Carolyn Wonderland - Truth Is

Release date: May 16, 2025

Alligator Records

By Donna Herula

photo by: Roman Sobus

Truth Is – is another terrific album from Carolyn Wonderland, the second on Alligator Records and ninth in total.  The album is thoroughly enjoyable and demonstrates consistency and variety -- consistency with Wonderland’s strong and soaring vocals throughout the album (I love her slow vibrato and wide-open voice), killer guitar solos and slide guitar licks plus interesting songwriting. 

As far as variety – there is literally something for everyone on this album.  Songs range from blues, country, jazz, southern-rock, hard rock, adult contemporary, gospel, funk, New Orleans, and even a Latin Mambo!!!  This is proof that she can sing and play any style and make it sound great. 

Of the 12 tracks on this album, Wonderland wrote six, co-wrote three with Dave Alvin --(The Blasters) who is also this album’s producer -- and  with band members Shelley King, Naj Conklin and Giovanni Carnuccio III.  The album was recorded and mixed by Stuart Sullivan at Wire Recording at Point West, Austin, TX (additional engineers: Drew Potter and Pete Caponi) and mastered by Collin Jordan and Alligator’s Bruce Iglauer at the Boiler Room in Chicago IL. 

Wonderland’s band is tight.  It boasts a really fabulous rhythm section with incredible musicianship including band members: Naj Conklin on electric and upright bass and Giovanni “Nooch” Carnuccio on drums and percussion – with others adding in on certain tracks including Shelley King (harmony vocals, acoustic guitar), Dave Alvin (electric guitar), Red Young (B3 organ, piano), Bukka Allen (piano, B3 organ), Kevin Lane (percussion), Ruthie Foster (vocals), Marcia Ball (vocals, piano), Cindy Cashdollar (lap steel guitar), Henri Herbert (piano), and Stuart Sullivan (percussion).  Wonderland sings and plays electric guitar and lap steel. 

I’ve seen Wonderland play live pre-pandemic at the Prairie Du Chien Blues Festival and she is an awe-inspiring live performer that takes command of the stage.  I was glad to hear that this studio album reflected the spirit of her live performances. 

The album opens with “Sooner or Later” – a catchy song with an intoxicating, hypnotic slide guitar hook throughout that doubles up with Wonderland’s top-notch vocals.  It’s one of my favorites on the album and sure to please listeners with its driving rock groove. 

Next up is the funky, gospel rock tune “I Ain’t Going Back” that describes one woman’s resolve to leave and not go “back again” as she has “open eyes” and “gotten wise” with a “will too strong to break or bend.”  The song features funky bass, organ and drums with a smoldering guitar solo and ascending lines from amazing back-up gospel singers (Ruthie Foster, Marcia Ball, and Shelley King), which add intensity and bring the song to a satisfying climax.

“Deepest Ocean Blues” is a really fun and danceable song with its relaxed Latin Mambo percussion beat, piano, and catchy guitar licks reminiscent of Santana.  It begins with some really great opening lines, “Watercolored sky, as waves go crashing by, finally we have made it out to sea.  Loosing track of time. Looking for those friends of mine.  It’s fine as long as you are here with me.”  I could see this song becoming a big hit on the Blues Cruise!  Wonderland’s wonderfully smooth vocal lines in this song describe dancing on the warm summer sand or on a moonlight serenade. 

Hard rockers will love the fun head-banging song, “Tattoos as His Talisman” with a cool distorted rhythm guitar lick throughout the song, which is about her large, silent, tattooed friend who would “wear your crown around his wrist and it fits, ‘cause he’s a bigger man.”  Wonderland warns a man who is trying to start trouble with her friend. Bukka Allen contributes some nice organ here.  At the end of the song, the meaning of a “bigger man” cleverly changes to someone who is strong but chooses not to engage with someone egging him on to fight. 

Wonderland and her band do a great job covering a Richard Manuel blues tune that Bob Dylan/The Band also covered called “Orange Juice Blues.”  Wonderland talks about getting sick of her partner’s friends hanging around the house too much and decides to leave and not come back.  Wonderland’s version is set to a classic thump de thump on the rhythm guitar but with a different twist from the original with Cashdollar on lap steel, Ball on piano and back-up vocals, King on back-up vocals; and another short but nice guitar solo from Wonderland gives this song a blues and country feel. “Why can't you get right? Try to get right, baby? You haven't been right with me…Don't you remember how it used to be?”

“Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard Again” stands out with a country feel and includes Cindy Cashdollar having fun on lap steel, Red Young on piano, and Carolyn’s great vocals and guitar solo.  The tune ends with a change to the upbeats and Wonderland’s whistling.  It’s a song about wanting to stay out and have a good time as “tomorrow morning won’t be near as fun.  Hoping next paycheck will bring more to spend.” 

“Wishful Thinking” is a heartfelt and reflective song with a pretty melody about wanting to go back to undo what happened in the past.  “I wish that everything that ever fell apart could come back together again.  Exploding backwards into perfection, but that’s just wishful thinking.”  The slower Adult Contemporary style includes a great rhythm section as well a really nice guitar solo.  This song was one of the two covers on the album and written by a Houston songwriter Greg Wood with Eddie Hawkins. 

A perfect way to end the album is “Blues for Gene” a tribute to Gene Taylor, a career boogie-woogie pianist, who died in unfortunate circumstances in Austin, TX in 2021.   Wonderland sings about how she misses him and would love to buy him a few drinks if she could see him again.  Although the song first features back and forth guitar solos between the co-writers Wonderland and Alvin (one with a tip of the hat to Buddy Guy’s sound and style), the song ends by breaking out into a fun solo piano boogie-woogie by pianist Henri Herbert – a sweet and heartfelt goodbye to Wonderland’s and Alvin’s lifelong friend.

Other cool songs on the album include:

The fun and upbeat “Truth Is” with its lively guitar riffs and extended guitar solo that’s nicely supported by the organ and rhythm section.  Clever words abound in the title track. 

“Let’s Play a Game” has a slow, soulful, southern rock feel.  “Peace without justice is just freedom denied,” she declares. 

The New Orleans tune “It Should Take” highlights a Big Easy drum beat and piano. 

“Flowers in Bloom” starts off as a classic jazz song, but then morphs into Janis Joplin-like vocal intensity.

Regarding Wonderland as a performer and personally, I am seconding a quote that I saw from Ray Benson, founder of the multiple Grammy-winning band Asleep At the Wheel, “Carolyn’s got that unbelievable, incredible voice, one of the great voices of our times.  She’s also an incredible guitar player and a great person.  The combination is disarming and totally real. That’s magic.” British blues icon John Mayall hired Wonderland to act as his Bluesbreakers Band’s lead guitarist for the last three years of his road life. As the first female Bluesbreaker, Wonderland follows in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya and more.

The one time that I met Wonderland, my husband and I opened for her at a small blues festival in Wisconsin.  She came early to see our full set and afterwards gave us a bottle of hot sauce that her husband made.  She was so down-to-earth!!  Then she and her band went on to perform a killer set of music that was enjoyable, fun and heartfelt.  The audience loved her.  It was a really great memory for me!

In summary, Wonderland does it again with Truth Is - a second incredible album with Alligator Records.  The album shines with superb vocals and guitar playing, cleverly crafted songs and solid musicianship from her excellent band and special guests.  I highly recommend this album as a “must add” to your collection.  

About the Author: Donna Herula is a music educator, blues singer, slide guitarist and songwriter from Chicago. @ donnaherula.com

For more information, go to: https://carolynwonderland.com/

To stream or purchase the album: https://www.alligator.com/albums/Truth-Is/

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