My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn

Performer: Irma Thomas
Engineer: David Farrell...
Producer: Scott Billington; Dann Penn...
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Irma Thomas (vocals); Michael Toles (acoustic & electric guitars); Jim Spake (soprano & tenor saxophones); Scott Thompson (trumpet); Howard Lamb (trombone); Bobby Emmons (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, tambourine); Carson Whitsett (Fender Rhodes piano); Spooner Oldham (Wurlitzer piano, background vocals); Swain Schaefer (Fender Rhodes piano); Marvell Thomas (Hammond B-3 organ); James Kinard (bass); James Robertson, Steve Potts (drums); Scott Billington (percussion); Elaine Foster, Lisa Foster, Erica Falls, Dan Penn (background vocals). Recorded at Sounds Unreel, in Memphis, Tennessee and Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana in September 1999. Includes liner notes by Robert Gordon. Dan Penn is one of the great Southern soul songwriters, and Irma Thomas is one of the great soul singers, so devoting an entire album to Penn songs was a good idea. Actually, Penn didn't so much write the material as co-write it; he composed every track with one or more co-writers, with Thomas herself getting in on the act on a couple. Four of the 13 tunes are actually interpretations of songs that have been around for a long time (such as "I'm Your Puppet" and "Woman Left Lonely"), but otherwise they were done specifically for this album. So is the result godhead? No, though it's okay. Thomas sings very well -- it's been pretty rare that she hasn't sung well, on anything -- and has a good sense of staying within herself where a lot of singers would over-emote, as on "If You Want It, Come and Get It." Recorded in Memphis (noted frequent Penn associate Spooner Oldham plays keyboards on several cuts), there's a laid-back modern soul feel that gets too laid back at times and not fiery on enough occasions. It's respectable modern soul, slicker than purists would like, but not annoyingly so. The newly written songs are alright, but again not amazing. Thomas' vocals are the highlight, as they should be. ~ Richie Unterberger

Living Blues (11-12/00, p.51) - "...Inspirational....a 'songbook' album, featuring an accomplished vocal stylist interpreting the works of one of our most eloquent and influential lyricists..." Mojo (Publisher) (11/00, p.104) - "...13 fine Dan Penn songs...and Irma Thomas sings them with grace and elegance..."

Irma Thomas was justifiably bestowed with the moniker "Soul Queen of New Orleans," thanks to a string of 1960s classics that included "Time is On My Side" and "Ruler of My Heart." Thomas was never as commercially successful as the better-known women of soul music's golden era, but she is nonetheless a beloved figure among soul music devotees, having recorded with some of the finest songwriters and producers in music history, and she has remained a source of deep pride and inspiration for the Crescent City. In 2006, Thomas released AFTER THE RAIN, an album steeped in both the deep sadness and the gritty resilience of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

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