Artist: The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Album: On The Verge
Bitrate: 246kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Severn Records
Genre: Blues
Size: 84.46 megs
PlayTime: 0h 45min 29sec total
Rip Date: 2013-02-27
Store Date: 2013-02-22
Track List:
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01. I Want To Believe 4:14
02. Lovin' Time 4:09
03. Too Much Water 4:01
04. Hold Me 5:18
05. Runnin' From The Blues 4:20
06. Do You Know Who I Am 5:12
07. Got To Bring It With You 4:36
08. That's The Way We Roll 4:33
09. Diamonds Won't Kiss Your Back 4:01
10. Lonely Highway 5:05
Release Notes:
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Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that a band so often defined by its
guitarists takes on a different character once the lead singer -- the only
constant in the group since its beginnings in the mid-'70s -- definitively
asserts his status as the band's leader, yet the change within the Fabulous
Thunderbirds that can be heard on On the Verge, their 12th official studio
album, is striking. The last time the Thunderbirds released a studio album was
in 2005, during a stint when the great Austin guitarist Nick Curran was the
sparring partner of vocalist and T-Bird linchpin Kim Wilson. In 2013, guitarists
Johnny Moeller and Mike Keller, talented axemen both, now support Wilson and
they do get a chance to flaunt their gifts on On the Verge, but the focus is
firmly on songs and rhythm. It is surely a soul-blues album, often copping the
cool, relaxed Memphis groove and reaching down to the gritty funk of Muscle
Shoals. This not only gives Wilson room to stretch vocally -- he's supple and
sensitive on "Lovin' Time" -- but this means On the Verge is a richer, fuller
album than many latter-day Thunderbirds albums, because this isn't just
dedicated to slow, swaying seduction, there are wah-wah-fueled workouts, a bit
of social protest, some jazzy flourishes, and, yes, a bit of the Texas blues
that the T-Birds call their own. But what's striking about On the Verge isn't
just the versatility, it's the ease: Kim Wilson doesn't sound desperate to
stretch out; he's merely comfortable leading his band toward all the soulful
sounds he's loved. The result is a thoroughly satisfying album, a long-delayed
but very welcome flipside to the rollicking Painted On.