David Clayton Thomas
Red River Exhibition Park
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
June 17/09
David Clayton Thomas tours only sporadically these days. As lead vocalist./songwriter extraordinaire for Blood, Sweat and Tears back in the glory days when they ruled the charts with classics such as Spinning Wheel, When I Die and You Made Me So Very Happy, he has long ranked high on my “Catch Him While You Still Can” list of must see performers. So when news leaked out that he’d be making a rare appearance here in Winnipeg, I was overjoyed.
My dad was huge fan of swing jazz. So as a child, I was teethed on big band 78 rpm recordings of Glen Miller, the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Stan Kenton until the Beatles came along obliterating everything and forever changing my world. But in 1969, Beatlemania did not stop me from taking notice of the most powerful jazz fusion sounds ever to explode onto the pop airwaves, and note especially, the gritty, powerhouse lead vocalist whose voice thundered overtop that popping brass and rhythm section. That unique voice belonged to a fellow Canadian, David Clayton Thomas.
Blood, Sweat and Tears 1969 self titled album won 3 Grammy Awards, beating out the Beatles Abbey Road at the Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and earned the band 3 US Billboard Top 2 singles including Clayton Thomas’ own self penned smash Spinning Wheel. Clayton Thomas has since gone on to sell 40 million records worldwide and was inducted into Canada’s Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
Though David has slowed down his live performance schedule, he’s still been hard at work writing, and has recorded a brand new CD called Spectrum.
Though the sky threatened rain, a good size crowd was on hand at Central Stage in the Exhibition grounds to welcome the group. They opened the night with a solid rendition of the Laura Nyro classic When I Die from the 1969 B,S&T self-titled album.
If anyone thought that David’s new backup group might not be up to B,S&T standards, their fears were quickly allayed. Having retired from B,S&T in 2004, he now tours with a slick 10 piece orchestra from Toronto billed under his own name.
Clayton Thomas looked professional in a dark suit and blue open collar dress shirt, and he quickly proved he still had the pipes. His voice was perhaps slightly more husky and raw than the old days, but this worked to his advantage given his bluesy style. The songs lacked none of the trademark power and emotion. His only concession to his senior citizen status, was a stool he used occasionally while allowing the band members to solo.
He quickly followed with another track from the same album, his self-penned smash hit Spinning Wheel.
David talked freely and easily to the primarily middle age crowd, apologizing for not having visited Winnipeg for over 30 plus years.
He next introduced a selection from his new CD Spectrum that featured a fine baritone sax solo from the sole female musician in the band, Colleen Allen. Though the band now bears his name, David wisely gave his musicians plenty of time in the spotlight.
Ever the consummate entertainer, Clayton Thomas introduced a local high school marching band who were to perform a couple of his songs in an upcoming European band tournament. As a tip of the hat to them, he performed the songs back to back and revealed the inspirations behind the two songs. “This song was written about a bad ass woman I met in a motel in Brandon, MB.” The song was the B,S&T hit Lucretia McEvil, followed by Go Down Gambling, a song he explained was inspired from at time he, “lost his ass in Vegas.”
Slowing down the pace, he next performed the beautiful ballad You’re the One, a song he wrote for his former wife. He then picked things up again with the funky and raucous Gimme Dat Wine (one of my fav songs of the night) followed by the slightly self indulgent 40,000 Headmen from BS&T 3.
Commenting wryly that he wanted to let the Winnipeg crowd get home “before it snowed,” David wrapped up with B,S&T’s classic hit ~ You Made Me So Very Happy. After a well deserved standing ovation, he returned and finished with his stirring reading of Billie Holliday’s God Bless the Child.
What the show lacked in length (performing only an hour and 15 minutes of an expected 1 ½ hour performance) Clayton Thomas and the band certainly made up for it in quality and content. He made the crowd and this reviewer VERY happy. Don’t wait another 30 years to bring your band back David!
4 out of 5
Rob Rheubottom
Winnipeg, MB Canada
tarryrob@yahoo.ca
Setlist
When I Die
Spinning Wheel
Morning Blues
Stormy Monday
Lucretia McEvil
Go Down Gambling
You’re the One
Gimme Dat Wine
40,000 Headmen
You Made Me So Very Happy
God Bless The Child
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