Blues

Irma Thomas ‎– Soul Queen Of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration (2009)

2019-05-28T13:41:14Z

Irma Thomas ‎– Soul Queen Of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration (2009)


1 	Got To Bring It With You 	
2 	Let It Be Me 	
3 	I'm Your Puppet 	
4 	Loving Arms 	
5 	There Must Be A Better World Somewhere 	
6 	The New Rules 	
7 	Another Man Done Gone 	
8 	What Can I Do 	
9 	I Count The Tears 	
10 	Old Records 	
11 	Back Water Blues 	
12 	In The Middle Of It All 	
13 	Sweet Touch Of Love 	
14 	Your Ship Has Sailed 	
15 	River Is Waiting

Irma Thomas 	Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals
Leroy Aych 	Guitar
Arthur Bell 	Guitar
Chris Belleau 	Trombone
Jay Bellerose 	Drums, Percussion
Sammy Berfect 	Organ (Hammond)
Scott Billington 	Compilation Producer, Composer, Harmonica, Producer, Remixing, Tambourine
Doyle Bramhall II 	Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Juanita Brooks 	Vocals (Background)
Marc Broussard 	Vocals (Background)
Don Bryant 	Vocals (Background)
Glenn Carvin 	Keyboards
Cranston Clements 	Guitar
Tara Darnell 	Vocals (Background)
Patricia Doucette 	Viola
Elaine Foster 	Vocals (Background)
Ernie Gautreau 	Trombone (Valve)
Emile Hall 	Sax (Tenor)
Jeff Hannusch 	Liner Notes
Niki Haris 	Vocals (Background)
Guillermo Ladut 	Guitar
Howard Lamb 	Trombone
Sonny Landreth 	Slide Guitar
Pamela Landrum 	Vocals (Background)
Jean McClain 	Vocals (Background)
Kristen Miller 	Cello
Stanton Moore 	Drums
Spooner Oldham 	Fender Rhodes
Frank Parker 	Trumpet
Kim Phillips 	Organ (Hammond)
A.J. Pittman 	Trumpet
Renard Poché 	Guitar
Dirk Powell 	Fretless Banjo, Guitar (Electric)
Paul Rayner-Brown 	Vocals (Background)
Alfred "Uganda" Roberts 	Congas, Tambourine
Bill "Foots" Samuel 	Horn Arrangements, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor)
Harold J. Scott 	Bass
Chris Severin 	Bass
James Singleton 	Bass, Bass (Acoustic), Pizzicato Bass
Jim Spake 	Sax (Tenor)
Hannah Thiem 	Violin
Marvell Thomas 	Organ (Hammond)
Michael Toles 	Guitar (Electric)
David Torkanowsky 	Organ (Hammond), Piano, Piano (Electric)
Allen Toussaint 	Piano
Terry Tullos 	French Horn, Trumpet
Percy Williams 	Percussion, Trumpet
Warner Williams 	Piano, Sax (Tenor)
Craig Wroten 	Keyboards

For a half century, Irma Thomas has been firmly established as the undisputed queen of New Orleans soul, and over the years has issued several standout recordings for the Rounder label. This collection features 15 of her very best works with no filler or sub-standard tracks, and includes three previously unissued tracks. Thomas taps on the deep wellspring of songwriters and performers from the Crescent City, including David Torkanowsky, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Doc Pomus, Doyle Bramhall II, Sonny Landreth, James Singleton, Stanton Moore, and Henry Butler among many others. This compilation, organized from her 25 years on the Rounder label, comes from six of her eleven albums, tacking on tunes from the Rhino collections I Believe to My Soul and 'Till The Night Is Gone; A Tribute to Doc Pomus, as well as the Nonesuch label collection Our New Orleans. The CD is highlighted by three selections from her all-time best and Grammy-award winning recording After the Rain, a post-Katrina anthem for the ages in and of itself. On a pure blues side, there's the raunchy, Bayou-humid thick "Another Man Done Gone" from After the Rain, and Bessie Smith's "Back Water Blues" via the compilation Our New Orleans -- both classics. Gospel-soul is always a part of the repertoire as heard on the confirmational tune "Let It Be Me" or "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere," co-written by Dr. John and Doc Pomus. Thomas specializes in downtrodden, brokenhearted songs such as the confused, sad ballad "What Can I Do?," "I Count the Tears" (from After the Rain) with a supportive chorus amid the gloomy mood, and the regretful ballad "Loving Arms." There's a funky, more commercial cover of the Purify Brothers' hit "I'm Your Puppet" with a horn section and popping electric bass guitar, a good-time rocker "The New Rules" affirming woman power, and the song of hope "River Is Waiting" with Butler's lively piano urging the band and singers to stand up and be counted. Thomas owns the kind of voice that is universally likable, never straining for high notes, unwavering in her soulful content, and as precise as any vocalist could dream of. She's simply precious, direct, stirring, and exciting no matter the style or lyric content. Though all of her individual CD's are easily recommended, this one is a must-have for collectors of greatest-hits packages, and especially those who for some reason have not yet discovered this brilliant American artist -- truly one of a kind. ---Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic Review

