ONE LINERS

Comfortable as your favorite loafers; smooth as Kentucky Bourbon.

          Allen Tomlinson
          NO'ALA Magazine

 

 [Maggie's House] is about bringing one back to what’s real and cherished... an entertaining portrait of small-town people getting down back in the day... a well-produced and honest album with a lot of personality."  June 17, 2011

          Jed Pressgrove
          The Daily Vault

 

 Stop by Maggie’s House for a visit. You won’t regret it.

          David Kidney
          Sleeping Hedgehog

 

The album (Maggie's House) has the feel of a scrapbook stored in the attic, with soda straws, movie tickets and scalloped-edge black-and-white photographs taped to fading pages.

          Rheta Grimsley Johnson
          Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

[Maggie's House] a timely reminder that a return trip to the UK by these hugely talented siblings is grossly overdue.

          Lionel Ross
          bluesinthenorthwest.com

 

[Maggie's House] is a tip of the hat to growing up as part of the Baby Boomer generation in the North Mississippi Hills...

The appreciative laughs and spontaneous applause showed how deeply the Thomas Brothers understand the time and place they're singing about - and how people can connect with it.

           Bobby J. Smith
           The Daily Corinthian

 

"Maggie's House is a repository of memories that many of us Boomers share -- everything from transistor radios to dance shows on television and Boy Scout jamborees."

          Rheta Grimsley Johnson
          Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

"Maggie's House" is a Soundtrack of Small-Town Memories.

...the brothers Thomas took to the stage to not only play music from the new project, but also to tell stories that clearly wove their way through the crowd's collective memories.

          Pamela McRae
          Tishomingo County News

 

Eddie's songs come with stories, and he has that knack all good storytellers share: using the evocative detail...

          Rheta Grimsley Johnson
          Nationally Syndicated Columnist

 

 “All you need to do to get Frank and Eddie to reminisce about the (Angels on the Backroads) stops behind them is ask, and the stories flow like the mighty Mississippi.”

          Liane Hansen
          Weekend Edition Sunday 
          National Public Radio

Some artists create works with a subtle sense of place.  Frank and Eddie Thomas overtly push that approach to the limit.

          Dirty Linen Magazine

Inspiring in idea and execution.

          Living Blues Magazine

I can't think offhand of another album where the recording engineer is listed as one of the artists, but in this case it is wholly appropriate.

          Jelly Magazine

...an encyclopedia’s worth of knowledge built on an exhaustive, fresh-eyed study of the blues.

          Rheta Grimsley Johnson     
          Nationally Syndicated Columnist


 The best CD produced by a Mississippi artist this year is Part Four of Angels on the Backroads by brothers Eddie and Frank Thomas of Iuka.

          John Branston      
          Memphis Flyer

An absolutely magical journey down the Mississippi with wonderful film and photographic images accompanying stories and songs – if you get the chance to see this show, grab it with both hands!

The Thomas Brothers have produced a work of considerable achievement, and it is conveyed with a sense of total commitment to what they do.

This is much more than a labor of love from the brothers.  It is an inspired and visionary collection documenting the birth, infancy and subsequent progression of delta and country blues.

          Blues in Britain Magazine

After nearly nine years of work, Frank and Eddie Thomas have released Angels on the Backroads (www.angelsonthebackroads.com), a four-CD set of 65 blues and jazz songs that trace the musical path of Highway 61 from Memphis to New Orleans.

          Acoustic Guitar Magazine

…watermelon-sized slice through the spectrum of Delta music.

          The Tunica Times

Whether you are a passionate blues aficionado, a neophyte or just searching for something unique, historically significant and totally sincere, I heartily recommend Eddie and Frank Thomas’ Angels on the Backroads – one of the most fascinating recordings of recent vintage.

          Michael Dominici
          Where Y’at Magazine

Singing birds, barking dogs, and gusting winds only added to the authenticity of the brothers’ live music recordings.

          Mississippi Magazine

Anywhere they find musical roots, the Thomases dig in and record.  They have done their homework, mostly at the University of Mississippi’s extensive blues archives – selecting the songs, learning their history, delving into musical minutia such as exactly how each original artist tuned his guitar.

          The Atlanta Journal – Constitution
          Atlanta, Georgia

…a wonderful expression of the heart.

          Tom Lopez
          President
          ZBS Productions

…The Thomases have hit upon something.  They’ve tapped into the living myth of the blues…

          Bill Ellis
          The Commercial Appeal
          Memphis, TN

A pair of Iuka (Mississippi) brothers decided to let music guide them, and that’s made for quite a journey.

          Scott Morris
          Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

…thank you for your performance and workshop.  I really appreciated your work, and all the reviews were very positive.  Let’s try to do it again next year.

          Dr. Luther Brown, Director
          The Delta Center for Culture and Learning
          Delta State University

The series has been wonderful.  Thank you for this great musical discovery!

          Kelly Johnson
          Ketchikan Public Library
          Ketchikan, Alaska

The music, vocally and instrumentally, has an honesty and a simplicity that touches the soul.  (Mississippi)

These men have traveled the roads of American music history and have recreated this music in the most honest way possible.  In this day and age of sampling, over dubbing, multi tracking, and over production, that two men made this journey and have created a living memorial to America’s music is nothing less than extraordinary. (Greenwich, CT)

Thanks for putting together a classy piece of work  (Pittsburg, PA)

I think what you have done recording songs from the area you traveled really gives me a better understanding and appreciation for that part of the country and the history of its music.  (Eugene, Oregon)

…awesome songs, awesome performances, awesome packaging!!  (Littleton, Colorado)

I envy your skill, your sensitive arrangements, your humble almost spiritual desire to honor these artists and your ability to pull something tangible out of the air of these places and get it down on ‘record’ – it comes through loud and clear.
(Jamaica Plains, MA)

(the Thomas brothers) have found and shared the heart of that special music and the people who created it, and, along the way, you have captured a sense of place with its ambient sound that is remarkable.  (Anacortes, Washington)

Your music is great! (Denver, Colorado)

You guys are doing a wonderful thing educating people on the story of the blues!  Keep up the good work! (Auburndale, Massachusetts)

Your music is timeless and I believe will contribute a lot to blues history.

          Keith Dockery McLean
          Dockery Farms
          Sunflower County, Mississippi

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