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Track Listings
| 1. St James Infirmary |
| 2. You Don'T Know My Mind |
| 3. Six Cold Feet |
| 4. Buddy Bolden'S Blues |
| 5. Battle Of Jericho |
| 6. After You'Ve Gone |
| 7. Swanee River |
| 8. The Whale Has Swallowed Me |
| 9. John Henry |
| 10. Police Dog Blues |
| 11. Tipitina |
| 12. Winin' Boy Blues |
| 13. They'Re Red Hot |
| 14. Baby Please Make A Change |
| 15. Let Them Talk |
Product Description
CD Description
Hugh Laurie will release his debut album "Let Them Talk" on Warner Bros Records. A glorious celebration of New Orleans blues, "Let Them Talk" unites Laurie’s musical talent with a very personal selection of standards and lost blues classics performed with his band of renowned musicians and some very special guest stars.
Produced by Joe Henry and recorded at sessions in Los Angeles and New Orleans, "Let Them Talk" sees Laurie on vocals and piano heading a team of musicians whose previous collective credits include work with artists as varied as Greg Allman, Solomon Burke, Robert Plant, kd lang, T-Bone Burnett, Alison Krause and John Legend. Together, they interpret and revive songs originally recorded by NOLA blues legends such as Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Ray Charles and Memphis Slim.
‘Let Them Talk’ also features collaborations with the Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas and Sir Tom Jones on the little known ‘Baby, please Make A Change’. Thomas also leads the vocals on ‘John Henry’, while Laurie’s lifelong hero Dr. John provides a momentous collaboration on ‘After You’ve Gone’. Another legend, the producer, musician and songwriter Allen Toussaint, contributes horn arrangements throughout.
Hugh explains ..
“In my imagination, New Orleans just straight hummed with music, romance, joy, despair; its rhythms got into my gawky English frame and, at times, made me so happy and sad, I just didn’t know what to do with myself,” said Laurie. “I love this music as authentically as I know how, and I want you to love it too. If you get a thousandth of the pleasure from it that I’ve had, we’re all ahead of the game.”
Produced by Joe Henry and recorded at sessions in Los Angeles and New Orleans, "Let Them Talk" sees Laurie on vocals and piano heading a team of musicians whose previous collective credits include work with artists as varied as Greg Allman, Solomon Burke, Robert Plant, kd lang, T-Bone Burnett, Alison Krause and John Legend. Together, they interpret and revive songs originally recorded by NOLA blues legends such as Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Ray Charles and Memphis Slim.
‘Let Them Talk’ also features collaborations with the Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas and Sir Tom Jones on the little known ‘Baby, please Make A Change’. Thomas also leads the vocals on ‘John Henry’, while Laurie’s lifelong hero Dr. John provides a momentous collaboration on ‘After You’ve Gone’. Another legend, the producer, musician and songwriter Allen Toussaint, contributes horn arrangements throughout.
Hugh explains ..
“In my imagination, New Orleans just straight hummed with music, romance, joy, despair; its rhythms got into my gawky English frame and, at times, made me so happy and sad, I just didn’t know what to do with myself,” said Laurie. “I love this music as authentically as I know how, and I want you to love it too. If you get a thousandth of the pleasure from it that I’ve had, we’re all ahead of the game.”
