Irma Thomas and Galactic Share Nancy Wilson Cover, Previewing Collaborative Album ‘Audience with the Queen’
by Relix Media
Photo Credit: Katie Sikora
Galactic and Irma Thomas have shared the third preview single from their collaborative project Audience With The Queen, due to release on April 11 via Tchuop-Zilla Records. With the album opener “How Glad I Am,” the esteemed jam-funk ensemble and legendary Soul Queen of New Orleans show a more subtle side of their enticing hybrid sound, letting Thomas’ vocals lead a powerful reimagining of Nancy Wilson’s 1964 soul standard.
“How Glad I Am” is the lone cover on the upcoming album, selected for its enduring resonance and delivered as a testament to the deep stylistic roots that inform their intergenerational team-up. The treatment swaps the blissful day-dreaming of Wilson’s original for a deeper gospel-inspired sound, complete with light touches like rumbling cello, whirring organ and a soul-stirring backing choir that lift up Thomas’ voice.
“‘How Glad I Am’ has always been one of my all-time favorite tunes, and after hearing Irma tell Dick Clark on American Bandstand when she was a teenager that she loved Nancy Wilson, we just had to include it,” Galactic saxophonist and co-founder Ben Ellman shared in a release. “We tried different approaches, but hearing Irma’s voice stripped down when we were rehearsing it steered us into letting her voice drive the whole song.”
“As much as we wanted to avoid cover songs on the album, we thought a true makeover of this song from Irma’s youth would connect,” co-founding bassist Robert Mercurio reflected. “Our version has a much darker, yet still uplifting tone to it. As the opening track, it acts as an overture to the album.”
“The fact that I’m sounding better now than I did when I was 20, that is definitely surprising me!” Thomas said of the collaboration. “But I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I’ve been singing a long time and I’ve learned what I can and cannot do with my voice.”
While Galactic’s 10 previous studio offerings have centered the instrumental quintet of Ellman, Mercurio, Stanton Moore, Jeff Raines and Rich Vogel alongside rotating guest vocalists, Audience With The Queen takes a sharp turn with contributions from Thomas on all nine tracks. Beyond her tremendous vocal talents, the Grammy-winning icon worked closely with Ellman and Mercurio to write and refine eight brand-new songs for their collaboration–including the earlier singles “Lady Liberty” and “Where I Belong.”
Audience With The Queen is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Listen to “How Glad I Am” below. For more information on Galactic and their 2025 tour itinerary, visit galacticfunk.com.
Read on for the full tracklist of Audience With The Queen.
Audience With The Queen – Galactic and Irma Thomas: 1. How Glad I Am 2. Where I Belong 3. Love’s Gonna Find A Way Again 4. Lady Liberty 5. Puppet on Your String 6. Peace in my Heart 7. People 8. Over You 9. Be Your Lady
