Sunday Soul - James Hunter

Today's bit of soul-lovin' is actually a brand new album that's coming out this week by Brit James Hunter (yea, that's him above). The album is titled The Hard Way, and it's Hunter's second release. Where as Sharon Jones takes you back to the late 60's Stax sound, Hunter takes you back a little further, with a texture that will remind you of late 50's and early 60's music. It's got that feeling from when the soul genre was starting to define itself and was pulling on a handful of influences in an attempt to spread its wings.

Check out the title track below (which also is the opening track), and you'll hear what I'm talking about. It's got that early R&B / R&R feel to it with a beat you could sock-hop to and a sax pushing through here and there. The next track, Tell Her, slows things down a bit and adds some backing vocalists a la The Coasters. In the third track, Don't Do Me No Favors (also below), James really hits his stride, and from there on out, his vocals really remind me of Ray Charles.

Not only is his sound tailored to recreate the 50's, the way his sound sounds on the album even has a retro recorded value to it. Enjoy this present day blast from the past, and check out Hunter's upcoming tour dates below.

James Hunter - The Hard Way : The Hard Way

James Hunter - Don't Do Me No Favors : The Hard Way
(watch the video of a live performance)

Visit his website, his label Hear Music, and become his friend on MySpace.

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the Harlem Experiment House Band - A Rose In Spanish Harlem (feat. James Hunter) : The Harlem Experiment

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Upcoming Tour Dates

Jun-10 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania World Café Live
Jun-11 New York, New York Blender Theatre
Jun-14 St Louis, MO Fox Theatre
Jun-17 Kettering, OH Fraze Pavilion
Jun-19 Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor Summer Festival
Jun-20 Highland Park, IL Ravinia
Jun-24 Toronto, ON Toronto Jazz Festival
Jun-26 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota Zoo
Jun-27 Council Bluffs, Iowa Stir Summer Concert Series
Jun-28 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
Jul-01 Los Angeles, California Troubadour
Jul-04 Quincy, California High Sierra Music Festival
Jul-05 Quincy, CA High Sierra Music Festival
Jul-06 Portland, Oregon Waterfront Blues Festival
Jul-08 Seattle, WA Triple Door
Jul-11 San Francisco, CA Bimbo' 365 Club
Jul-12 Santa Barbara Lobero Theater
Jul-16 Austin, TX Antone's