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?" whic...