Track listing: 1. Not Really The Blues.
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On Sale at: Mojo Music, Birdland and Laughing Outlaw in Sydney. Big Star Records, Basement Discs in Melbourne.
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Released through Ruby Records. rubyrecords@bigpond.com
REVIEWS FOR NOT REALLY THE BLUES.
REVIEW FROM GRAEME DAVEY, APRIL 2004.
Not Really the Blues...more like bliss!
Dean Thomas has produced a fine collection of dirty swamp cowboy twang that demonstrates years of devotion to six taught steel wires on an old wooden box…and I like it. 'Bad News Blues’ and 'Recipe #2' are cool club grooves worthy of a track on Eric Clapton-unplugged. The ultimate question arises on track eight [which is selected for 'endless - repeat' on my CD player].
'Tough Enough' with it's haunting swamp thump and syncopated lead drift 'Are you tough enough?' reaches down into the souls of mankind, posing ethical and rational heart felt inescapable decisions. The spirit of The Beatles' George Harrison lifts the emotional cry of the chorus… Truly excellent.
Graeme Davey.
REVIEW FROM RHYTHMS MAGAZINE, FEB 2004.
As the album title suggests, this may not really be a blues music release. However, the Sydney-made CD’s semi-acoustic content is individual and creative. It may not be particularly derivative of any other specific genre either, though elements of blues, country, world and jazz are intertwined. A singer-songwriter with polished guitar picking skills, Thomas plays acoustic and National guitars and sings like Eric Clapton doing JJ Cale. Doug Weaver adds some spice to the 34 minute set on electric and acoustic guitars, Dobro and some vocals. Other instruments featured include bass guitar, drums, congas, tuba and didgeridoo. Although the eleven songs aren’t crafted in a way that calls for inspired comping and soloing, the players are sensitive to the material and they all blend into a cool, laidback groove.
The title track, very much in the mould of Muddly Waters’ ‘I can’t be Satisfied’ is probably the bluesiest cut on the CD. ‘World Blues’, ‘Recipe for the Blues’ and its instrumental reprise ‘Recipe #2’ are in a similar bag while the haunting ‘Tough Enough’ and 'Man of the Run’ – a tale of early convict days – get down to business with a solid backbeat. On ‘Yin Yang’ the band picks up the pace and stretches out, but Thomas’s songs mainly rely on their strong lyrical content for much of their appeal. Producers Thomas and Weaver shoot for a smooth, easy listening sound with subtle dynamics, slotting in nicely for a late-night chill-out. Not Really the Blues...bringing it’s own original, Aussie-flavoured contribution to the local blues and roots scene.
Al Hensley.
NOT REALLY THE BLUES
All songs by Dean Thomas except Recipe #2 by Dean Thomas and Doug Weaver.
c Dean Thomas, 2003. All rights reserved. Produced and arranged by Doug Weaver and Dean Thomas, 2003. Recorded at Doug Weaver Studios. Mastered by Tim Greig at Sonamax, Glebe.
THE PLAYERS
Dean Thomas, Accoustic Guitars, National Guitar and Vocals
Doug Weaver. Electric Guitars, Dobro, Accoustic Guitar and Vocals
Marshall McAdam Bass Guitar
Mal Wakeford, Drums, Congas.
Carolyn "Cazzbo" Johns, Tuba
Lee Noonan, Didgeridoo.
DEAN'S NOTES ON THE SONGS
1. Not Really The Blues.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Doug Weaver, Dobro.
Marshall McAdam, Bass. MalWakeford, Drums.
This is one of the first songs I wrote in the blues vein. It's about a guy whose girlfriend has left him. But he's not going to commit suicide or anything. This one's saying, ok its over but it's not really the blues. Being oppressed, not having anywhere to live, no money, no hope, no food for the kids. That's...really, the blues.
2. Man On The Run.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Doug Weaver, Electric Guitars and Backing Vocal. Marshall Mcadam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums and Congas.
The song is about an escaped convict in the early days. He's hoping the Aboriginals will find him before the troopers do, take him in and let him live with them. And it's based on a true story. The Colonial tale is juxtaposed by the modern blues setting.
3. World Blues.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar, Doug Weaver, Dobro and Rhythm Sticks, Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums and Congas. Lee Noonan, Didgeriedoo.
This one's for Bob Brozman, who knows a thing or two about World Blues. I used to play it a bit slower but when Doug set it up at this pace, I knew it had something. Something I could feel in the back of my hand. It's loosely based around a bluesy riff, with different musical scales playing over it. Doug got Lee Noonan to bring his Didgeriedoo to the studio but the didge was pitched in F and the song is in the key of D. Somehow they got it to work.
4. I Tried So Hard.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Carolyn (Cazzbo) Johns, Tuba. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
A major influence for me has been Taj Mahal. His record, De Old Folks At Home, was a true revelation. Later on I discovered Mississippi John Hurt, a real old folk from home. This song is my homage to them. When Carolyn Johns came in and put her Tuba part down it sort of blew everything else out of the water. I had to change my approach to the guitar and vocal to get in the groove and jazz it up a bit.
5. Woman I Love.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitars. Doug Weaver, Rhythm Guitar. Carloyn (Cazzbo) Johns, Tuba. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
I wrote this in Beirut on the day civil war was officially declared between the Arabs and the Israelis. I was working on one of the 88 ships stuck in Beirut Harbour. It was a very weird situation, being in a city at war and I certainly felt a long way from my normal comfort zone. Carolyn is also playing Tuba on this track which, as it's in the key of E, was apparently not easy. She played beautifully off my vocal and guitar parts and Doug's rhythm part.
6. Recipe For The Blues.
Dean Thomas, Accoustic Guitars and Vocal. Doug Weaver, Electric Guitars. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
Men and women. Women and men. It'll never work. (Who said that?) In this song I'm pushing an old Gibson Jazz box and I think you can really feel the weight of the strings in the solos. The highlight for me on this track is Doug Weaver's sublime electric guitar playing.
7. Long Last Look.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
The book that really got me when I was eighteen was On The Road. I've been hooked on Kerouac and Co. ever since. The sad thing is, On The Road took so long to get published that by the time it came out, Jack was already, ''...sick to death of the whole thing.'' This one's for Jack, Neil and Caroline.
8. Tough Enough.
Dean Thomas, National Guitar and Vocal. Doug Weaver, Electric Guitar. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
Bob Brozman and Skip Sail have stayed with me on their last couple of tours. One morning, after they'd headed off to Queensland I picked up my guitars and found they'd been left in some weird tunings. I started trying to play something on my National, which was tuned to D minor, and this song just came out the box. It's about the way pollution and population are having a detrimental effect on the world. My friend Groove used to say, ''It's ok if you shit in the river. But when millions also shit in the river, you've got a problem.''
9. Yin Yang.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Doug Weaver, Electric Guitars. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
A lot of blues songs are about juxtapositions. Up and down, lost and found, you know. Once I lived the life of a millionaire‚ Then I began to fall so low. It made me think of the Yin and the Yang idea of balance.
10. Bad News Blues.
Dean Thomas, Acoustic Guitar and Vocal. Doug Weaver, 12 string guitar and Vocal, Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
This is a song I first recorded with Russ Shipton, in the UK when we had a duo called Two Bit Band. It's gone from being a fairly raucous blues track to more of a country blues. Doug and I did this one in about two takes, live in the studio.
11. Recipe #2.
Dean Thomas, Accoustic Guitars. Doug Weaver, Electric Guitars. Marshall McAdam, Bass. Mal Wakeford, Drums.
An instrumental version of Recipe For The Blues. Just so you can hear Doug's great guitar playing without any distractions.