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Irma Thomas ‎– After The Rain (2006)

2018-09-11T14:35:31Z

Irma Thomas ‎– After The Rain (2006)


01. In The Middle Of It All 4:45
02. Flowers 4:22
03. I Count The Tears 3:03
04. Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor 4:30
05. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free 3:03
06. If You Knew How Much 2:27
07. Another Man Done Gone 3:49
08. Till I Can’t Take It Anymore 3:27
09. These Honey Do’s 4:27
10. Another Lonely Heart 4:20
11. Soul Of A Man 3:01
12. Stone Survivor 3:49
13. Shelter In The Rain 4:14

Irma Thomas - Primary Artist, Vocals 
David Torkanowsky - Hammond B3, Piano, Piano (Electric) 
Corey Harris - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) 
Sonny Landreth - Slide Guitar 
Dirk Powell - Fiddle, Fretless Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
David Egan - Piano 
James Singleton - Bass (Acoustic)
Stanton Moore - Drums, Percussion 
Scott Billington - Tambourine 
Juanita Brooks, Marc Broussard, Charles "Chucky C" Elam, III - Vocals (Background)

A rumor circulated after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast at the close of summer in 2005 that Louisiana soul great Irma Thomas was one of the missing. The rumor, fortunately, turned out to be false -- she was gigging at the time in Austin -- but Thomas' New Orleans home was completely destroyed. The shadow of Katrina hangs large over After the Rain, Thomas' first new album in six years, and several of the songs take on an added poignancy because of the tragedy, most tellingly the cover of Arthur Alexander's "In the Middle of It All" which opens this set and a stunning version of the traditional blues spiritual "Another Man Done Gone" with its telling line "another storm has come." It would be easy to call this album Thomas' response to the devastation, and to a great extent it is, but except for "Another Man Done Gone," all of the songs here were chosen for the recording sessions well before Katrina developed. Coincidence or not, though, the dominant image in these tracks is one of rain, of storms washing things away, and Thomas gives each song a kind of elegant resignation with her low-key vocal approach, until the whole album seems like one long whispered effort to recapture hope in the future. Storms wash things away, often things we dearly love, Thomas seems to be saying, and here is what we're left with, ourselves and our need to believe that there's a reason for all of the pain we're forced to carry. Mostly muted and acoustic, After the Rain cautiously stretches out like a slow train pulling away from the platform, and tracks like "Another Man Done Gone," the old blues nugget "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," and a stripped-down (just acoustic guitar, banjo, and percussion) version of Blind Willie Johnson's blues gospel classic "Soul of a Man" all share a certain restless searching for answers. Maybe there aren't any answers. Another storm has come. Not everything can be washed away. That, at least, is something to cling to, and After the Rain, in the end, is gently hopeful. ---Steve Leggett, AllMusic Review

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Irma Thomas - Till My Tears Run Dry (1965)

2016-02-29T17:15:14Z

Irma Thomas - Till My Tears Run Dry (1965)


01 - Don't Mess With My Man
02 - Set Me Free
03 - A Good Man
04 - I May Be Wrong
05 - For Goodness Sake
06 - Look Up (When Ever)
07 - Moments To Remember
08 - (I Want A) True, True Love
09 - I'm Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry
10 - Nobody Wants To Hear Nobody's Troubles
11 - The Hurt's All Gone
12 - It's A Man's Woman's World (Part 1)
13 - It's A Man's Woman's World (Part 2)

Between 1960 and 1966 Irma Thomas recorded for the Ron, Minit and Imperial labels, scoring two notable hits with "Don't Mess With My Man" on Ron in 1960 (#22 R&B) and "Wish Someone Would Care" on Imperial in 1964 (#17 pop). There were were only ever two albums released under her name during this period (and indeed the whole decade), the Imperial LPs Wish Someone Would Care and Take A Look. Her Minit recordings can be found on this compilation. Those three collections still leave a number of loose ends, which I have gathered together into this thirteen-song compilation.

