Two female, redheaded raspy blues vocalists from Texas come to mind. One is practically immortal, Janis Joplin. Yet another Texan has been ripping bluesy guitar licks and belting out the blues vocally for over three decades. She is Carolyn Wonderland, who was often compared to Joplin early in her career for her raw, powerful vocals.
As Wonderland’s career evolved, she struggled through several independent releases before meeting very influential people. Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel produced four of her albums. In 2018 John Mayall chose her to be his lead guitarist, joining an incomparable legacy of his Bluesbreakers guitarists. She formed a close relationship with Dave Alvin, who produced her 2021 Alligator debut, Tempting Fate. Now the Alvin-Wonderland collaboration continues with Alligator’s Truth Is.
At this point in her career, after three BMA nominations, Wonderland is finally a widely recognized force. She’s earned her way there, to the point where she lived out of her van for two years. Now, though, the respect among her peers is reflected by the top musicians who lend a hand on this outing. In addition to Alvin, they include Shelley King, Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball, Cindy Cashdollar, Red Young, Bukka Allen, and more. Yet Wonderland renders the core of the album with her road band – bassist Naj Conklin and drummer Giovanni “Nooch” Carnuccio. She either penned or co-wrote (four with Alvin) ten of these twelve tunes. The album is dedicated to two of her mentors, the late Mayall and blues pianist Gene Taylor. Shelley King, by the way, harmonizes with Wonderland on nine of these and plays acoustic guitar on six of them. Known primarily as a killer guitarist and wildly unrestrained blue shouter early in her career, those aspects are still present, albeit more finely honed as Wonderland has also become a talented songwriter.
Opener “Sooner or Later” begins with searing guitar notes that demand immediate attention. The riff-heavy rousing tune powers through with Alvin (one of four he plays on) dueling with Wonderland on ear-shattering guitars while Bukka Allen pounds the keys. Wonderland states that whether we have a plan or not, we’ll have to take a stand sooner or later, belting out that last word as if it’s the last word she’ll sing. The defiant “Ain’t Going Back Again” becomes an anthemic statement, complete with scorching guitar, Young’s soaring organ, and the vocal choir of King, Ball, and Foster. Those elite background vocalists return for the heavy chord-driven stomping title track, where Wonderland wails heartily against our now lie-infused culture. We catch our breath as Wonderland spins the gripping ballad “Let’s Play a Game.” On the playful, bluesy “Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard Again,” Cashdollar steps in with her patented fiery lap steel while Young takes to the ivories. Wonderland joyously unveils her impressive whistling skills at the end.
Wonderland turns far more pensive, perhaps as crooning as she ever gets vocally on one of two non-originals, “Wishful Thinking, penned by Greg Wood and Eddie Hawkins. In a surprising move, she covers Richard Manuel’s “Orange Juice Blues,” somehow replicating that raw, casual vibe of The Basement Tapes as she and Alvin stretch out the guitar parts much further than The Band did on the original. In fact, it becomes a rave-up brief jam with Ball on piano and Cashdollar on lap steel joining the fray. Wonderland is back in blues shouter mode with the Alvin co-write “Tattoos As His Talisman,” which yields yet another guitar workout. She ranges from balladeer to shouter on “Flowers In Bloom,” displaying an impressive range of vocal dynamics. Young shines on piano on the otherwise rather bland “Deepest Ocean Blue,” but the strongest, most indelible track, “Blues For Gene,” closes. She and Alvin, reportedly dripping tears as they were recording it, pour it out for the late Gene Taylor with pianist Henri Herbert admirably reflecting Taylor’s piano styling, which is associated mostly with The Blasters.
Fasten yourself in. Wonderland definitely stamps her case as one of the most formidable triple threats in blues.
