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Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025)

Posted By: popsakov

Date: 6 Jul 2025 07:53:29

In 2021, Texas blueswoman Carolyn Wonderland released Tempting Fate, her Alligator debut. She'd been in the game for two decades. Dave Alvin produced, played, and sang on it, alongside a cast of Texas luminaries. It was greeted with excited reviews from the rock and blues press, enhancing her touring reputation. Alvin is a big presence on Truth Is, her sophomore outing for the label. He produces, plays, and co-wrote four songs with Wonderland. Her trio – Naj Conklin on basses and Giovanni "Nooch" Carnuccio on drums and percussion – host a studio cast that includes vocalists Shelley King, Marcia Ball, and Ruthie Foster, organist Red Young, pianist/organist Bukka Allen, lap steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar, and others.

Wonderland spent years playing with John Mayall (one of two men the set is dedicated to), so she understands the cellular relationship between blues and most American musical forms he put forth, and showcases them in these cuts. Truth Is ranges far and wide, whether it's in the scorching lap steel wrangle of opener "Sooner or Later" or the funky blues gospel in "I Ain't Going Back," with her three-voice chorale of Ball, Foster, and King. Her screaming guitar break is as poignant as her lyrics. It segues into the title cut, a rocking blue shuffle kissed by Texas R&B, centered around her tight, slippery riffing. "Let's Play a Game" is arguably the album's finest cut. A souled-out, socially aware secular gospel tune, it reflects on challenges in attempting to live and work while confronting crushing obstacles – spiritual, political, economic, and romantic. "Whistlin' Past the Graveyard Again," co-written with Alvin, is a swinging honky tonk blues with killer piano work from Young, the unruly vocals of Wonderland and King, and a swaggering groove until it breaks down into a whistling, lap steel-driven ragtime blues. "It Should Take" could have been written by Ball. In the pumping NOLA-tinged piano jam, her vocal claims the fore and won't let go. She also sings lead on a truly wonderful reading of Richard Manuel's "Orange Juice Blues." It's raw, loose, and rowdy with great vocal interplay between Ball, King, and Foster. The leader and Alvin engage in some sparking guitar work and take the solos further than the Band ever did. "Tattoos As His Talisman" is a sweaty bar-band boogie offered in grand Texas style with choogling, distorted guitars. "Flowers In Bloom" commences as a singer/songwriter ballad with lovely, sensitive guitar work from Wonderland and King, as their joined vocals ratchet up the drama. "Deepest Ocean Blue" weds a Gulf Coast groove to Caribbean rhythms in a celebration of love. Set closer "Blues for Gene" is for the other man the record is dedicated to: blues pianist Gene Taylor, whose stylistic range influenced Wonderland's. The conversation between hers and Alvin's guitars is tight. Truth Is stands with 2021's Tempting Fate in a continuum of modern blues, but it's far more diverse and direct in delivering a genuinely kaleidoscopic blues.

~ Thom Jurek, All Music

Discogs

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Track List:

01. Sooner Or Later [4:14]
02. I Ain't Going Back [2:54]
03. Truth Is [3:39]
04. Let's Play A Game [4:01]
05. Whistlin' Past The Graveyard Again [0:00]
06. It Should Take [2:26]
07. Wishful Thinking [4:17]
08. Orange Juice Blues [3:37]
09. Tattoos As His Talisman [3:30]
10. Flowers In Bloom [4:27]
11. Deepest Ocean Blue [3:52]
12. Blues For Gene [6:40]

EAC Log

Exact Audio Copy V1.6 from 23. October 2020

EAC extraction logfile from 3. July 2025, 19:03

Carolyn Wonderland / Truth Is

Used drive : PLEXTOR PX-891SAF Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -8 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "PERFORMER=%albuminterpret%" -T "COMPOSER=%composer%" -T "ALBUMARTIST=%albumartist%" -T "DISCNUMBER=%cdnumber%" -T "TOTALDISCS=%totalcds%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "COMMENT=%comment%" %source% -o %dest%

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 4:13.06 | 0 | 18980
2 | 4:13.06 | 2:54.00 | 18981 | 32030
3 | 7:07.06 | 3:38.50 | 32031 | 48430
4 | 10:45.56 | 4:00.09 | 48431 | 66439
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6 | 18:44.71 | 2:25.53 | 84371 | 95298
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8 | 25:26.58 | 3:36.55 | 114508 | 130762
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10 | 32:32.43 | 4:26.07 | 146443 | 166399
11 | 36:58.50 | 3:51.68 | 166400 | 183792
12 | 40:50.43 | 6:39.64 | 183793 | 213781

Track 1

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Extraction speed 4.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D160CAAF
Copy CRC D160CAAF
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [3E7A526C] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 2

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Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 4.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 95E2C931
Copy CRC 95E2C931
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [EE15C188] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 3

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Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 5.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 913368C2
Copy CRC 913368C2
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [C752B009] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 4

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\04 - Let's Play A Game.wav

Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 5.7 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 429FADB8
Copy CRC 429FADB8
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [52E33F9A] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 5

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Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 6.2 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 30DDA37B
Copy CRC 30DDA37B
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [EE91BBF3] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 6

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\06 - It Should Take.wav

Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 5.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 0086FD78
Copy CRC 0086FD78
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [C6152B05] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 7

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\07 - Wishful Thinking.wav

Peak level 96.3 %
Extraction speed 6.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2AE5C607
Copy CRC 2AE5C607
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [6364D8C5] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 8

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\08 - Orange Juice Blues.wav

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Copy CRC 1F70E323
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [68A9C46E] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 9

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\09 - Tattoos As His Talisman.wav

Peak level 96.4 %
Extraction speed 7.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 3C709B13
Copy CRC 3C709B13
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [DF82E1B2] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 10

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\10 - Flowers In Bloom.wav

Peak level 96.2 %
Extraction speed 7.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC C02A08B7
Copy CRC C02A08B7
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [77B4BCBF] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 11

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\11 - Deepest Ocean Blue.wav

Peak level 96.3 %
Extraction speed 7.6 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D68C7593
Copy CRC D68C7593
Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [742D294E] (AR v2)
Copy OK

Track 12

Filename M:\Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is (2025) [CD FLAC] {Alligator Records, ALCD 5026}\12 - Blues For Gene.wav

Peak level 96.3 %
Extraction speed 8.3 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 42922AFA
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Accurately ripped (confidence 4) [B17C4B9A] (AR v2)
Copy OK

All tracks accurately ripped

No errors occurred

End of status report

–– CUETools DB Plugin V2.1.6

[CTDB TOCID: ewFndsLtfyHtqg_UCfA22b03.cE-] found
Submit result: ewFndsLtfyHtqg_UCfA22b03.cE- has been confirmed
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
2 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
3 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
4 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
5 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
6 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
7 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
8 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
9 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
10 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
11 | (4/4) Accurately ripped
12 | (4/4) Accurately ripped

==== Log checksum FF907646A4160ED08ABBDA094A833700A01B8CCE3A541C76FB18277307BEBED6 ====

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