Paul Thorn, rejected by his preacher father brings his music and voice back to the church on first gospel solo project
REVIEW BY MONA AUSTIN
Suitable as background music for a sanctified prayer breakfast, singer/songwriter/guitarist Paul Thorn delivers gospel grit on the recently released single, "What Should I Do?" from the forthcoming album "Don't Let the Devil Ride." He's backed the McCrary Sisters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The Blind Boys of Alabama and opened concerts for Huey Music and The News, over the years and those elements (country, gospel and R&B) combined are reflected on this release. As a teen, the artist's preacher father disapproved of him having pre-marital sex and listening to the pop music he grew up to play. He was formally expelled from the church, but "the church" never left him. Now taking center stage, Thorn's rustic vocals (think Joe Cocker but breathier) belt the music he first embraced in childhood -- Black Gospel.
On the second pre-release single, he asks God, "What Shall I Do?" which is also the song title. The answer to that question suggests that whatever you do (i.e., sing, preach, teach) it is to be done in the name of Jesus. Raised in Tupelo, MS Thorn places a bluesly treatment on the number that takes you straight to Deep South where locals like their grits with shrimp, catfish and gravy. With a howling electric guitar over the steady tick of drums and tambourines, Mr. Thorn provides the "hot sauce" to go with this ear feast that will satisfy the musical taste buds of anyone who enjoys the sound of classic Black Gospel music.
Several of the artists he worked with are collaborators on the full album which will be released on March 23.
READ MORE about the single and forthcoming CD. . .
Don’t Let the Devil Ride, Paul Thorn’s collection of soulful songs originally recorded by black southern gospel groups, was co-produced by Billy Maddox and Colin Linden and recorded in 3 legendary locations: Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, and Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Don’t Let The Devil Ride features contributions from the Blind Boys of Alabama, The McCrary Sisters, the Preservation Hall Jazz Horns and Bonnie Bishop. On Friday, Thorn released his new single "What Should I Do?", a gospel song which debuted on AllMusic.
After a dozen roots-rock records, Paul Thorn reclaims his past by celebrating the first music he was ever exposed to. Don’t Let the Devil Ride combines strong influences stemming from Paul’s life experiences and his earliest musical influence: gospel. Thorn spent his youth singing in his father’s Pentecostal church. But his most memorable musical experiences were at an African American branch of his father’s church, the Okolona Sunrise Church of Prophecy. “There might be ten people playing the tambourine, but the rhythm was locked in, and they’d let me play bass. I loved the Appalachian gospel of my parents’ church, but it was a treat to play with those musicians.” It’s a good thing the music he heard there moved him, because he was forbidden to listen to popular music.
LISTEN TO WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Last month, Thorn released the album's lead single "Love Train," a gospel reimagining of The O'Jay's classic hit which Billboard called "slowed-down, gritty...a moment of unambivalent light on the project."
As a teen, Thorn acquired two records - by Elton John and Huey Lewis - but hid them in his closet so his father wouldn’t find them. He got away with his un-churchlike ways until the day he was “disfellowshipped” by his father and the deacons when they discovered Paul had slept with his girlfriend. After stints in a chair factory, the National Guard, and as a boxer (including a match with Roberto Duran), Paul’s music career was jump-started when he met Billy Maddox, who led him to write for the legendary Rick Hall, owner of FAME Studios, where Thorn cut his first demos. So, in another way, this album is about Thorn returning to where he began.
Many tracks on this record are lesser-known gospel chestnuts released by small Mississippi and Alabama labels in the late 1950s-70s and are typical of the sound that was heard on local radio stations or tentside revivals in that era. One exception is the most well-known track on the album, the O’Jays’ famous single “Love Train.” But it perfectly frames the album’s theme of love and inclusion. “This is the culmination of my whole life in music, coming back to my gospel roots,” says Thorn about Don’t Let the Devil Ride. “My message on this record is ‘let’s get together’ - I want to help lighten your load and make you smile.”
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Don't Let the Devil Ride tracklist:
1. Come On Let's Go
2. The Half Has Never Been Told
3. You Got To Move
4. Keep Holdin' On
5. He's A Battle Axe
6. Something On My Mind
7. Soon I Will Be Done
8. One More River
9. He'll Make A Way
10. Don't Let The Devil Ride
11. What Should I Do?
12 Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dyin' Bed
13. Love Train
14. ...The Get Back
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Tour Dates:
03/16: Houston, TX - The Heights Theater %
03/17: Dallas, TX - Kessler Theater %
03/22: St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall %
03/23: Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theater %
03/24: Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald’s %
03/30: Savannah, GA - Lucas Theatre for the Arts *
03/31: Athens, GA - The Foundry %
04/06: Memphis, TN - Railgarten%
04/07: Franklin, TN - Franklin Theatre %
04/08: Knoxville, TN - Rhythm n’ Blooms Festival ^
04/14: Birmingham, AL - Lyric Theatre %
04/27: Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse !
04/28: Greenville, SC - Peace Center for the Performing Arts !
04/29: Wilkesboro, NC - MerleFest !
05/04: Water Valley, MS - Foster Music & Arts %
05/05: Meridian, MS - MAAEX %
05/07: Boca Raton, FL - The Funky Biscuit %
05/08: Boca Raton, FL - The Funky Biscuit %
05/09: Key West, FL - Key West Songwriting Festival #
05/10: Key West, FL - Key West Songwriting Festival #
05/11: Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre %
05/12: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall %
05/13: Winter Haven, FL - Graham Parson's Derry Down %
05/17: Green Bay, WI - Riverside Ballroom %
05/18: Green Lake, WI - Thrasher Opera House %
05/19: Green Lake, WI - Thrasher Opera House %
05/20: Galesburg, IL - Fat Fish Pub %
05/31: Millville, NJ - Levoy Theatre %
06/01: Bethlehem, PA - Levitt Pavilion Steelstacks *
06/03: Nelsonville, OH - Nelsonville Music Festival *
06/07: Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark %
06/08: Madison, WI - RiverRoots Music & Folk Arts Fest %
06/29: Memphis, TN - Levitt Shell Memphis *
07/01: Arlington, TX - Levitt Pavilion Arlington *
07/11: Sutter Creek, CA - Sutter Creek Theatre %
07/12: Reno, NV - Robert Z Hawkins Amphitheatre *
07/13: Berkeley, CA - UC Theatre *
07/14: Los Angeles, CA - Levitt Pavilion Los Angeles *
07/15: Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up %
07/19: Morro Bay, CA - The Siren %
07/20: Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre %
07/21: Nicasio, CA - Rancho Nicasio %
07/22: Nicasio, CA - Rancho Nicasio %
08/03: Sioux Falls, SD - 8th & Railroad Center *
08/11: Dayton, OH - Levitt Pavilion *
08/19: Denver, CO - Levitt Pavilion *
08/24: Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads %
08/25: Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads %
08/26: Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads #
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