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Soul'd on CD

'I've long been drawn to promising individual singers, and singing is the focus of Earl's being. He's got the goods - vocal chops, songwriting talent, looks and drive. - from Jerry Wexler's liner notes Earl Thomas comes to Memphis International with an album of pure soul that underscores his established ability as a songwriter but, more importantly, as a consummate singer. He's been wowing audiences on the west coast and on the festival circuit in Europe, as well, with his direct approach that is one part Sam Cooke, one part Otis Redding, one part Al Green and ten parts Earl Thomas. His songs have been recorded by Etta James, Solomon Burke and Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green. Soul'd!, his Memphis International debut represents a return to the Southern soul tradition. The album includes such 'burners' as 'I'll Love You No Less,' 'First & Last Thing On My Mind,' 'Stronger Than My Flame,' originals penned by Earl, as well as his take on Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind' and Howard Tate's 'Look At Granny Run Run.' Variety named him 'the soul music discovery of 2003' and Blues Revue called Soul'd! 'a serious contender for soul-blues album of the year.' Earl who was born into a musical family: his mother was a gospel singer in the Clara Ward mode and his dad, was a full-fledged harp playing blues singer a la Little Walter. 'He could have been as good as any bluesman out there but he decided to have a real job and raise a family but he turned me onto rock 'n roll as well as blues.' .. And lots of soul, too. Earl grew up listening to Bobby Blue Bland, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, all the Stax records, the artists and repertoire that he refers to as 'the language of our people.' When he was ten or eleven, Earl 'T' took his son to the movies and things were never the same. 'My dad took me to see the film Soul To Soul where American performers took their act to Ghana.' The film opens with Ike and Tina Turner performing the title song. Earl was completely galvanized, 'I turned to my dad and said 'that's what I want to do.' Earl was inspired beyond belief and immediately thereafter went into training for his future career. This year, the film was released on DVD for the first time and Earl's vocal of the title song is heard over the end credits, proving that dreams do come true. After a stint in the Navy, he received his first formal musical training in college. He was a voice major and held his own with classical repertoire ('I'm a big Bartok fan - he was the Frank Zappa of classic music') including opera. His LaScala career was nipped in the bud by the fact that his approximation of Wilson Pickett's screaming vocal style effectively changed his high-pitched Smokey Robinson styled - tenor into the grittier sounding instrument he wields with such authority on 'Soul'd!' Ultimately, Earl Thomas formed a group, The Blues Ambassadors, and recorded an album Blue...Not Blues released on Bizarre Records that included one of his originals, 'I Sing The Blues.' Claude Nobs, Montreux Jazz Festival impresario, caught wind of it and passed it onto Jerry Wexler who proceeded to cut it with Etta James who kicked off her Elektra album, The Right Time, with the tune. Earl Thomas is a dynamic presence, an explosion of energy and heartfelt abandon. Against all odds, great soul music is back thanks to Earl Thomas and 'Soul'd!'