Track Listing

1. Go to Mexico
2. Closer to You
3. Easy Rider
4. It Would Be So Easy
5. Red River Valley
6. Poet
7. I Want to Be Loved
8. Lost
9. Strike a Match
10. Tarot

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102933 in Music
• Brand: Wilson
• Released on: 2006-04-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
With a series of terrific albums, Cassandra Wilson has established herself as one of the day's great vocalists and, in branching out from jazz into blues and folk and pop, paved the way for genre-crossing stars including Norah Jones. But the Mississippi native has rarely sounded as relaxed or winning as she does on "Thunderbird," which teams her with the stalwart O Brother Where Art Thou? producer T Bone Burnett. Recorded mostly in Los Angeles, the album is noteworthy not only for its roomy, atmospheric sound and experimental touches, but also for its improvised-in-the-studio approach. Working with innovative Burnett regulars including keyboardist (and co-producer) Keefus Ciancia, guitarist Marc Ribot, and drumming legend Jim Keltner, Wilson delivers such offbeat delights as "Going to Mexico," a dreamlike, funk-tinged tune built on a sample of "Hey Pocky A-Way" by New Orleans' Wild Tchoupitoulas. Eschewing the well-known pop tunes she usually covers, she lends her huskily seductive vocals to Jakob Dylan's wistful "Closer to You" and Burnett's dark "Strike a Match," to which she claimed co-ownership by changing the time signature and adding a lyric. The inspired contributors also include programmer and bassist Mike Elizondo (producer of Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine") and guitarist Colin Linden, who wails on a gripping extended reading of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Easy Rider" and duets with Wilson on the cowboy classic "Red River Valley," which eloquently sums up her ability to breathe jazz meaning into anything she chooses. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews

One of the best CDs of 2006!
Given her string of excellent albums since 1993 for Blue Note, Cassandra Wilson has always been one of modern music's most reliable artists. Each new album bent but left unbroken the musical approach of her Blue Note debut BLUE LIGHT `TIL DAWN. THUNDERBIRD seems to be not so much a drastic change, but rather a particularly bold continuation of her career. An effective change in producers (T Bone Burnett behind the boards here) and a group of mostly new instrumentalists (i.e., to Cassandra's music) promises to put some distance between the new album and prior efforts.

Yet after several listens, it's clear that Wilson has retained all of the musical strengths established previously: her brilliantly nuanced vocals, a well-chosen mixture of original material with cover versions (e.g., several blues classics updated here), explorative musicians accompanying her, and an eclectic taste for compatible styles (blues, jazz, pop, folk, soul/r&b, etc.). At the same time, much of the album feels like a departure from her prior albums, probably due to the innovative production and arrangements.

Although several tracks offer a sparse accompiament to Cassandra's vocals (such as electric guitar only on "Red River Valley"), at other times the album's soundscape is marked by contemporary touches such as subtle electronica effects and even some pre-programming not far removed from hip-hop. This is most notable on the instant classic cut "It Would Be So Easy." However, at no point does the album sound to any extent like a generic attempt to fit into pop culture's safety zone; the modernist touches never come at the expense of the groundbreaking organic sound that Wilson has been noted for. For one, at times one hears parts what would be samples on anyone else's albums, but are actually live musicians playing in real time (such as on the tracks with several drummers where one will drop some well-placed fill-ins).

Although there is considerable variety from track to track, perhaps to a greater extent than previously THUNDERBIRD makes a collective statement, that being that Cassandra Wilson is more than ever miles ahead of even our elevated expectations that she will deliver outstanding results with each new album. THUNDERBIRD gets my vote as her all-time best to date!

Cassandra Loves Hopping Fences
I don't understand much of this "Cassandra's abandoned jazz" hoopla from the critics. Cassandra Wilson has never been some ossified jazz-standards-bearer. And thank God for that. Let us not forget that it was as a member of Steve Coleman's free-funk outfit, M-Base Collective, that Cassandra received attention not only for her enchanting good looks but also for her love and ability to sing a wide variety of material. Anyway, it was with 1995's NEW MOON DAUGHTER that Cassandra has been steadily adopting more folk/blues-oriented styles.

THUNDERBIRD, produced by T-Bone Burnett, admittedly does contain more keyboards and percussion with lots of programming and drum looping than Cassandra's previous several recordings. Nevertheless, she still preserves her trademark sensual intimacy with whatever song she picks up. What remains constant is that incantory voice, evoking late night seduction and imminent passion.

Best Since BLUE LIGHT/NEW MOON. . . .
Cassandra Wilson is my favorite (and I think the best by a mile) female vocalist on the "jazz" scene (although she mines a wide scope of musical styles on each of her outings and somewhat defies categorization). She has ruled since I first heard BLUE LIGHT 'TIL DAWN ten+ years ago. I didn't think she could ever match the intensity of the title track, her smoldering version of "You Don't Know What Love Is," and the musical variety of the remaining tracks. She went somewhere different--more of a continuation, really--on NEW MOON DAUGHTER, which would finish a really close second in my "favorite Cassandra CD" list. She dropped off a bit on TRAVLING MILES, BELLY OF THE SOUTH, and, if I could be objective (which I really can't), GLAMOURED was a disappointment. She has worked on several other projects in the meantime, also, most notably Wynton Marsalis' BLOOD ON THE FIELDS and an intriguing duo CD with pianist Jacky Terrason.

Long intro for this CD, which is clearly her most solid effort, both vocally and instrumentally, since BLTD and NMD. "Go to Mexico," track one, is a great song with exceptional instrumentation behind her unmatched vocals. "Closer to You" has an awesome bass solo that runs for quite some time toward the end of the track, which simply shows how much Wilson values "the whole package" in her recordings. "Easy Rider" is as good a song as she's ever done, with a superb guitar solo in the middle. "It Would Be So Easy" has some very intriguing vocal sampling and electronic elements that are rare in more traditional, "safe" jazz. "Red River Valley," with just electric guitar accompaniment, shows her confidence in her voice and a willingness to "empty out" the sound for a track on occasion. The bluesy "I Want To Be Loved" would fit on several of her previous CDs quite nicely and is a perfect match for her voice. "Strike a Match" reminds me of a mix of couple of tracks off BLTD ("Sankofa" + "Estrellas"), with its rhythmic intensity and strong drum parts. "Tarot" ends the CD with a nice overdubbed vocal and a lighter mood than the previous couple of tracks. Quite simply, she is the whole package. With T Bone Burnett at the helm (wow, why have these two not hooked up sooner than this. . . ?!?), Cassandra Wilson can showcase her stunning vocal variety and agility, keep the smoky sound that has made her a star at the forefront, and allow some great instrumentalists/accompanists showcase their talents, as well. There's room for everybody.

I can't imagine anybody being new to Cassandra Wilson, but, if you are, this is a great place to start! If this sound is good for you, go back to BLUE LIGHT 'TIL DAWN and NEW MOON DAUGHTER, then dig back through her old catalog (JUMPWORLD, SHE WHO WEEPS, BLUE SKIES). She brings the goods every time out, but this effort is more focused--yet still diverse--than her last. It was well worth the wait. . . . .