Page 52 - BiTS_08_AUGUST_2022

Dave Thomas—Road To The Blues—Blonde On Blonde
Direct DCT22RTTB1

Dave is from Newport, South Wales, and as a child he taught
himself to play guitar and harmonica, in fact he had formed
his own band ‘Skid Row’ when he was twelve years old. By
the age of eighteen, he had joined the embryonic progressive
rock band ‘Blonde On Blonde’ as their new lead singer. Three
albums and three years later the band split-up. He went on to
become part of the rock band ‘Reign’ but, when they became
‘The Wombles’ he departed, returning to the blues.

Since then, he has combined a full-time career in advertising and marketing with performing.
He has lived in Norfolk for the past 25 years and between 2005 and 2015 he was the house
band leader for ‘Shake Down Blues’ in Castor, near Peterborough. During that time he had
made friends with many of the visiting American blues musicians who had performed there
and subsequently when Dave is in America (he regularly visits there), he has joined them on a

number of projects; In fact the city of Cleveland, Ohio, bestowed upon him an official citation
for his services to the Blues.

Dave has never stopped working and performing and the proof is here with his latest
collection of 13 originals and covers. Dave provides lead vocals, guitar and harmonica, joining
him at Pine Tree Studios are Steve Jinks; bass, drums and percussion (Dave and Steve also
share production duties), James Goodwin; piano, Phil Marshall; saxophone, Gareth Tucker;
harmonica, with Michael Smith on saxophone and John Thirkell on trumpet.

The title number, ‘Road To The Blues’, is the opener and it is a wonderfully relaxed shuffle, the
calming drum work is abetted with an eloquently crisp piano that is very reminiscent of
Johnny Johnson, the rich, understated guitar matches Dave’s soothing, droll vocals. The pain
filled, soul infused piano ballad ‘Another Girl’, is a sad, sad tale of infidelity, while the rolling
‘Everywhere Man’, is a more cheerful take on life on the road, with the saxophone gently
leading the way home to the one you love. According to Dave the misery of the blues is a
‘Natural State of Mind’, and by the sound of the harmonica and his weeping slide, I think he’s
right.

The invitingly laid-back interplay between harmonica and piano on ‘Rose Tinted Love’,
enjoyably underpins Dave’s lamenting vocal, also Dave delivers a very enjoyably sweet, gentle
acoustic rendition of the Chuck Berry classic ‘Memphis Tennessee’. ‘Winnebago Dreaming’, is a
splendid tale of lottery dreaming, set to a cruising New Orleans rolling piano, leaving Croydon
and Pinner for wherever...

Recommended to calm!

Brian Harman.