Dave Thomas - Road to the Blues

Bitrate:320K/s
Year:2022
Time:49:18 
Size:113,5 MB 
Label:Blonde On Blonde Direct (Records) Ltd 
Styles:Modern Electric Blues 
Art:Front 

Tracks Listing:
 1. Road to the Blues - 3:33
 2. The Lady's Not for Turning - 3:10
 3. Eye on the Money - 3:14
 4. Another Girl - 5:45
 5. Everywhere Man - 4:23
 6. Leaving San Francisco - 2:40
 7. Rose Tinted Love - 3:58
 8. Last Thing - 5:29
 9. Pretty in Pink - 3:22
10. Winnebago Dreaming - 3:49
11. After All These Years - 3:57
12. Natural State of Mind - 3:02
13. Memphis Tennessee - 2:52

Dave Thomas is an admirable guitarist who eschews flash for taste, and his fretwork spruces up the baker’s dozen songs on his release, Road to the Blues, rather than becoming their only focus. To the contrary, he often generously allows the superlative piano work by James Goodwin to be front and center while he provides a classy backing along with drummer, bassman, percussionist, backing vocalist, arranger. co-producer and co-writer Steve Jinks.This Road may be emotionally bumpy, but it’s never cluttered. Sprinkled judiciously throughout are organ, horns, and harp, and they are well served by the album’s crisp, clean sound. Attention to percussion always, understandably, takes a back seat to lead instruments or even a rhythm section, but as proven in these tracks, the right piece at the right place can subtly elevate a song significantly. The shuffling title track is dominated by beautiful Johnnie Johnson-like piano tinkling, an immediate example of Thomas’ aforementioned willingness to let his virtuoso keyboard man shine and set much of the album’s collaborative tone. Julia Smalley, lyricist on four of the songs, including this one, essentially provides the album’s mission statement: “This life’s no bed of roses, more like a hard bed of nails/There’s only one highway to choose / I’m on my way to the blues.”

Road to the Blues