meet, phenomenal or otherwise. She admits to initially having "quite a few reservations" about calling her fifth album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, crediting both her producer, noted Austin-based "swamp music" guitarist Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne, and her label, Houston's Blue Corn Records, for making that particular gutsy call. As for how they came up with it, well … just give it a listen, and you'll understand. The big shoes just fit — so much so, that calling this particular record by this particular woman at this particular time in her life and career anything but "phenomenal" would be akin to false advertising. Tracks: Cuz I'm Here / Heal Yourself / Fruits Of My Labor / People Grinnin' In Your Face / Up Above My Head (I Hear Music In The Air) / Harder Than The Fall / Beaver Creek Blues / Mama Said / Phenomenal Woman / A Friend Like You / I Don't Know What To Do With My Heart.

Superlatives are rare in album titles, and for good reason: unless you're a living legend or a legend-in-the-making like the Man in Black (1958's The Fabulous Johnny Cash) or the Queen of Soul (1962's The Electrifying Aretha Franklin), you're all but begging for a crash course in humility. So if you're going to stick a word like "phenomenal" in front of your name on a record cover, you damn well better have the goods to back it up. "Those are some big shoes!" laughs Ruthie Foster, who, just for the record, is really one of the most humble and down-to-earth artists you could ever meet, phenomenal or otherwise. She admits to initially having "quite a few reservations" about calling her fifth album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, crediting both her producer, noted Austin-based "swamp music" guitarist Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne, and her label, Houston's Blue Corn Records, for making that particular gutsy call. As for how they came up with it, well … just give it a listen, and you'll understand. The big shoes just fit — so much so, that calling this particular record by this particular woman at this particular time in her life and career anything but "phenomenal" would be akin to false advertising. Tracks: Cuz I'm Here / Heal Yourself / Fruits Of My Labor / People Grinnin' In Your Face / Up Above My Head (I Hear Music In The Air) / Harder Than The Fall / Beaver Creek Blues / Mama Said / Phenomenal Woman / A Friend Like You / I Don't Know What To Do With My Heart.