| Jazz |
In 2010, the excellent New Orleans-based band Galactic teamed up with the “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” Irma Thomas, to record the song Heart of Steel for their album Ya-Ka-May (Anti–87002–2). That collaboration proved to be a great success. Inspired by the experience, Galactic decided to record an entire album with the now-octogenarian singer, whose voice remains as powerful and beautiful as ever.
To bring the project to life, bassist Robert Mercurio, saxophonist and harmonica player Ben Ellman, guitarist Jeff Raines, drummer Stanton Moore, and Hammond organist Richard Vogel composed eight original songs blending classic New Orleans soul with 21st-century funk. Completing the set is a stirring, gospel-infused cover of Nancy Wilson’s 1964 R&B hit How Glad I Am. The result of this fruitful collaboration is the album Audience With The Queen.
Where I Belong, driven by Stanton Moore’s dynamic drumming and Richard Vogel’s vibrant organ playing, punctuated with punchy horns, takes us soaring, and we never come back down. Irma Thomas is truly impressive, expressing a lifetime’s devotion to song: “I guess I’m right where I belong/ Still doing my thing, singing my song/ I still got a love affair with the sound of music in the air.”
She also wryly comments on working with musicians much younger than herself: “I was in Paris drinking champagne/ When you was in diapers and crying.”
Love’s Gonna Find A Way Again, with Ben Ellman swapping his saxophone for a harmonica, evokes the spirit of the great Allen Toussaint. Lady Liberty, a blend of Toussaint and the Staple Singers, carries a strong social message:
“The whole damn world’s on fire … Another Black man shot down last night, and they keep adding up.”
The track also features an outstanding saxophone solo from Ellman.
Irma Thomas delivers the Memphis soul-style ballad Puppet On My String with fiery intensity. Sparkling percussion and a growling bass line define Peace In My Heart, where Thomas’s voice shines brightly. The message in People is one of cautious optimism: “People tell me that all in good time/ The world will be a better place/ But maybe people have lost their damn mind.”
The song also references the devastating Hurricane Katrina, which directly impacted Irma Thomas—she lost both her home and her club in August 2005: “The sound of hurricanes washing on my doors.” The melody recalls Lee Dorsey’s Ride Your Pony.
Over You is a blues-funk number that perfectly highlights Irma Thomas’s deep, resonant voice. The album concludes with Be Your Lady, a reflection on the complexities of romantic relationships, where the singer warns a would-be lover that she can be “mean as a rattlesnake and sweeter than sugarcane.”
The synergy between Irma Thomas and Galactic is flawless. This album is simply magnificent.
ABS magazine – Just a Little Blue on Radio Clapas
What makes Audience With the Queen more than just a collaboration is the undeniable chemistry between Thomas and Galactic. They do not merely accompany her — they frame her voice in ways that highlight its timelessness while placing it in a modern context. The band’s precision never overshadows her presence; instead, it amplifies her emotional range.
This album isn’t just a collection of songs — it’s a cinematic journey. From the first note, you feel like you’ve slid behind the wheel of a ’70s convertible Cadillac, the top down, wind in your hair, barreling down some endless American highway. It’s pure energy, meticulously crafted, rich with storytelling, and steeped in cultural memory.
As Gilbert Guyonnet, a respected voice in the blues world, aptly noted, there’s little to add to his praise from a historical standpoint. But artistically — emotionally — Audience With the Queen is a masterwork. It’s soul music for the soul itself, demanding to be played loud and lived with fully.
Consume it without moderation.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, May 18th 2025
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