James Hunter – Believe What I Say

Courtesy of his new disc People Gonna Talk — which has been embraced by roots rockers, soul survivors, and the eager-to-buy NPR crowd — Englishman James Hunter is one of 2006’s biggest discoveries. But as demonstrated by Believe What I Say, finally getting its U.S. release, Hunter was ripe for the discovering ten years ago. Front and center is that voice, characterized by a combination of lilt and bite that proves he comes by the Sam Cooke comparisons honestly, and backed by a streamlined early R&B sound (put to particularly good use on a confident, lively cover of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah I Love Her So”). He even already had an endorsement from Van Morrison, who guests on “Turn On Your Love Light” and “Ain’t Nothing You Can Do”, a pair of songs put on the map by Bobby “Blue” Bland. And when Hunter sings “I want our love to last/We’ll keep our teeth in the same glass” on “I Wanna Get Old With You” (one of nine songs he wrote for the record), you realize he has some charming lines to go with that voice built for romance.