Search - Colin James :: Fuse

Different

Russell Diederich | Littleton, CO United States | 01/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Not exactly what I had expected when I bought the CD. The blues of "Bad Habits" and his self-titled album, and the Swing of the two Colin James and The Little Big Band albums are not present here except in undertones. Colin James has explored a new direction to his music. It's similar to Eric Clapton going a little funky R&B with "Pilgrim". Although, not what I expected, James does a very good job with this album. For you guitar fans, don't worry the guitar is still there. You might have to listen for it a little harder, but there are some definitely good licks in here. James shows us that the blues are still in his soul with his guitar solos on "Getting Carried Away". He follows with the very upbeat "Getting Higher", which is a return back to the James of old. "Hate It When I See You Cry" is another blowback to James' style of bluesy ballads with soulful licks and a gravely growl to his voice. His new sound catches your feet with cuts like "Hide", "Going's Good", and "Big Bad World". For big James fans, this album might take a while to get used to. It's still a good album, and it is loaded with some amazing six-string chops. Once you do get used to it, you will really enjoy it. James is a good songwriter, as most of these cuts are his, and a great guitar-slinger. If you're not afraid to try something new, you won't be disappointed with this album. If you're a big James fan, more than a handful of tracks you'll recognize as James' doing."

Different but Good

Anthony Gasparetto | Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. | 01/05/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mixed feelings about the CD. I like the direction the Cd takes. I hoped that Colin James would do a rock oriented album. I like his blues and swing albums also. My favorite cuts are: "Big Bad World" where he plays some scorching guitar backed up by a solid beat and a well arranged horn section. "Getting Higher" a real toe tapper with some Keith Richards style guitar. "Something Good" features Colin's soulful voice on this smooth ballad. Very nice. "Of All the things to Throw Away" also features Colin's voice and he does a great job. The CD is recorded with nice clean sound and the backup players are first rate. I like all the songs but the mixed feelings part has to do with the phrasing of the lead vocals in some of the other songs. I guess cadence would be the word to use. Sometimes it sounds that he gets into similar rythum on different songs. The guitar playing is amazing. A very fine album. I am giving it a five since the rating system doesn't allow for a 4.5."

Solid R&B!

deepbluereview | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA USA | 04/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Colin James is one of those musicians that enjoys making every new cd an adventure. He built a following early on by releasing two swing-blues CD's "Colin James and The Little Big Band" and "Colin James and The Little Big Band II" and then completely switched gears dropping the swing band and going unplugged with the excellent "National Steel". Here again, much to the dismay of both swing fans and blues fans, he switches direction with the release of a pop oriented R&B release which, while solid, lacks some of the foresight of his previous releases. Whether this will win him new fans or will cause his old fans to look elsewhere is left to be seen.There is plenty of good material here my personal favorites are "Hide" the funky "Get Carried Away" and the horn ladened "Big Bad World". Overall, I would have preferred a blues/rock CD but it looks like that may have to wait until next time."