Vaneese Thomas, daughter of legendary Memphis soul man Rufus Thomas, weighs in with her latest-and. characteristically, the result is musically exhilarating and lyrically provocative.
The sound is vintage Memphis, horn-rich. propulsive, full-bodied yet uncluttered, with plenty of eclecticism and stylistic variety (instruments as varied as pedal steel, banjo, and violin make their appearance at various points, and Thomas' own keyboard work-al- ternately brooding, churchy, and show-lounge funky—weaves its way throughout). Thomas quite literally comes out swinging in the first cut. Raise the Alarm, an urgency-infused call for social justice: Same Blood Same Bone is a paean to the living legacy of Memphis as a fount of healing, soul-cleansing music, although Thomas is not provincial-she includes a shout-out to "Aretha, Koko, [and] Carla" as among the "sisters in song" who exemplify, and in turn are exemplified by this legacy. (She might well have included Mavis in her pantheon; both her passion-wracked vocal delivery and the prophetic voice she summons hark back to the Staples in their prime.)
That prophetic register, in fact, is predominant-Thomas. who wrote or co-wrote all of these offerings, makes the personal universal, transforming anecdotal vignettes into parables. The country-tinged Rosalee, spiced by a whip-cracking guitar line from Tash Neal, finds her inhabiting the role of an eldress warning a wayward young woman of the pitfalls and dangers that lie ahead. The protagonist of Bad Man is cast as a teacher and role model for all trapped women desperate to claim independence.
He's a Winner, by contrast, praises a good man. in the process serving as a life lesson for those seeking love. When I've Had a Few takes us on a cautionary journey into a hard-drinking barfly's dark night of the soul: Justin Schipper's pedal steel solo limns a nightmarish portrait of that soul's descent. Blue, mystery-drenched and atmospheric, elevates heartbreak to a level approximating existential catastrophe: I'm Movin' On exemplifies what's necessary to avoid-or at least redeem-that same catastrophe. The closer. Lost in the Wilderness, finds the hard- traveling visionary, in danger of crumbling, raising a hope-against-hope prayer for succor. But it's not depressing or self-pitying-like classic gospel songs such as the Mighty Clouds of Joy's epic I've Been in the Storm Too Long, it's a summons, a call for the weary and wounded to gather together and nurture themselves and one another, in readiness to rise and "Fight the Good Fight" once again.
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