James Hunter - People Gonna Talk
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Free Music Notes for People Gonna Talk
Free Music Review: The Hard Way
Hit: 5 Stars
After seeing Mr. Hunter at a Blues Festival in California and purchasing People Gonna Talk. I was sold that he would be a major icon in the music industry. The Hard Way is perfect evidence of that. Especially the fact that the album was recorded live in the studio with an anolog system, which is unheard of these days. I can't wait to see him again in Santa Barbara where I have tickets to that concert.
In my opinion there's not enough stars to hand out to this guy.It is a must buy album to every R&B fan in the world.
Free Music Review: Really smooth, bluesy and very, very cool
Hit: 5 Stars
I have never written a review for Amazon before, but this CD is good enough for me to try my hand. I was lucky enough to see James Hunter last month at the Tampa Bay Blues Fest. Three days and fifteen bands later, I bought one CD, and this was it. He blew the crowd away, and was the talk of the weekend. I have seen all the reviews comparing James Hunter to Sam Cooke, and with good reason. But he is more than just a good singer. He put on a fun show, very entertaining. He has quite a sense of humor. He is a really good writer, his band is incredible, and he is no slouch as a guitarist either! I hope to be lucky enough to catch another of his live shows in the near future.
"Great," you say, "glad to hear he is a performer I'd enjoy seeing." But we've all had that experience of buying a CD and then finding it just not-quite-as-good-as-we-had-hoped? Well, not this time. The husband and I have played and played this CD, and have shared it with anyone who will listen. If you are reading reviews trying to decide of you should buy this album I can only say "Go for it!" Whether you will enjoy it as a great contemporary soul album, or as a blast from the past..I can't tell. But if you have gotten as far as coming here to check this out and are hedging your bets until someone convinces you? Take the plunge. You won't be sorry! (PS...I can't wait for James Hunter's next release..I hear it is slated for June 2008. No brainer...it's mine!)
Free Music Review: Smokin'!
Hit: 5 Stars
People Gonna Talk is a decidedly retro album- released in 2006, it feels and sounds like a 60s soul platter, complete with skintight horns, hip-grindin' rhythms, tube-shredding guitar runs, and the like. Now, this may seem like nothing more than a glorified vanity project, some white square's Otis Redding dress-up fantasy and nothing more. And that is undoubtedly what some people will denounce it as. And they'd be right if James Hunter wasn't so f***ing talented. He's an incredible performer, with a gift for raw, smoldering vocals and nerve-jangling guitar runs. He can preach the blues with the best of `em, at times channeling Wilson Pickett and Sam Cooke. Plus, he's a hell of a songwriter. These tunes sound so authentic, so firmly rooted in the juke joints and nightclubs of mid-century America, that it's hard to believe that everything on this album is a Hunter original. And he doesn't rely on clich? or convention, either; this guy has obviously spent a lot of time around a whole heap of Bobby "Blue" Bland, Ray Charles, Al Green, and Rufus Thomas records, digging deep into the essence of their sound, mapping out every irresistible nook and cranny, and translating his findings into pure musical gold. Plus, he's got a first rate band (love that mini horn section!). The result is an engrossing, exciting, rollicking, and unbelievably fun record, an album that drips with joy and rage and rawness and sex. If it had been released back in the 60s, we'd all be calling it a masterpiece of the genre.Free Music Review: If You Think The CD is Great ......... You Should See Him Live
Hit: 5 Stars
I saw James Hunter last night opening for Los Lobos at Lehigh Valley University in Pennsylvania. While his velvety soulful voice was evident, his band was also surprising. The rhythm section that never missed a beat was backed up by an organ and two saxophones that added extra punch to every song. James is an artist that can benefit greatly by the come back of single room, live studio recording. It's one of those acts that (in years to come) you can tell people; I saw him when......Free Music Review: Hunter shines, although several songs are recycled from his sophomore album
Hit: 5 Stars
On People Gonna Talk, James Hunter's third album after ...Believe What I Say on Ace UK and Kick It Around on RUF Records, Hunter is at his blusiest and his band is at their tightest. A prime example of blue-eyed soul, Hunter began his career as Howlin' Wilf on vocals, guitar and harp with the Vee-Jays before tackling a solo career. His unique sound is an homage to early soul and R&B greats such as Sam Cooke and Ray Charles.
On People Gonna Talk, Hunter rerecords several tracks from his acclaimed (and hard-to-find) second album Kick It Around, including Mollena, Kick It Around, It's Easy To Say, and Tell Her For Me. This isn't really an issue since Hunter's songs are original, but after a wait of several years between his second and third albums, I'd expected more new material, particularly since Kick It Around clocked in at a scant half-hour.
The album opens with the uber-catchy People Gonna Talk, with its playful pizzicato strings and relaxed brass. No Smoke Without Fire features a funky guitar, Hammond organ, and James Brown punchy brass for some pure funk bliss. One of my favorites has to be Riot In My Heart, which sounds like some long-lost Ray Charles gospel-influenced gem (check out his delivery on the chorus; pure Ray = pure genius). Till Your Fool Comes Home channels a bit of Reverend Al along with the piano. Mollena is even more beautiful; it's a slow, soft love song in the style of Sam Cooke. The soulful blues solo on All Through Cryin' has hints of B.B. King.
People Gonna Talk finds Hunter and his tight band experimenting with different sounds such as ska (the title track), funk, gospel, and soul/blues-influenced R&B straight outta the '50s-early 1970s. This broadened horizon is a big step forward for Hunter, and improves on one of my main complaints of his Ace debut, that of the fact that the earlier backing tracks sounded the same from song to song. Also, Hunter's authentically retro recording method (all the musicians record together in the studio; no digital wizardry and no phoned-in performances) results in an absolutely astounding sound that has been lost in modern times.