New & Current Releases
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Music In Our Forums
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
|
The Hard Way
by James Hunter
The fourth album for the British singer was produced by Liam Watson.
LABEL: |
Hear Music |
RELEASE DATE: |
10 June 2008 |
DISCS: |
1 disc |
GENRE(S): |
Rock, Soul |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Boston Globe
On one of this year's smoothest and best discs, Hunter makes The Hard Way go down so easy.
80
NOW Magazine
If you thought no one made albums like this any more, they don’t so enjoy The Hard Way.
80
Paste Magazine
With analog recording, Hunter’s buttery voice and primitive Les Paul playing and a muscular double-sax section, this follow-up to "People Gonna Talk" re-renders the art of musical seduction even more convincingly than Hunter’s mentor Van Morrison.
80
Mojo
He calls his style 'slavishly copying,' we know it better as sweet soul. [July 2008, p.108]
80
Q Magazine
Another almost note-perfect recreation of the same pre-Beatles R&B; world, this follow-up smoothly mainstains the good work with songs that recall the likes of The Drifters and even early James brown. [July 2008, p.102]
70
All Music Guide
The Hard Way, his debut for Hear Music, is a tad tougher--the horns are more prominent and sharper, Hunter's guitar has more bite to it, and the rhythms cut deeper--and quicker; at times Hunter veers closer to soul-rock than he has in the past, but he's still working well within his favorite genre.
70
Rolling Stone
The album's highlight is the jazzy horn rave-up "Don't Do Me No Favours," where Hunter cackles, yelps, shouts and bellows about refusing to take handouts from a rich man. On cuts like these, Hunter proves he's more than just a retro-soul act--the guy's got fire in his gut.
50
Hartford Courant
As on past releases, he mostly celebrates the snap and polish of the sharkskin '60s. His songs crib so blatantly from that era that citing his influences--Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, Van Morrison--is almost redundant.
The average user rating for this album is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Discuss this album in our forums |
|