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
133 of 145 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Observations,
By
This review is from: Let Them Talk (Audio CD)
I heard Laurie's album playing in Tesco this afternoon and loved it but was hesitant about buying it, purely because of what I call the 'crossover curse'. Sinatra was a good singer, horrific actor. The same can be said of many actors, singers etc. who attempt to cross over into something different. Only very few have managed the feat credibly and in my opinion, Laurie has managed it. In his favour, he clearly knows his voice very well and knows that in some ways, it's very limited but in blues, that doesn't really matter. Solomon Burke was not really a great singer, but blues music needs a bit of rough around the edges charm to be really good and it's fortunate that Laurie has that in abundance. It's also to his credit that on songs that need a 'good' singer, Laurie defers to someone else who is much better suited to the task - Tom Jones being one such instance.The album won't suit some people's tastes, particularly those buying the album purely because it was made by Hugh Laurie of House fame. For me, I love the album because of the instrumental performances first and Laurie's voice second. Listening to the album it is clear that you're being taken to the New Orleans music soaked atmosphere and those who appreciate that type of music will love it. It's sincere and mixes joy and pain together very well whilst maintaining an air of sophistication possessed by someone who really does love the music he's performing - and no one can deny that Laurie is very talented, particularly on piano and guitar. Yes, the vocals are rough, but if they were polished and perfect I think that the album would be somehow be lacking, blues needs that feel of being performed after a heavy night of drinking in order to work properly. I've read one review elsewhere that objected to Laurie's use of an American accent when singing, but really this strikes me as a bit of a nonsensical argument because there is no way that you can take a genre of music so quintessentially American and then sing it with an British accent. It would be like Lily Allen singing without the cockney accent - it wouldn't work. Similarly, some have raised eyebrows at an Englishman attempting blues classics, but to them I say that music is the one thing in life, or one of them anyway, that should be genderless, colourless and geographically free. There's no harm in trying something, and as a listener, I am able to choose my preferred option. For example, I really love Protocol Harlem's A Whiter Shade of Pale but consider Annie Lennox's version as an inferior version. Cat Power's version of Sea of Love is amazing and I prefer it to Phil Phillips and the Twilights' version. Good music done badly just makes you want the better version, whilst good music done well, as Laurie does it, just makes you appreciate it more. In summary, I'm pleasantly surprised by Hugh Laurie's album. It's instrumentally fantastic and his vocal ability, whilst not up there with the greats, adds a great deal of warmth and sincerity to the material. What shines through for me is that he really appreciates the music and in my opinion, there's a great many singers on the charts today who, although technically better singers, could take a leaf out of Hugh Laurie's book and learn to love music as opposed to using it as a money making venture.
42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Let Them Talk - I like it.,
By Squonk (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Let Them Talk (Audio CD)
Let them Talk is an album born of a personal passion for the Blues, and it's evident from the impressive opening of 'St James Infirmary' that Hugh Laurie is enjoying himself.There's no denying he's a skilled pianist and he clearly isn't out of his depth surrounded by such notable musicians - all of whom play their socks off. The 15 tracks on the album provide a pleasant mixture of material. If the saxed up Buddy Bolden's Blues or the moody 'Six Cold Feet' slow the tempo a little, there are several foot stomping tracks to follow, most notably the renditions of 'Swanee River' and 'Tipatina'. I defy any of you to listen to these without tapping your foot. Hugh Laurie's vocals are good he can certainly carry a tune - for any doubters it's clear on tracks such as 'The whale has Swallowed me' and 'The Battle of Jericho' that he can hold his own with little or no music accompaniment. There will always be those who will question Hugh Laurie's credibility as "real" Blues Singer - some will see this as indulgent, others no doubt will bang on about class, background etc. But let them talk ... I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to this album. Hugh Laurie has had the chance to pay tribute to his musical heroes and if Let Them Talk introduces a new audience to Blues music then what a tribute that will be.
61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The album has an intimate, 'live' feel.,
This review is from: Let Them Talk (Audio CD)
Music has been present in Hugh Laurie's career in some form or another since the days of "Fry & Laurie", even working its way into "House", the American television series that turned him into an international star in the 2000s.Without "House", Laurie would never have been granted the opportunity to record an album like 2011's "Let Them Talk", a full-blooded immersion into American blues via New Orleans, shepherded by acclaimed roots producer Joe Henry and featuring such Big Easy heavy-hitters as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and Irma Thomas. To his enormous credit, Laurie never sounds like a dilettante/amateurish among this group: he holds his own, working his way into the marrow of the songs, playing credible piano throughout the record. Which isn't to say that he quite makes this selection of standards his own, either. There are reworkings and reinterpretations, "Tipitina" in particular being turned on its head, but the problem with "Let Them Talk" isn't the guts and blood of the music, or the slightly studious air Henry cultivates. No, the problem is how Laurie's blues accent inevitably slides into affectations quite familiar from "House". He can't help it, that's his American accent, but it's disarming to have a number cooking along and all of a sudden Princeton Plainsboro's favorite misanthrope has taken the lead. S.T. Erlewine Favourite tracks : "St. James Infirmary", "You Don't Know My Mind", and "Buddy Bolden's Blues". The Allen Toussaint Collection The River In Reverse The Very Best of Dr. John The Soul Queen Of New Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration Ya-Ka-May Other Side of Midnight:Live in New O
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