by Irma Thomas (Various Best Of/Greatest Hits)
This originally unreleased Burt Bacharach penned Imperial single starts with the scraping and tapping of a güiro plus the pinging of a common-or-garden bell. The Soul Queen of New Orleans starts by singing about a more innocent time when she didn't exactly know what her lips were for. A rumble of drums marks the entrance of the backing singers, the chorus and the raising of a notch in the canon of Thomas' vocal prowess. Further notches are to be raised as the song progresses with the Soul Queen's voice outshining the harmonies and the accompanying strings easily. The strings, along with the prominent drums, provide a good platform for the song with the strings often mimicking the power of brass while retaining the intricacies more typically associated with string instruments.
Irma Thomas' career has now spanned over fifty years and today she is still making records. She won a Grammy in 2006 for Best Contemporary Blues Album bringing her some overdue recognition after undeservedly not achieving the commercial success of Diana Ross or Aretha Franklin in the sixties.
AR
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