-->
Leon G. Thomas III (born August 1, 1993) is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and actor. After early roles in Broadway and providing the singing voice of Tyrone on the Nick Jr. animated series The Backyardigans (2006–2008), he played André Harris on the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010–2013), for which he received a NAACP Image Award nomination.
Thomas signed to Columbia and Rostrum Records, and sought success for his songwriting, and as a member of the production duo the Rascals. Read more on Last.fm
This album is a less calculated attempt than its follow-up, “The Leon Thomas Album,” to showcase Thomas’s immense and versatile talents and as a result is a considerably more laid back affair. The first side of the record is especially calm, with peaceful performances of “The Creator Has a Master Plan” and “Song For My Father” being the highlight. Thomas does let loose a bit on “One,” unleashing his trademark yodeling style and showing off some great scat singing unlike much else in his catalog.
The second side livens things up a bit with the rant “Damn Nam,” an anti-war song that spices things up before “Malcolm’s Gone,” which is presumably the sort of thing people who were listening to this in 1969 would have expected: an avant-garde collaboration with Pharoah Sanders that sees both men testing the limits of their respective instruments. The result is breathtaking. Thomas cools things down on the last number, “Let the Rain Fall on Me,” which re-establishes the calm mood of the side’s first half. This is a nice album for a relaxed afternoon, not too challenging but not pure ambiance either.