Ural Thomas & The Pain

Universally recognized as one of the most exciting singers remaining from the original soul era, 82 year-old Ural Thomas and his band The Pain just released their third LP "Dancing Dimensions." Thomas initially made his name in the 1960s with stone cold soul classic releases like "Pain Is The Name of Your Game," "Can You Dig It," "Deep Soul," and his 1964 recording debut with The Monterays "Push - Em Up." After a musical journey that commenced in his native Portland, Oregon, and led to Los Angeles, Cincinnati, and New York, sharing stages with everyone from James Brown to Stevie Wonder to Otis Redding to Etta James, Thomas became disillusioned with the music business and returned home to the city of roses at the end of the decade - where he continues to reign as Portland's uncontested Soul Brother Number One. In 2014 Ural met drummer/bandleader Scott Magee at a Sunday jam session he'd been hosting for decades and Ural Thomas and The Pain was born. The full showband set to work, prolifically gigging, touring the world, and releasing four critically acclaimed records (two LPs and two singles) between 2015 and 2018. Despite the usual COVID-19 obstacles, The Pain finally completed their much-anticipated third album in 2021.  While "Dancing Dimensions" explores everything from sweet Chicago soul to airy West Coast psychedelia to Sly funk, their latest collection retains the distinctive sound this well-oiled tightly-knit musical aggregation organically developed over years of relentless work. Classic yet unmistakably contemporary at the same time, "Dancing Dimensions" is the most accurate representation of The Pain's unique flavor, power, and musical breadth committed to vinyl thus far.