After The Rain

Irma Thomas is one of New Orleans' most beloved and iconic entertainers. On 'After the Rain,' the Soul Queen of New Orleans brings her rich and resonant vocals to a surprisingly varied repertoire that spans 75 years of American songwriting, the common thread being Irma's soulful and direct-from-the-heart delivery. Spare and often acoustic instrumental settings by an all-star Louisiana band allow Irma's vocals to shine through on each song. Recorded at rural Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana only months after Hurricane Katrina, After the Rain is a remarkable declaration of resilience, presenting Irma Thomas at her very best.

Irma Thomas has long been hailed as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans," an accolade that's accurate but seems a little limited. (Imagine calling Elvis Presley the "King of Memphis Rock & Roll.") As her first album of new recordings in six years attests, Thomas can sing just about anything better than just about anyone from just about anywhere. Though the liner notes indicate that most of the material was selected before Hurricane Katrina, there's a bittersweet resonance that extends from Arthur Alexander's lament about a once happy home "In the Middle of It All" and the soul classic "I Count the Tears" to the funeral dirge of the traditional "Another Man Done Gone" and the Blind Willie Johnson blues standard "Soul of a Man." There's an inspirational quality as well, in the gospel "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" and the stirring closer, Stevie Wonder's "Shelter in the Rain," with only David Torkanowsky's piano backing Thomas's transcendent voice. Other Louisiana instrumental seasonings come from Sonny Landreth's slide guitar and Dirk Powell's fiddle. Most singers who have been recording as long as Thomas resort to tricks, mannerisms, and show-off displays, but she remains the anti-diva, a stylist of exquisite understatement whose every note rings true and hits home. --Don McLeese