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 |
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| 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
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