The first four songs are her Ron recordings from 1960, both singles "Don't Mess With My Man" and "A Good Man" (the latter didn't chart), including their b-sides. The next two songs are the A and B sides of a single on the Bandy label. I can't find much information about this small New Orleans label, but it seems it released a lot of stuff originally on Minit, and could in fact just have been a Minit subsidiary. Indeed both these songs were written Allen Toussaint, and it certainly sounds like his piano playing on "Look Up". Whether this single was released before or after her other Minit singles, I am not sure. The last seven tracks are all from her Imperial years, mostly b-sides but with a couple of a-sides which weren't featured on the albums. One of these, "I'm Gonna Cry Till My Tears Run Dry", is surely one of her very best recordings, and "It's A Man's Woman's World", produced by James Brown, was her very last Imperial release. --- stuckinthepast08.com

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Irma Thomas - Take A Look (1968)

2012-07-19T15:22:25Z

Irma Thomas - Take A Look (1968)


01. Take a Look (2:57)
02. Teasing, But You're Pleasing (1:46)
03. I Haven't Got Time to Cry (2:43)
04. You Don't Miss a Good Thing (Until It's Gone) (2:25)
05. Some Things You Never Get Used To (2:45)
06. Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) (2:56)
07. It's Starting to Get to Me Now (2:22)
08. Times Have Changed )2:26)
09. He's My Guy (2:39)
10. Baby Don't Look Down (2:34)
11. What Are You Trying to Do (2:12)
12. Wait, Wait, Wait (2:35)

Although it should have been issued the previous year and Imperial Records even had a catalog designation reserved for the project (LP-9275), Irma Thomas' second long-player for the label also turned out to be her last. The vocalists professional relationship with songwriter/producer Allen Toussaint had been established several years earlier on the R&B hit "It's Raining." Here, he supplies a third of the disc's material beginning with the optimistic and stylishly orchestrated "Take a Look" -- giving the album both its title track and opening selection. The upbeat and sassy "Teasing, But Your Pleasing" is another Toussaint-penned tune and exemplifies the symbiosis between the artist and composer as the catchy melody and Thomas' carefree delivery are a custom fit. That certainly isn't to imply that she has lost any of her emotive capacity, as she so aptly demonstrates throughout the effort, and nowhere more so than "I Haven't Got Time to Cry," or Jerry Ragavoy's "You Don't Miss a Good Thing (Until It's Gone)" -- arguably William Bell's blueprint for "You Don't Miss Your Water." Thomas resonates a similar sensitivity on "It's Starting to Get to Me Now" sounding like a Dionne Warwick protégé thanks to the Burt Bacharach-like chord progressions and writing style of up-and-coming songsmith and producer Van McCoy. Still nearly a decade away from creating his own hits -- most notably the chart-topping dance monster "The Hustle" -- McCoy contributed a total of four selections. While his arrangement of "Some Things You Never Get Used To" could be an homage to the Bacharach/David classic "Walk on By," the edgier "He's My Guy" is an ideal match of singer and song as Thomas' attitude seethes right below the surface of her graceful delivery. Fans of Northern U.K. soul often rank the infectiously buoyant "Baby, Don't Look Down" among their favorite discotheque spins dedicated to preserving the spirit of the music and times. Wrapping up Take a Look are a final pair from Toussaint with the cheery and definitely Motown-inspired "What Are You Trying to Do." "Wait, Wait, Wait," on the other hand, is unique as it reflects Toussaint's early influence and love of '40s and '50s country and western music. One could easily hear Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, or Loretta Lynn lending their respective intonations to it. --- Lindsay Planer, allmusic.com

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Irma Thomas - Simply Grand (2008)

2010-03-16T11:25:28Z

Irma Thomas - Simply Grand (2008)


01. River Is Waiting (with Henry Butler)
02. If I Had Any Sence I'd Go Back Home (with Dr. John)
03. To Much Thinking (with Jon Cleary)
04. Early In The Morning (with Tom McDermott)
05. What Can I Do (with David Torkanowsky)
06. Underground Stream (with David Egan)
07. Thinking About You (with Norah Jones)
08. Be You (with Dr. John)
09. This Bitter Earth (with Ellis Marsalis)
10. Cold Rain (with David Torkanowsky)
11. Somebody Told You (with John Medesky)
12. Overrated (with Davell Crawford)
13. Same Old Blues (with Marcia Ball)
14. I Think It's Going To Rain Today (with Randy Newman)

