James Hunter - The Hard Way (2008)

James Hunter is one of the best (and one of the few) British blue-eyed soul
singers to emerge in the late 20th century. Hunter began his roots music
career in the '80s under the name Howlin' Wilf. His solo recordings feature
rhythm & blues in the style of the '50s, pitched between R&B, early rock &
roll, and early soul. His 1994 solo debut, "Believe What I Say", had guest
appearances by Doris Troy and Van Morrison, and Hunter appeared on a couple
of Morrison's mid-'90s albums, as well as performing as part of Morrison's
Rhythm & Blues Revue.

Although his commercial fortunes had not yet matched theirs by the time
this album was released, James Hunter had been promoting the revival of
classic-era soul for a couple decades before fellow Brits Amy Winehouse,
Corinne Bailey Rae, and Joss Stone came along. His command of the idiom has
never been less than thorough and convincing - without knowing that the
songs on "The Hard Way" were newly recorded, anyone might guess that this
retro feast was a long-lost gem from 1966.

Hunter's voice is equal parts grits and silk, somewhere between Sam Cooke
smooth and Bobby Blue Bland scorched, and his small combo of sympathetic
players could easily have found work in the studios of Hi, Stax, or Chess
back when this style reigned. Compared to Hunter's last, 2006's
Grammy-nominated 2People Gonna Talk", "The Hard Way", his debut for Hear
Music, is a tad tougher - the horns are more prominent and sharper,
Hunter's guitar has more bite to it, and the rhythms cut deeper - and
quicker; at times Hunter veers closer to soul-rock than he has in the past,
but he's still working well within his favorite genre.

Hunter, as always, is a riveting vocalist - his singing grabs and never
lets go. He handles both the lazy, bluesy tunes and the sweatier uptempo
R&B with equal commitment and style, sounding as natural as can be as he
tells his tales of love and the lack of it. On the slinky blues ballad
"'Til The End," one of a few tunes on which he is joined by New Orleans
legend Allen Toussaint, Hunter takes his time spilling out his doomsday
scenario of a relationship gone down while the drums, bass, and horns lope
along minimally.

When he unfurls his brief guitar solo midway, it's economical but searing.
On the rocking "Jacqueline" a doo-woppy chorus and squalling sax fill in
the holes, and for the title track, a Cooke ringer, the Echo Strings add
muscle and sass to the arrangement. Dancefloor denizens once ached for
tunes this beat-crazy and would do well to reacquaint themselves with the
real deal via James Hunter.