Prior to forging himself into a top-notch roadhouse singer/songwriter, Paul Thorn made a living in the sweet science. He was a pretty good boxer, too, based on his 10-3-1 professional record, and the fact that he gave the legendary Roberto Duran all he could handle before a badly split lip forced his corner to throw in the towel in the 6th round. Boxers and musicians have more common than one might expect, and you could easily assemble a killer mixed CD of boxing-related songs (Hint: Start with Dylan’s Who Killed Davey Moore?, Springsteen’s The Hitter, Warren Zevon’s Boom-Boom Mancini and Sun Kil Moon’s Salvador Sanchez). That being said, I’m not sure if Thorn, who incidentally could pass for The Rock’s brother, is moving up or down the karmic ladder.

The title of his newest release, Pimps And Preachers, is a nod to the two men who had an indelible impact on Thorn’s formative years: his father, the Pentecostal preacher, and his uncle, the…um…love broker. Though the worlds of these two men may seem polar opposites, the commonalities are not wasted on Thorn. Subsequently, the songs on Pimps And Preachers (as well as Thorn’s cover painting, this guy does it all) are populated with folks seemingly condemned  to dwell in the weary hours between the sin of Saturday night and the salvation of Sunday morning. Like Dave Alvin, John Prine or Greg Brown, Thorn refuses to pass judgment on his characters, electing simply to recount their yarns of love, loss and lechery against arrangements as simple and effective as the Rotherham plough.  Rolling Stone has even taken notice of Thorn’s immense talent, dubbing him a “Southern-rock Bob Seger.” While I think it’s great that Thorn has snagged the ear of the neighborhood bullies of music journalism, I think they’ve missed the boat. Regardless of their circumstances, Bullet Bob’s characters are assured that salvation is only a flashy guitar solo and a big chorus away. But a listen to I Hope I’m Doing This Right and it becomes very clear that Thorn, like the men and women who populate his songs, knows all too well that it’s never that simple. There are no Romantic overtures, no “chrome three-wheelers” roaring across the expanse of the plains for Thorn, or his people. Only the reward of another day, and the vague promise of something better.

MP3 : Paul Thorn – Pimps And Preachers