Nella Thomas – Yonder Woods

You’re not going to understand this, but Nella Thomas is what Dinah Shore aspired to be back in the fifties. Trapped in a world she never made, Shore made a career of following the trends, thanks to an industry leaning more toward entertainment on the whole than just music. She built a hell of a career off of a shining personality and a voice people loved but never broke the mold. I won’t say she was destined for mediocrity, for I love her music, especially her version of “Buttons & Bows,” which I consider to be definitive. The problem was, she wasn’t original. She didn’t (to my knowledge) write music (I never heard of any originals, anyway). She acted well but was not outstanding. She is probably remembered today by the few people left alive who actually know of her (I am one) for her TV show and seeing the USA in her Chevrolet, which is fine for nostalgia freaks but will not put her in any hall of fames outside of one or two dealing with TV history. Don’t get me wrong. I loved her. I just wonder what she would have been if she had been really bitten by the music bug.

Des Moines’ Nella Thomas may never gain the fame of Ms. Shore, but she will not have to look back at a career of riding on other people’s coattails. She at least writes her own music and, more than that, writes and sings it very well. Very well, indeed.

I knew she had something special right off, “Adore You” having that softly choogling rhythm which reminds me of a handful of country rock classics from the late-sixties and early-seventies. The pattern set, Thomas works her way through six more maybe not of pattern but of feel. There is an emotional quality to her songs, upbeat or not, perhaps tied to her voice which I find pleasing and then some. There is something about using a voice for simple melody or harmony which is lost on so many singer/songwriters. Many seem to think they need vocal pyrotechnics or something outside the norm to make people listen. To hear Thomas’ simple approach is refreshing.  Even the album title— Yonder Woods.

The music? A cross between country rock and musicale, I would say— smooth and sometimes haunting. Music for sunsets from the porch— dusk at summer.  

I have no information in front of me regarding the recordings at all. I know that Will Locker was involved, Locker being the man behind the drums on two exceptional Bright Giant projects. I wish I had a list because they deserve mention. The session work is top flight. And the producer and engineer? Whoever they are deserve a pat on the back.

Thomas is a teacher in real life. So are the three members of No Small Children. Makes me think that musicians might want to look into switching careers. Get my point?