After the Rain

After the Rain
Label: Rounder
Length: LP
Rated: NONE
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: After the Rain
There are no heart-tugging post-Katrina ballads on the official Soul Queen of New Orleans’ latest solo album. She adds a few alluding words to the traditional blues ‘Another Man Done Gone,â?� but there’s not a trace of self-pity here. That’s not Irma Thomas’ style. She made her name with tough-talkin’ R&B (‘Time Is on My Side,â?� ‘You Can Have My Husband (But Don’t Mess With My Man)â?�) and 46 years later, she’s still not backing down. These are not ultra-smooth soul grooves; these are lean, blues-based strokes unafraid of tenderness (Arthur Alexander’s ‘In the Middle of It Allâ?� shakes with a moonlit ambience), a barrelhouse piano (‘These Honey Dosâ?�) or a Spartan Delta blues move (Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘Soul of a Manâ?�). Producer Scott Billington brings in a no-nonsense backing group ‘ including slide guitarist Sonny Landreth and pianist David Torkanowsky ‘ who know these moves in their sleep, but who still manage to keep a rough edge.

This article appears in Apr 26 – May 2, 2006.