Vaneese Thomas
Stories In Blue
Overton Music
Publicity: Blind Raccoon
By Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro © Aug 2024
PRELUDE
As a successful and respected part of the music industry – for many years and on several levels, most notably as the owner and operator of Blind Raccoon – longtime Memphis resident Betsie Brown could not have chosen a more perfect artist to feature on the debut release of her new Memphis based record label, Overton Music, than Vaneese Thomas. When you think Memphis and music, the surname Thomas is akin to royalty. It was not much less than ninety years ago when her father – the late, great and legendary Rufus Thomas, started it all as a ten-year-old tap dancer who never looked back. With so many accomplishments to his credit, his best one may have been passing the talent gene onto his family; vocalist extraordinaire and “Memphis Queen” herself, Carla Thomas; masterful keyboardist, the late Marvell Thomas; and of course, another extraordinary vocalist and baby of the family, Vaneese Thomas.
REVIEW
Stories In Blue is the ninth release by Vaneese and it is the fourth that I have had the honor and pleasure of working with. Along with Vaneese, on vocals and electric piano, those making the music are: Ross Pederson on drums; Paul Adamy on bass; Al Orlo on guitars; Dave Keyes on keyboards; Tim Ouimette on trumpet and horn arrangements; Andy Drelles on clarinet and saxophone; Walter Barrett on trombone and tuba; with Emily Bendiger, Berneta Miles, Jason L. Terry and Darryl Tookes on background vocals. All of the disc’s seven tracks were written and/or co-written by Vaneese.
On the disc’s opening track, all it took was the opening line of “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” for Vaneese to showcase that oh so soulful voice of hers. The song is titled “Do Y’all” – as in “Do y’all know where the blues comes from, do y’all?”. Most of you should, but just in case, Vaneese is not only very happy to give you a quick lesson, but she’s also highly qualified as well.
“When You Were My Man” tells the all too familiar story of a lost lover. As in most of those stories, the relationship that was once wonderful suddenly wasn’t anymore. Using fabulous range and timely descant, with her emotional and heartfelt presentation of the song’s melancholy lyrics, Vaneese may be at disc’s best on this one. Musically, led by the masterful work of Ross (drums), Paul (bass) and Dave (organ), it’s a rhythm fueled smoker with a perfect amount of perfect blues guitar leads from Al.
Sadly, when you read about the events that took place in 1917, it’s difficult finding anything that doesn’t relate to WW I. That said, although Vaneese does mention that “war was raging” and “life was hard”, this is actually a fun song about “1917”, which in the Thomas family is “the year of Rufus”. With the song being a tribute to her father, just some of the joyful lines you’ll hear are: “Colorful attire can take you higher, leave you wanting more”; “His voice was a jewel and his blues gave you fuel”; “He’d light up a room when he came in, and the stories he told could warm your soul better than a bottle of Gin”; “Life was hard but he was a star, you’ll remember him forever and a day”. Yep, that’s the Rufus Thomas I knew. The upbeat rhythm combined with the barrelhouse piano leads from Dave; and the lively horns, with outstanding trumpet and clarinet leads from Tim and Andy; all create such a Dixieland vibe that might get you wrongly thinking Rufus was born in N’awlins.
Stories in Blue fittingly closes with a song called “End of The Road”. To quote Vaneese, “This song wasn’t written with any particular idea of impending death but rather the joy of knowing I’ll someday be relieved of all the stress and pain of life here on earth”. Those sound like the words of a very content woman. As the explanation of the song may indicate Vaneese, and what I’ll call ‘the background choir’, will take you to church with their fabulously done acapella style vocal performance. As Vaneese warns, “Heaven is just a breath away” and we should all be lucky enough to be as content with that as she is.
Other tracks on yet another very well-done album by Vaneese Thomas include: “Wandering”, “The Last thing On My Mind”, and “7 Miles From Home”.
The timing for this next statement could not have been more perfect. Just yesterday (8/20) I received an email from the Blues Foundation announcing that “The Blues Music Award submission process is now open”. That said, let me now announce that if I were still a nominator, Stories In Blue would be one of my recommendations for more than one soul category.
Should you like to find out more about Vaneese Thomas, just go to her website – www.vaneesethomas.com. Remember, wherever you go and whomever you speak with, please tell them their friend the Blewzzman sent you.
“The Blues Is My Passion And Therapy”
Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro
Blues Editor @ www.Mary4Music.com
2011 “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award Recipient
