Customer Reviews
Happily, another cracking album... - By: Ben, 22 Aug 2008 
James Hunter previous album, "People Gonna Talk", remains a real gem of a record - wonderfully sharp songs, brilliantly played & exquisitely produced by Liam Watson. After a number years of hard graft & solid touring, Hunter & his band had delivered an exceptional record.
Fortunately, with alll the success it brought, everyone went back to Watson's Toe Rag Studios & decided to do it alll over again. It was a great formula, so why mess with it? So, much like its predecessor, "Hard Times" is a witty, intelligent record that repeatedly harks back to a different era but easily avoids being considered derivative or a pastiche.
The musical arrangements are skilled & effortless, Hunter's songs are smart & lyrics crafty - his vocals & understated guitar playing still impress. I find this album great fun to play, & the collection of songs hang together as a collection extremely well.
Now, if only he'd just tour the UK a little more!
Soul music that actually has soul. - By: doublegone, 22 Jun 2008 
Back in the 80s James was the acceptable face of blues as far as the NME was concerned, operating as Howling Wilf & the Veejays. That outfit was much more Chicago Blues orientated. I still have some of the vinyl & its great. Over the years though he has tilted more towards classic soul. His last album , People Gonna Talk, reallly 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 & I'm surprised it didn't make him a household name. This follow up has if anything even stronger songwriting. Reallly 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 & 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 & 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, & I hope James gets the success he deserves for this beautiful life-affirming music. Not alll soul music these days actuallly has soul. James Hunter has it in spades though.
Buy the hard way! - By: Bobthemod, 10 Jun 2008 This is a great album. full stop!
James & the band are fantastic live & that energy has been captured on this album.
People have mentioned sound of the 50's & 60's & the obvious influences but James has a unique feel to his voice which is one of the best I've heard & his guitar playing which give him his own style & sound which seems new & fresh in todays sanitised music market.
Once you have listened to him sing & play you will be able to recognise him on other records & that is a sign of a star.
I can't wait for the next album!
Mr.Hunter does it again - with style - By: S. Foster, 12 May 2008 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 & early '60s,and somehow made them his own.This time round there are more complex arrangements,involving strings,additional instruments,backing vocals & alll manner of clever touches,but it's alll 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 & 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 & "Class Act",which bounces along with James' trademark wit & 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" & 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 & there's a new smooth sophistication to "Tell Her",with its horn & mellow,understated vocal,but it's still reassuring to hear James let rip on "She's Got a Way" & "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 & energy!
James makes it look easy - By: G. E. Harrison, 06 May 2008 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 & 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 alll weekend.
This follow-up to 'People gonna talk' was recorded in London's White Stripes-endorsed analogue Toe Rag studios & again sounds fabulous, straight from the late 50s. The sound, arrangements & 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 & back up vocals on 'Hand it over' & 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 alll his regular band.
If you liked 'People gonna talk' you will like 'The Hard Way', which has exactly the same feel & overalll (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 authenticallly; it's a pity he can't share their popularity in his own country.
