Vaneese Thomas Down Yonder

Vaneese Thomas
Down Yonder
Seque Records

Blues and soul fans will ll be delighted by this new album by Vaneese Thomas, the youngest daughter of Rufus Thomas. On the twelve originals, she is backed by guitarist Al Orlo, keyboardist Robbie Kondor, bassist Will Lee, and drummer Shawn Pelton. Also collaborating with her are Lawrence Boo Mitchell and Reverend Charles Hodges along with trumpeter Marc Franklin and baritone saxophonist Kirk Strothers from The BoKeys. Older sister Carla Thomas added backing vocals, and Kevin Bacon sings a duet with Vaneese.

This recording certainly gets off to an impressive start with the swampy Tony Joe White feel of the opening “Ebony Man.” Singing with a delivery that has a hint of Tina Turner, she forcefully spins the tale of a sharecropper with whining slide guitar and a hard groove. The mood switches to the Memphis soul feel of the pleading “I Tried” with the Memphis Horns section and the organ of Hodges. Then there is the country-soul flavored “Highway of Regret,” with a reflective vocal and Katie Jacoby’s moody violin. It is followed by the Memphis grinder “Wake Me,” with the horns blasting away as she sings about waking her from the nightmare, and pain she feels. Carla is one of the backing singers on the song of hope “Second Chance,” about folks needing “a second chance when it comes to love and romance… .”

Another standout selection is the funky blues-tinged ”Lies” when she tries to get to the truth of the matter as her lover keeps lying. There is some marvelous blues guitar, and the horn section is brassy and punchy. “Handle Me Gently” is a wonderfully sung soul-blues ballad about needing some tender loving to help her recover from being hurt so many times. “Legacy of Pain” is a poignant duet with Bacon about murders in Mississippi that remain unprosecuted with a plea bring justice to the crimes. After the slow-burning soul of “Last Kiss,” there is “Gone,” where guitarist Orlo evokes Pops Staples on a gospel-rooted performance in the manner of the Staples. The album closes with more gospel flavor on the title track as Vaneese sings about being a vagabond who keeps getting drawn back to the city on the Riverbank.

Vaneese Thomas continues to impress listeners with the latest album. This recording mixes strong original songs, focused backing musicians with superb soulful singing. It provides more evidence of how marvelous a singer, not merely a soul-blues singer, Vaneese Thomas is.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Vaneese (from 2015) performing a Syl Johnson-AL Green classic.

Vanesse Thomas The Long Journey Home

Vanesse Thomas
The Long Journey Home
Segue Records

It has been a couple years since Vaneese Thomas, daughter of the legendary Rufus Thomas issued "Blues For My Father," which I found was "a showcase of Vaneese Thomas’ craft as a songwriter and her soul-shaking vocals. Like that release, this was produced by Thomas and her husband Wayne Warnecke, the core of the musicians on this include Joe Bonadio on drums, Paul Adamy on bass, Paul Mariconda on keyboards, Sergio Cocchi on organ, Wayne Warnecke on percussion or electric guitar, and Al Orlo or Tash Neal on guitar.

About her last recording I wrote that Vaneese "can flat out sing with a display of vocal dynamics as well as power to leave a strong impression on the listeners." And when they starting rocking on the opening "Sweet Talk Me," she exhibits her power as well her nuance in phrasing set against a driving rhythm. A loping walking groove underlay a fine blues performance, "Lonely No More." There is a party feel to "Sat'day Night On The River," with its relaxed shuffle groove and Cliff Lyons booting tenor sax solo. "Mystified" is a soul-blues number as she celebrates being captured in his embrace.

"Country Funk" mixes a funk groove with a dash of country-rock violin, dobro and banjo in the backing, and is followed by the topicality of "The More Things Change" ("the more they stay the same"). "Prince of Fools" a strong soul performance about someone she loves and only a fool would let Vaneese go. "I Got A Man In Tn" has a tough blues-rock setting as she sings about traveling performing and having met many men in her travels, but she has a message for them that she has a man in Tennessee is waiting for her in the County of Shelby, while there is a low-key feel as she sings about rocking away on her front porch as she is "Rockin' Away The Blues." with bluesy dobro from Peter Calo. With a jaunty, Jimmy Reed-styled groove, "Revelation" celebrates her finding a love that is true, followed by a slow roots performance "Mean World," with a plea for civility and live a life with a heart full of charity.

A strongly sung cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain," is the final recording on another strong recording that is up to the high standard of the earlier album, as well as her live performances which this writer was fortunate enough to attend. Vaneese Thomas continues to impress with her marvelous singing and songwriting on this recording.

I received my review copy from a publicist. This review originally appeared in the March-April 2017  Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 371). Here is a video of Vaneese celebrating the release of this CD.