With a cover of “It’s Raining” by Irma Thomas, The Warm Covers EP, Vol. 2 is now complete. LINK IN BIO 🎧 You’ll hear talk of "desert island discs", and I have never figured out why I would only be allowed five of them if I had the wherewithal to own a private island. But, I guarantee you Irma Thomas would find a place in my lonely, sandy stack of five. For me, the producer/artist relationship of Thomas and Allen Toussaint is one of the all-time greats. I can never grow tired of their work together, and "It's Raining" is one of their earliest, maybe among the first. This one is probably the least "experimental" of their charting tunes, but its innocence and sparse arrangement has led to a bajillion covers and placement in movies such as Jim Jarmusch's "Down By Law". (That ostensibly sweet and melancholy dancing scene between Bob and Nicoletta always makes me uncomfortable; as regular human behavior usually does.) Mine is arguably a more sinister-sounding treatment than most covers of the tune, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Factory noise has replaced the ubiquitous rain sound effect on Thomas' and other covers of the tune. Alex Hall layed down an almost silent, droning Moog line against the main melody to add a little disconcert. Irma Thomas' music inspires me to no end. Her original version of "Time is On My Side" (greatest piano intro ever) is superior to any old stone that rolled after it. Who else had tracks that sounded like "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)" during the time it was recorded? If you ever come visit my island, I'll definitely spin some Irma for us. I hope you enjoy the new companion to the Warm Covers series. More to come? “It’s Raining” Original Artist: Irma Thomas 1962 MUSICIANS: JD McPherson - vocals, guitar Doug Corcoran - organ Beau Sample - acoustic bass Alex Hall - drums, Moog 🛏 #irmathomas #allentoussaint #warmcovers #jdmcpherson #dougcorcoran #beausample #alexhall #newwestrecords