Paul Thorn Turns To Top Songwriters

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blues

For his forthcoming album Paul Thorn, who is certainly no slouch as a songwriter himself, turned to some of his favorite songwriters. The new release, titled What the Hell Is Goin' On? and due out on Perpetual Obscurity/Thirty Tigers on May 8, boasts writers both well-known and less well-known: Lindsey Buckingham, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Allen Toussaint, Buddy & Julie Miller, Elvin Bishop, Rick Danko of the Band, Paul Rodgers and the rest of the band Free, Donnie Fritts and Billy Lawson, Wild Bill Emerson, Foy Vance, Eli 'Paperboy' Reed, and the trio of Big Al Anderson, Shawn Camp and Pat McLaughlin.

Thorn has developed a deep set of musical influences. But these influences didn't come about until he was fully grown and out of the house. His father was a Pentecostal preacher, and there was only one kind of music heard in the Thorn home: gospel.

"Gospel music was everything in our household, " he says, "My sisters played piano, my dad played guitar and my mom played accordion. I started off playing the drums — on a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket with a wooden spoon — and later picked up the guitar. Being from Tupelo, I went to the same music school that Elvis Presley attended. By that, I mean that our family visited the white Pentecostal churches and the black Pentecostal churches, and the music at both was awesome. The white folks sang in a country & Western style and the black folks had a more rhythm & blues approach."

Paul would not have likely chanced upon a song recorded by The Band, Free or Buckingham-Nicks while growing up. "You see, we were not allowed to buy or listen to secular music, although I kept two records in my closet that I would sneak and listen to when my parents were gone, " he explains, citing the smuggled titles: Huey Lewis & the News' Picture This and Elton John's Greatest Hits. "The religious authorities of that time told us that if you play a rock 'n' roll record backwards there were hidden satanic instructions for all of Lucifer's followers. I tried it and the only words I could make out sounded like 'eat your laundry on Tuesday.' I started listening to and absorbing worldly music after I left home at the age of 18."

At 18, Thorn had a lot of catching up to do, and immersed himself in the worlds of rock 'n' roll, R&B, blues and country. What the Hell Is Going On? is a microcosm of his journey.

Among the album's 12 tracks, Elvin Bishop sits in on guitar on the title track he wrote, while Delbert McClinton lends vocals to Wild Bill Emerson's "Bull Mountain Bridge." Thorn captures the Texas swamp feel of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Snake Farm" and makes Southern rock anthems of Buckingham-Nicks' "Don't Let Me Down Again" and Free's "Walk in My Shadow." He redefines The Band's "Small Town Talk, " penned by Rick Danko, while paying homage to a venerable R&B songwriter, Allen Toussaint ("Wrong Number") and a young American soul/blues acolyte, Eli "Paperboy" Reed ("Take My Love With You").

"I started realizing that there are a lot of great tunes that I love by other writers out there, " he says, explaining how an album of covers came to be. "This project is basically me and my band putting our own spin on some of them. After so many albums of self-penned songs, I wanted to take a break from myself, do something different, and just have fun."

Thorn continues to tour while he sets up the new album, headlining some dates and co-billed with Ruthie Foster on others. He's also signed on to perform some significant festivals: July 1 at FitzGerald's American Music Festival just outside Chicago; July 3 at Milwaukee's lakefront SummerFest, and October 5 at Helena, Ark.'s historic King Biscuit Blues Festival.

Track Listing:
"Don't Let Me Down Again" (Lindsey Buckingham)
"Snake Farm" (Ray Wylie Hubbard)
"Shelter Me Lord" (Buddy & Julie Miller)
"Shed A Little Light" (Foy Vance)
"What The Hell Is Goin' On" featuring Elvin Bishop on guitar (Elvin Bishop)
"Small Town Talk" (Rick Danko)
"Walk In My Shadow" (Paul Rodgers/Andy Fraser)
"Wrong Number" (Allen Toussaint)
"Bull Mountain Bridge" featuring Delbert McClinton (Wild Bill & Martha Jo Emerson) "Jukin'" (Big Al Anderson/Shawn Camp/Pat McLaughlin)
"She's Got A Crush On Me" (Donnie Fritts/Billy Lawson)
"Take My Love With You" (Eli "Paperboy" Reed)

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