Being at a James Hunter concert is like being caught in a time warp on Star Trek, you are in another time, everything is authentic, but you cannot explain how you got here. The Brit took to the stage at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, in Canada, on August 12, and reminded the older folks what early R&B mixed with Doo-Wop sounded like. For those too young or unfamiliar with music of the late fifties and early sixties, they got a taste of some great music, based on rhythms and beats that laid the foundation for later R&B, rock and roll and many other styles of music for decades afterwards. Hunter is not imitating, he is emulating the music that he loves. His music is original and fresh as he soulfully performs a style of music that has lay dormant for so long, that it is new again.

Performing songs from his CDs People Gonna Talk and Unplugged, Hunter and his backup band had literally hundreds of people on their feet dancing before he finished singing and playing his title track “People Gonna Talk,” from his current CD. Hunter’s easygoing vocals, lazy guitar licks and charm quietly seduce his audience.

Hunter is what the English might refer to as a decent bloke, who so obviously enjoys performing that a smile seldom leaves his face. He laughs, has fun and jokes with his audience and band, all of which appear to happen spontaneously.

He introduced “Don’t Do Me No Favors,” as a dancing song and the audience again responded swaying to the beat of a tune with inflections of early R&B, think James Brown, early 1960’s. The next song up was “Riot In My Heart,” from his album People Gonna Talk. With this tune Hunter mixes in a lot of Johnny Rivers, a dash of James Brown and a good measure of Sam Cooke. He is more soulful than any white man since Bill Medley got together with Bobby Hatfield to form The Righteous Brothers.

“No Smoke Without Fire” gave his musicians a chance to shine as baritone sax man Derek Houston kicked it into high gear with a deeply grooved solo. Jerod Samuel showed off his great Hammond B3 chops, during another solo.

Three songs in particular really pay tribute to the quality of James Hunter’s vocals, “Mollena,” “I’ll Walk Away Baby,” and “Watch & Chain.” The later tune featured a call and response between Hunter’s singing and saxophonist Houston and tenor saxophonist Jay Collins.

Hunter paid tribute to the fifties group The Five Royals by introducing his cover of their song “Baby Don’t Do It.” Before performing the song, Hunter said whether they know it or not they had a huge influence on the music industry. Many aficionados of older music may not even recognize the name The 5 Royals, however the group’s songs such as “Dedicated To The One I Love,” was covered by the Shirelles and Mamas And The Papas. They are also credited for influencing the music of James Brown with whom they often worked.

Before introducing the last song, a rock and roll ballad, “Believe Me Baby” Hunter thanked his fans for coming out. With all due respect to the legendary Dr. John who was preparing to perform on the main stage, I do not think anyone at the festival would have complained Dr John’s set had been delayed by a James Hunter encore.

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Photos by Joe Montague ©

Reviewed August 12, 2007

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