Former railroad switchman turned retro R&B soul man, James Hunter, and his band of six have been releasing polished records from the mid-’90s, and his latest release Whatever It Takes is no exception. Hunter has built quite a reputation working with Van Morrison and touring with everyone from Tom Petty and Willie Nelson to Aretha Franklin and Etta James. Whatever It Takes, Hunter’s second on the excellent Daptone record label (Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones), was produced by label head Bosco Mann (Gabriel Roth) and recorded live direct to eight-track analog tape and pressed to an acetate at the label’s California studio. The inspiration for many of the tracks on Whatever It Takes come from Hunter’s wife, whom he met at a New Orleans gig as well as his passion for early soul and R&B music from the late ’50s through the mid-’60s. Album standout tracks include: the pining opener “I Don’t Want to Be Without You”; the infectious Latin beat driven “I Got My Eyes”; the barn burning guitar blues instrumental “Blisters”; the smoldering mid-tempo ballad “MM-Hmm”; the Sam Cooke-esque “I Should’ve Spoke Up”; the slick up-tempo number “Don’t Let Pride Take You for a Ride”; and the gospel/soul track “How Long.” Whatever It Takes is another polished and tasty listen from a great contemporary soul man. – Written by JFelton
SIMILAR | Charles Bradley, Anderson East, JD McPherson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Nick Waterhouse