8. Irma ThomasWish Someone Would Care
Just like with Bettye, it’s a voice thing. Maybe she’s a little bit more sophisticated and there’s a bit more of a rounded production. There’s a feeling of ‘this woman is going to be a superstar’ with the production. Some of the songs on the album are big hits but they all seem like they come from the same kind of hot heat as the New Orleans stuff. I think there’s a thing with a lot of these earlier records where it’s not like everybody’s got to play into all the gaps. I feel that the approach of just serving the song and serving the vocal is something that’s become lost as people become more of a technician of their instruments. I think that simple approach is the same that you get with Irma Thomas records. They’re not showing where they are at, or what their ability is, or like, ‘look at what I can do on the piano’ here. It can be two or three notes that are very simple but it serves the song. That’s what makes these records unmatched.
