#747- > Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Alligator Records
Release Date : May, 16, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; May, 24, 2025

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Carolyn Wonderland never ceases to amaze me with her fiery guitar-slinging skills and charming Southern voice.  Slathered in Texas blues and the authenticity one would find in a backroad juke-joint or honky-tonk, her latest album Truth Is is nothing short of a masterpiece.  Wonderland is backed on this album by Naj Conklin on electric and upright bass and Giovanni “Nooch” Carnuccio on drums and percussion. She is also joined by Shelly King on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dave Alvin on electric guitar, Red Young on B3 organ/piano, Bukka Allen on piano/organ, Kevin Lance on percussion, Ruthie Foster on vocals, Marcia Ball on vocals/piano, Cindy Cashdollar on lap steel guitar, Henri Herbert on piano, and Stuart Sullivan on percussion.

 Wonderland rolls out the red carpet with a riveting taste of swampy slide guitar as she sings of the hard facts of life on “Sooner or Later”.  I’m quickly drawn to the swinging title-track “Truth Is”. With a hard-driving beat from Nooch, Carolyn’s fearless vocals add a lovely touch. I love the blues-soaked “Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard” featuring Cashdollar on lap steel and find myself singing along to this one with every listen. I just wish I had the whistling skills to righteously continue on. The cover of “Orange Juice Blues (Blues for Breakfast)”, originally on the Basement Tapes album from The Band, consists of an intoxicating jamboree featuring King, Alvin, Young, Ball, and Cashdollar with Wonderland, King, and Ball all on vocals. I enjoy the hell out of this one. Enveloped in a Caribbean-inspired melody and Jimmy Buffett-esque vibe, “Deepest Ocean Blue” hits me in very contrasting ways as I decipher its deeper meaning. The album comes to an end with “Blues for Gene”, a touching and beautifully-performed tribute to renowned pianist/keyboardist Gene Taylor (The Blasters, T-Bone Walker, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Canned Heat) who sadly lost his life to hypothermia February 20, 2021 during the Texas Power Crisis. Written by Wonderland and Alvin (who was a lifelong friend to Taylor), the song features Alvin on guitar and includes an extraordinary performance by Herbert on piano.

 Carolyn Wonderland’s Truth Is is an absolutely brilliant album. It’s one I can really sink my teeth into.

 

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Photo by Mary Bruton

Photo by Mary Bruton

Available on Bandcamp

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For more information about Carolyn Wonderland, visit website https://carolynwonderland.com/

 

For other PhillyCheeze reviews of Carolyn Wonderland, visit this link https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=carolyn+wonderland

 

 

 

 

#532 : Carolyn Wonderland - Tempting Fate

 

2021 – Alligator Records

By Phillip Smith; Dec. 18, 2021

Texas blues sensation Carolyn Wonderland has certainly been on the fast-track these past few years.  After holding a highly-coveted spot as guitarist in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, a position previously held by legends such as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor, Wonderland signed to the beloved Alligator Records label.   That just does not happen by chance.  This kind of positioning only happens with talent, and passion, and determination.  Tempting Fate, Wonderand’s twelfth album quickly stole my heart with her original style of blues.  Recorded with Wonderland on vocals, lead guitar, and lap steel, Bobby Perkins on bass guitar, and Kevin Lance on drums, this release also features guest appearances by Dave Alvin, Marcia Ball and Jimmy Dale Gilmore. 

Wonderland’s ode to current events “Fragile Peace and Certain War” ushers in the album on a swampy wave of lap steel slide guitar.  The way she rips into the song with her blunt fearless vocals and guitar is simply magnificent.  Enlisting fellow Alligator Records recording artist Marcia Ball to join her on piano for a rollicking country-boogie soaked in cowboy culture called “Texas Girl and her Boots”, Wonderland becomes the Texas version of Imelda Marcos when it comes to foot apparel collections.  The cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Honey Bee” is a big ball of fun too, featuring Jan Flemming on accordion.  In a classic Nashville country way, Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Wonderland pour their heart and soul into Bob Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”.   Then, for the grand finale, she boldly takes on The Grateful Dead’s “Loser”.  Wonderland’s explosion of electric guitar and Joplin-esque howls make for a lush and fierce jam.  It’s such an intoxicating performance.  

This is an album I highly recommend to everyone.  Tempting Fate is one of my favorite albums of the year.  

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For more information about the artist, visit this website: https://carolynwonderland.com/