Backing Vocals – Charles Elam III, Earl Smith, Elaine Foster, Erica Falls
Bass – James Singleton (tracks: 1, 3 to 6, 10, 12), Peter Harris (tracks: 9), Tim Luntzel (tracks: 7)
Cello – Kristen Miller (tracks: 5)
Congas, Bongos – Michael Skinkus (tracks: 4)
Congas, Tambourine – Alfred Roberts (tracks: 1, 6)
Drums – Jason Marsalis (tracks: 9), Raymond Weber (tracks: 1, 3 to 6, 10, 12), Steve Jordan (tracks: 7)
Piano – Dave Torkanowsky (tracks: 5, 10), Dr. John (tracks: 2, 8), Ellis Marsalis (tracks: 9),
 Henry Butler (tracks: 1), John Medeski (tracks: 11), Marcia Ball (tracks: 13),
  Randy Newman (tracks: 14), Tom McDermott (tracks: 4)
Piano, Backing Vocals – Davell Crawford (tracks: 12)
Piano, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Jon Cleary
Piano, Backing Vocals – David Egan (tracks: 6) 
Piano – Norah Jones (tracks: 7) 
Viola – Patricia Doucette (tracks: 5)
Violin – Hannah Thiem (tracks: 5), Nathan Cohen (5) (tracks: 5)
Vocals – Irma Thomas

After a lifetime in the business, the Soul Queen of New Orleans finally won a Best Contemporary Blues Grammy in 2006 for After the Rain. As everyone knows, there's a lot more to Thomas than the blues. She's a powerful R&B belter, simmering soul singer, and all round entertainer as comfortable with a standard like "Stormy Weather" as she is with a new tune like Dr. John's "Be You." True to its punny title, Simply Grand features Thomas in the company of 13 piano players laying down accompaniment on the acoustic grand. The tunes are old and new, borrowed and blue, but Thomas makes them all her own. The most powerful tracks here showcase Thomas and a solo pianist, bringing the feel of a smoky late-night bar on the end of lonely street to life. "Be You" features Dr. John, who played piano on the very first Thomas recording session, 1959's "You Can Have My Husband (But Don't Mess with My Man)." Rebennack's piano on "Be You" is dramatic and funky, halfway between a Mardi Gras romp and a Sunday morning sermon. Written by Rebennack and Doc Pomus, it's a simple, soulful love song with a playful vocal by Thomas . On the Louis Jordan standard "If I Had Any Sense I'd Go Back Home" Mac and Thomas get down and dirty, with Thomas delivering a casual vocal that plays around with the beat, while Rebennack backs her with clusters of rippling arpeggios. "Somebody Told You," a sassy Allen Toussaint R&B number Thomas recorded back in 1962, gets a reprise (in the same key as the original) with John Medeski rolling out some stomping New Orleans fonk on his solo while Thomas testifies with her usual soulful intensity. Marcia Ball chose the Leon Russell tune "Same Old Blues" for the session and gives it a gospel twist that lets Thomas flex her moaning lower resister. Randy Newman supplies keys and his own "Think It's Going to Rain Today" to close the album. Thomas makes a bleak lyric even more forlorn with an understated sighing vocal that's downright heartbreaking. But the album also has it's sassy, uptempo moments. John Fogerty's "River Is Waiting" also has a celebratory churchy ambience with great backing vocals, Henry Butler's sanctified piano, and Thomas' testifying lifting the tune to heaven. "Early in the Morning," another Louis Jordan tune, a tongue in cheek tale of a woman looking for solace after being up all night, gets a humorous read from Thomas and pianist Tom McDermott. "Underground Stream" is a pop tune from pianist David Egan that combines R&B and gospel with a classic '40s pop feel. The chorus is instantly memorable, and if there was any justice in the world it'd be the monster hit Thomas deserves. ---All Music Guide

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Irma Thomas - The New Rules (1986)

2009-10-28T16:13:02Z

Irma Thomas - The New Rules (1986)


1. The New Rules 
2. Gonna Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry 
3. I Needed Somebody 
4. Good Things Don't Come Easy 
5. The Love Of My Man 
6. One More Time 
7. Thinking Of You 
8. The (Hero) Wind Beneath My Wings 
9. I Gave You Everything 
10. Yours Until Tomorrow

Irma Thomas (vocals);
Joe Saulsbury, Jr. (vocals, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, tambourine); 
Guillermo Ladut, Leroy Aych (guitar); 
Bill "Foots" Samuel (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); 
Lawrence Weber, Terry Tullos (trumpet); 
Craig Wroten (organ); 
Glenn Carvin (keyboards); 
Wilbert Widow (drums); 
Sharon Foster, Elaine Foster, Lisa Foster, E.L.S. (background vocals).

Irma Thomas balanced classic and contemporary sensibilities on this 1986 album. She did such songs as "Gonna Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry" and "I Gave You Everything" from the 1960s, and also did more recent tunes, such as the title track and a good remake of "The Wind Beneath My Wings (Hero)." In the 1980s, there was little interest at urban contemporary stations in older, more soulful artists, and thus this worthy session got almost no attention outside New Orleans and the South. However, Irma Thomas can still sing with authority and quality. --- Ron Wynn, allmusic.com

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