Album Notes

This newest recording from the Dale Thomas Band pays tribute to all the smiling faces that greet us as we play our one nighters in the Ballrooms of the Midwest. My choice of tunes is just like it is on the stage- a few tunes I know you want to hear, and some that I want to play and I want you to hear. Swinging steel guitar and pretty twin fiddles are my first love.

Once again, I recruited my daughter Melissa Spangler to supply us with the fiddle harmonies. Her fiddle and Kim Klima's sax chase my pedal steel throughout the recording. We even venture a few bars of dixieland sound just like we do at the ballroom.

"Coming Down", "Start My Heart", and "(The Prettiest Girl) At The Dance", are the original compositions I contributed. Carol, I wrote you a song.

A variety of tempos and new full three part instrumental and vocal arrangements are the forte of this beloved territory band. As CD reviewer Jim Musser said, "It's a gorgeous valentine." Dale


Album: At The Dance Review in PSG Newsletter.
Artist: Dale Thomas-Reviewer Mike Gross

It isn't very often that you come across a new album by an artist that you are not familiar with that you would rate as a ten on a scale of one to ten. Dale Thomas has a fantastic voice and plays a wicked steel and lead guitar as well as trumpet. The Dale Thomas Band on this recording compliments his voice and steel guitar styling with a magnificent sound on both Western Swing and ballads. On top of that, the standards sound as good as, if not better than, ever heard before and the new material hits you the first time that you listen. Yes, I am impressed!

The band supporting Dale on this album spotlights his daughter, Melissa Spangler on fiddles and Kim Klima on sax and clarinet. Jerome Vogel plays bass and David Saelens is the drummer. John Lake plays acoustic guitar and Mark Lauterwasser is the man on the keyboard.

The album opens with Dale swinging out on Fred Rose's Whose Heart Are You Breakin' Now from the Bob Wills library. Also from the Bob Wills book Dale reprises former Bob Wills vocalist Lee Ross' Heart To Heart Talk and the pop standard that Wills made Western Swing, Old Fashioned Love. There are so many nice surprises such as the gem in three quarter time Play Me The Waltz Of The Angels and Dale's own composition Comin' Down. Other Dale Thomas originals are a really swinging and fantastic Start My Heart and the beautiful The Prettiest Girl At The Dance. Other super ballads include When The Snow Is On The Roses, Moments Of Brilliance and The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder. Another dandy is Heart Game, which was written by Larry Smith who unfortunately passed away before this album was issued. Two other old favorites are also brought back. Scott Wiseman's Have I Told You Lately was a major Gene Autry hit and also recorded by another movie singing cowboy, Tex Ritter. Popular music standard Undecided is brought back with a swinging vocal by Dale.

Mike Gross, WVOF-FM, Fairfield, CT
September 16, 2002