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Paul Thorn and his 800 Pound Jesus
I’d been aware of Paul Thorn for some time, but didn’t really become a fan until I saw him live last summer at The Ark in Ann Arbor. I convinced an old University of Michigan roommate to come with me while I was in town, as an opportunity to catch up, but we were both caught off guard by how much we loved Thorn’s show.
I’ve been listening to Thorn’s recordings regularly since then, and can now bear witness to a great catalog that stands up to deep and repeated listening.
Musically Thorn reminds me of Delbert McClinton and a few other artists who have somewhat belatedly been collected under the Americana banner. He has a great group of regular bandmates playing drums, bass, guitars and keyboards, and they are more than capable of drawing on most American music traditions — blues, folk, rhythm’n blues, soul, country, rock’n roll, gospel and so on — to conjure up a strong, effective, varied and emotive backing for whatever song Thorn has chosen to deliver.
Thorn’s voice seems a force of particularly American nature. It’s not pretty or showy, and wouldn’t ever be caught dead on one of the insipid television “talent” shows that are endlessly advertised these days, but it is wonderfully expressive and deeply layered, like a powerful piece of wood that has been torn from the depths of some aged tree, with complex and unique grains that bely…
