Blues

Colin James - Miles To Go (2018)

2018-10-02T13:37:07Z

Colin James - Miles To Go (2018)


01. One More Mile - 03:23
02. Still A Fool - 04:01
03. Dig Myself A Hole - 03:23
04. I Will Remain - 03:07
05. 40 Light Years - 04:18
06. Ooh Baby Hold Me - 03:27
07. Black Night - 04:42
08. Soul Of A Man - 03:20
09. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - 03:03
10. I Need Your Love So Bad - 03:52
11. Tears Came Rolling Down - 03:47
12. One More Mile (Bonus Acoustic) - 03:00

Toronto, July 12, 2018 -- With his 19th album, Miles to Go (out Sept. 21, True North Records in Canada, Stony Plain rest of the world), Colin James is getting back to the blues. Miles to Go, Colin James’ ambitious sequel to the critically acclaimed Blue Highways, continues James’ story with a collection of carefully curated songs handpicked from some of the greatest blues artists. In the months leading up to the recording, as James was reflecting on songs for the album he decided to reacquaint himself with a beautiful red Gibson ES-335. It was just like the guitar he played as a teenager but regretfully had to sell for rent money. While James reconnected with this guitar, Miles to Go seemed to just flow onto the studio floor. This album blends songs old and new, some of them completely reimagined and some almost perfect homages. But all are unified by a theme of undying love for the blues and the highest respect for the creators that led the way. Known as one of Canada’s best blues musicians, it wasn’t until 2016’s Blue Highways that James found himself on a blues chart: the album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Chart. It also landed him one of his biggest hits: “Riding in the Moonlight”. A Willie Dixon song that James once covered when busking in the streets and subways of Toronto and Montreal that landed on a Spotify playlist garnering millions of streams. When James set out to make Blue Highways, an album of blues covers recorded with his touring band, he always intended it to be the first of two installments. Now we have Miles to Go, in which James records nine new covers of his favourite artists (Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Little Willie John, Robert Johnson, etc.) and adds two originals, “I Will Remain” and “40 Light Years.” “Blues has always been a pass-it-forward kind of thing,” says James. “It’s also surprisingly hard to write. You have to be careful how modern you get in your phrasing. Certain writers can write a song that sounds like it was done 40 years ago, but it’s deceptively hard.” To be a blues musician is to always have a dialogue with the past. As with much blues music, it’s the performances on the original versions rather than the actual song that drew James to them. That said, what could he possibly bring to them in 2018? “You bring what you can,” he says. “If I feel like I’ve brought enough, then I put it out. I knocked a bunch of songs off this record when I realized that I can’t bring anything to them that isn’t there already. All my life I’ve tried to bring vitality to older songs. Hopefully my dedication to it is what floats it over the mark. That’s a subjective thing; some people will always prefer the original. However, there’s always a group of people coming up to see me after a show who might say, “Oh, I never would have heard ‘One More Mile’ by James Cotton—nothing in my life would have pointed me there.” So much of Colin James’s career has pointed him to this moment: joyfully tangled up in the blues, which, as he notes, “is the only genre where you can maintain a young profile at the age of 53.” ---truenorth.labelstore.ca

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Colin James - National Steel (1998)

2014-05-28T16:06:14Z

Colin James - National Steel (1998)


1. Shout Baby Shout (Rachell) - 3:16
2. Rollin' Stone (Waters) - 3:23
3. National Steel (Burgess, James, Ward) - 4:54
4. These Arms of Mine (Redding) - 4:43
5. Going up to the Country (Mahal) - 4:10
6. Fixin' to Die (White) - 4:28
7. Somebody Have Mercy (Cooke) - 3:32
8. Postman's Sack (Bradshaw) - 1:41
9. Please Baby (Chatmon) - 3:41
10. Ride and Roll (McGhee) - 2:39
11. I Live the Life I Love (Dixon) - 3:41
12. My Mind Is on Vacation (Allison) - 3:35
13. Before the Dawn (Linden) - 4:26
14. Kind-Hearted Woman (Johnson) - 2:40

Norm Fisher - Bass
Colin James - Mandolin, Pedal Steel, Vocals, Slide Guitar
Colin Linden - Guitar (Acoustic), Mandolin, Producer, Slide Guitar
Campbell Ryga - Sax
Johnny Ferriera – Sax

