James Hunter
People Gonna Talk

(Go/Rounder)

First Appeared in The Music Box, May 2006, Volume 13, #5

Written by John Metzger

England’s James Hunter has been trying for years to turn his music career into a steady-paying gig, but despite Van Morrison’s high-profile support, he unjustly has remained a virtually unknown commodity, particularly within the U.S. market. Nevertheless, the release of his latest endeavor People Gonna Talk ought to garner him some long overdue attention on both sides of the Atlantic. Although the album is a hodgepodge of sorts that augments nine new songs with five reworked selections from his previous outings — one tune was plucked from Believe What I Say, while four tracks were scavenged from Kick It Around — the entirety of the remarkably unified set glistens with the summery sweetness of late ’50s/early ’60s soul.

Hunter’s modus operandi since his debut has been to adhere quite closely to the stylistic forays of his heroes, and People Gonna Talk does little to signal a change in his approach. Shades of Ben E. King drift through I’ll Walk Away and You Can’t Win; ’Til Your Fool Comes Home and Riot in My Heart invoke Ray Charles; and there’s enough of Sam Cooke’s spirit floating through all of the vocals and arrangements that, at times, People Gonna Talk easily could be mistaken for a long lost recording. Wisely, producer Liam Watson didn’t fight Hunter’s retro ruminations by trying to place them within a more modern context. Instead, he took them at face value and played them to the hilt. Consequently, he wound up capturing a sound that is timelessly classic. Given Hunter’s economically potent guitar licks and paradoxically smooth yet gritty articulations, there’s little doubt that the performances on People Gonna Talk frequently are as impassioned as those of the legends that Hunter sought to emulate. ½

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2006 The Music Box