Track Listing

1. The Hard Way
2. Tell Her
3. Don't Do Me No Favours
4. Carina
5. She's Got A Way
6. Til The End
7. Hand It Over
8. Jacqueline
9. Class Act
10. Ain't Goin' Nowhere
11. Believe Me Baby
12. Strange But True

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11706 in Music
• Released on: 2008-05-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 39 minutes

Customer Reviews

Mr.Hunter does it again - with style
Many of us have been eagerly waiting to see just how James Hunter would follow his highly acclaimed grammy-nominated album of 2006,"People Gonna Talk".Thankfully,he has once again evoked the warm,sweet sounds of the late '50s and early '60s,and somehow made them his own.This time round there are more complex arrangements,involving strings,additional instruments,backing vocals and all manner of clever touches,but it's all done in such a way it simply melts together into a rich,delicious whole,and feels surprisingly uncontrived.

Throughout the album,from the first infectious title track,with its backing vocal from music legend,Allen Toussaint,we hear exquisite arrangements combined with emotive vocals.By contrast,the stripped-to-the-bare-bones reworking of "Strange But True" is daringly uncomplicated - just the man and his guitar - but it's perfect.No more is necessary.

Stand-out tracks for me include the achingly beautiful "Hand It Over", with its gentle longing,the rockin' "Jacqueline",that surely even Jackie Wilson would have been proud of,"Carina",with its summery ska beat and "Class Act",which bounces along with James' trademark wit and humour.Having said that,there isn't a duff song on here - a testament to the songwriting skills of Mr.Hunter,who penned the lot.The upbeat Latin rhythms that the band are so good at are once again prevalent in "Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and the interesting reworking of "Believe Me Baby";the latter featuring Allen Toussaint's piano prowess alongside James' impressive fretwork."'Til the End" provides some moody blues and there's a new smooth sophistication to "Tell Her",with its horn and mellow,understated vocal,but it's still reassuring to hear James let rip on "She's Got a Way" and "Don't Do Me No Favours" as only he knows how.

Do see these guys live if you ever get the chance.They deliver the same effortless musicianship you hear on CD,but with an unbelievable added sweat value,derived from their relentless drive and energy!

Soul music that actually has soul.
Back in the 80s James was the acceptable face of blues as far as the NME was concerned, operating as Howling Wilf and the Veejays. That outfit was much more Chicago Blues orientated. I still have some of the vinyl and its great. Over the years though he has tilted more towards classic soul. His last album , People Gonna Talk, really nailed it. Fabulous songwriting, vocals like Sam Cooke, guitar like Howling Wolf's sideman Hubert Sumlin, lush horn riffage reminiscent of early James Brown, slabs of funky hammond. It was a terrific record and I'm surprised it didn't make him a household name. This follow up has if anything even stronger songwriting. Really tight pop soul numbers. The band sounds similar, with perhaps the addition of more strings along the way. I'd add the Drifters to the list of components this time out. The production is also once again excellent.

Some people are talking about James in the same breathe as Amy Winehouse and wondering why he is not as successful. I believe it is because although Amy references a lot of music from the same era as James, her records have a modern spin and modern lyrical concerns. James is a full on retro performer. It is difficult to tell if these songs come from 1968 or 2008. That can be nice. But I for one would love to hear producer Mark Ronson do a makeover on James Hunter - keep the classic references but give it a modern spin rather than stick entirely retro.

That said, this disc does not disappoint, and I hope James gets the success he deserves for this beautiful life-affirming music. Not all soul music these days actually has soul. James Hunter has it in spades though.

James makes it look easy
James has had limited success in Britain on the blues/R&B circuit (where he was previously known as Howlin' Wilf) but in the last few years in the US he has enjoyed Grammy nominations for his 'People gonna talk' CD, nationwide tours and national TV appearances. I saw him on last year's San Francisco Blues Festival where, despite sharing the bill with established stars like Alan Toussaint, John Hammond, Charlie Musslewhite, Robert Randolph etc, he was (by far) the best thing on all weekend.

This follow-up to 'People gonna talk' was recorded in London's White Stripes-endorsed analogue Toe Rag studios and again sounds fabulous, straight from the late 50s. The sound, arrangements and indeed some of the songs are very similar to 'People gonna talk' but why change a winning formula? In truth some of the tracks have additional instruments (e.g. the strings and back up vocals on 'Hand it over' and the pedal steel on 'Carina') but the feel remains the same. It's easy to see James influences - Sam Cooke ('Carina') Ray Charles ('Don't do me no favours'), Sam Cooke ('The Hard Way', James Brown ('Believe me baby') - but what better influences to have? Alan Toussaint joins James for several tracks - possibly as a result of the meeting in San Francisco - but James' regular keyboard player Kyle Koeljer is also excellent throughout this CD, as are all his regular band.

If you liked 'People gonna talk' you will like 'The Hard Way', which has exactly the same feel and overall (excellent) sound but has just enough progressions to keep it interesting. In many ways James is doing similar material to Amy Winehouse, Dufy, Mark Ronson but doing it much more authentically; it's a pity he can't share their popularity in his own country.