As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Friday, January 25, 2019

Favorite Musical Artists: James Hunter


From my review of his 2006 album People Gonna Talk: 
 
Allmusic.com characterizes Hunter as an “English channeler of American soul from days of yore”, which is probably as apt a description as any. What it doesn’t capture is that Hunter manages to draw upon his influences while nevertheless creating a sound that is uniquely his own. As both the lead vocalist and only guitar player in his superb band – Hunter now bills the act as “The James Hunter Six” – his sound heavily features his two sax players to drive his melodies, with his alternately edgy or supremely lyrical guitar work mainly reserved for the bridges of the songs. He also writes superb songs, both uptempo and ballads; one of my favorite Hunter lyrics is from “Don’t Come Back”:
 
Never have revenge in mind
‘Cos an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind
But forgiveness is the business of some other diplomat
So baby don’t come back.
 
 
Hunter has an excellent web site, which includes notes and track listings for all of his U.S.-released albums, as well as links to a number of interviews.
 
Fortunately for his fans, Hunter and his band tour frequently and generally hit the DC area. He does get around venue-wise: in addition to the shows listed below, I’ve seen him at Wolf Trap, XPNFest in Camden, and the Birchmere.
 
Recent concerts:
 
Favorite songs:
People Gonna Talk
Don’t Come Back
Look Out
Tell Her
 
Hand It Over
One Way Love
The Hard Way
This Is Where We Came In
You Can’t Win
 
Kick It Around
Let The Monkey Ride
How Long
Talkin ‘Bout My Love
Whatever It Takes
 
 (Baby) Hold On
Hear Me Calling
Don’t Do Me No Favours
Believe What I Say
I Don’t Wanna Be Without You
 
Each of the above is available on one of Hunter’s studio CDs. I would be remiss, however, to not also mention his classic cover version of The “5” Royales’ “Baby Don’t Do It”, which is a staple of his live shows.

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