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James Hunter has had three lives. He had already started playing around and releasing music with his group, the Howlin’ Wilf and the Vee-Jays, when in the mid-nineties he was “discovered” by Van Morrison with whom he established an artistic collaboration, culminating with the participation of “Van” in his first solo album “...Believe What I Say” (Ace Records, 1996). Born in 1962 in Colchester, Essex, he has found his definitive niche only in recent years after moving to the United States and meeting his wife Jessie Perez Huntsman, “met” by hearing her sing on the radio while he was sitting at Starbucks.
But artistically, the real turning point was entering into the orbit of the legendary Daptone Records, led by Neal Sugarman and the iconic Bosco Mann aka Gabriel Roth, who is also the producer of The James Hunter Six’s latest record titled “Whatever It Takes.” Recorded at the Daptone’s Penrose Studios in Riverside, California, the album contains ten unreleased tracks and is a real gem: James Hunter is clearly one of the best soul voices currently around and he excels in the rhythm and blues macro-genre with tracks characterized by the typical electric organ and pop-oriented vibe, calypso and rock and roll influences derived from Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran as in “Blisters” and acoustic pieces in the style of Sixto Rodriguez like “I Should’ve Spoke Up” or “It Was Gonna Be You.” All with arrangements that are never excessive, starting with the careful use of horns, and produced by a true number one.
The album reflects a clear devotion to artists like Ray Charles, James Brown, and Sam Cooke, and a declared passion for a certain type of “pop” music typically from NYC in the late fifties and early sixties (the likes of “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick, for instance) and fits perfectly within the context of the Daptone Records’ roster and productions in recent years. If you know what I'm talking about, it seems unnecessary to say that we are talking about something unmissable; otherwise, this album is also a great opportunity to get to know a fundamental contemporary musical reality.
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