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. ~ j. poet