Colin and his longtime friend, Colin Linden (they have known each other since thy were 13 and 16 respectively) teamed up to record this predominately acoustic album, recorded mostly live in his Colin’s home studio. It was his first chance to pay homage and delve into everything from straight delta blues to jug band and Chicago blues. There are songs by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee as well as the great writer and stylist Mose Allison. The album was very well received and won Colin his fifth Juno, this one at roots music and folk festivals across Canada. --- colinjames.com

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Colin James – Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 (2006)

2010-09-16T14:00:49Z

Colin James – Colin James & The Little Big Band 3 (2006)


1. Reet Petite 
2. I'm Shakin' 
3. Where Y'at 
4. I Will Be There 
5. Lonely Avenue 
6. I Want You to Be My Baby 
7. That's Where It's At 
8. Please, Baby Don't Do That 
9. No Buts, No Maybes 
10. That's What Love Is Made Of 
11. The Night Is Young (And You're So Fine) 
12. Feelin' Good    play
13. If You Need Me  play

* Colin James - vocals, electric guitar, guitar solos
* Bob Ruggiero - drums
* Jeff Sarli - upright bass
* Chuck Leavell - piano (tracks 1, 3, 4, 9), organ (track 7)
* Reese Wynans - piano (tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13), organ
* Colin Linden - rhythm guitar
* Greg Piccolo - tenor saxophone
* Doug James - baritone saxophone
* Steve Hilliam - tenor saxophone
* Terry Townson - trumpet
* Roy Agee - trombone
* John Whynot - organ (tracks 5, 13)
* Mark C. Jordan - piano (track 5)
* Wayne Jackson - trumpet (track 5)
* Keb' Mo' - harmony vocal (track 7)

While a handful of young crooners have achieved fast fame in recent years by covering big band classics, Colin James's lifelong study of the blues has manifested into Colin James & the Little Big Band, a genuine backwoods-juke-joint-meets-Stax-recording-session composite guaranteed to make even the most sedentary person swing. While James's endeavour to crack the pop charts over the years has resulted in a number of mediocre releases, his powerful bluesy-swing performances on the Little Big Band series clearly show off all his strengths. As far as 3 is concerned, the likeability factor kicks in straight from the opening track, Berry Gordy Jr.'s "Reet Petite," and continues on through to the final cut, Wilson Pickett's "If You Need Me."

The songs are primarily revered soul and blues numbers; while many singers don't have the power to aptly cover such classics, the richness and control in James's voice makes him more than capable of handling their depth. Much credit should also go to his spectacular bandmates--including legendary brass players from Roomful of Blues and the Memphis Horns--who ensure that the disc continuously cooks from top to bottom. From Doc Pomus's "Lonely Avenue" to Sam Cooke's "That's Where It's At," the slow songs are wonderfully emotive, but the real fun lies in the uptempo numbers ("Where Y'at," "Feelin' Good") which highlight the driving sound of a full band, horns-ablazing. --Denise Sheppard

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Colin James – Colin James (1988)

2010-09-14T14:00:44Z

Colin James – Colin James (1988)


   1. "Five Long Years" – 4:36
   2. "Voodoo Thing" – 3:38
   3. "Down In The Bottom" – 4:37
   4. "Chicks 'n Cars (And The Third World War)" – 3:35
   5. "Why'd You Lie" – 5:25
   6. "Hidden Charms" – 3:26
   7. "Bad Girl" – 3:34
   8. "Lone Wolf" – 3:40
   9. "Dream of Satin" – 4:43
  10. "Three Sheets To The Wind" – 2:59

    * David Burgin – Harmonica
    * Bill Cowsill – Vocals (bckgr)
    * Steve Croes – Keyboards
    * Johnny Ferreira – Saxophone
    * Richard Hopkins – Piano, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond)
    * Colin James – Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
    * Dennis Marcenko – Bass, Guitar (Bass)
    * Darrell Mayes – Percussion, Drums
    * Bill Payne – Piano
    * Betty Wright – Vocals (bckgr)

This was Colin's major label debut on the then brand new Virgin Records America. It had a mix of pop and blues and was recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida with the legendary producer Tom Dowd and finished in Los Angeles with Danny Kortchmar at The Complex. Guests on this record included Billy Cowsill and Betty Wright. (Yes... That's the cleanup woman Betty Wright). The album won Colin a Juno for "Most Promising Artist" and led to opening for Steve Winwood and Keith Richards on the "Take It So Hard" tour of America. ---discogs.com

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