Nashville Calling
Colin James gets groovy with smouldering new album Hearts On Fire, bringing him to the Orpheum stage on Tuesday
Colin James has always had one foot firmly planted on the rockier side of the blues scale. But after working with such esteemed rock producers as Mike Fraser, Joe Hardy and Bob Rock, the Vancouver blues-rocker was ready to blow on the embers of his Tennessee soul.
Hearts On Fire, James’ 16th studio album, glows with Hammond organ atmospheres and drips warmly with reverb.
It’s an album firmly rooted in Nashville-style country, soul, roots and blues, with longtime collaborator, guitarist and producer Colin Linden at the helm.
“(Fraser, Hardy and Rock) are three very good producers, you know, but it’s a rock mix,” James said in a recent interview conducted at The Vancouver Sun office.
“I felt it was time to do something more — I don’t want to say ‘singer-songwriter,’ but that’s kind of what it ended up being. I still rock out on the record but there’s some space. Some songs don’t have a drum kit at all. I felt it was time.”
The emphasis is squarely on the vocals on Hearts On Fire, with James’ warm voice caressing the listener’s ear while the music acts as the pillow cushioning the lovesick reverie.
The songs were composed by James and Tom Wilson (of Blackie & the Rodeo Kings and Lee Harvey Osmond).
With Hearts On Fire, James channels heroes like JJ Cale (whose spirit is present on semititular track Heart’s On Fire), Bill Withers (who is covered with Heartbreak Road), with a nod to the Odds’ Craig Northey, who helped co-write Honey Bee (not to be confused with the Muddy Waters track of the same name). The album was recorded in Nashville at House of Blues Studios and in Vancouver at Magic Ten Studios.
“I’ve been doing these acoustic shows — just me and another guy — doing these ‘soft-seaters,’” James said.
“I initially thought I wouldn’t like doing acoustic shows. I never considered myself an ‘acoustic musician,’ which is not totally true because as a kid I played bluegrass and acoustic music. But I left it behind for years.”
James’ last truly acoustic album was National Steel, released in 1998.
“The acoustic shows, you had to drag me kicking and screaming to do, but as I did them I realized how long it had been since I had talked to an audience. I had really bulldozed my way with volume through most of my shows with a quick, ‘Thank you, good night’ at the end of the night.
“It forced me to talk about the nature of the songs, to have a little more space to work with in a room where you’re not filling up every single cubic inch of space with sound. And I really enjoyed that. It’s more emotive. It leaves more room for expression.”
James’ last two albums Fifteen and the Commodore-recorded live album Twenty Five Live, especially, were classic James blues-rock action: Big guitars, big arrangements and big horns.
There are no horns in sight on Hearts On Fire. The electric distortion is sparingly and methodically used for maximum impact. The drums are mostly brushed, the rhythms soft yet sturdy.
Fittingly, Linden had been working on hit TV show Nashville for some time, and he was instrumental in assembling the band that supports James on Hearts On Fire: Longtime Bob Dylan drummer George Receli, Donny Hathaway bassist Willie Weeks, and B3 organ and piano player Reese Wynans.
“(Linden) is really good at forming a band that really suits the material,” James said. “I was amazed to play with (Weeks), and George is fantastic. What a great player from New Orleans.
“It was May (last year) — spring time in Nashville — and I left the rain. I had to drive from (Nashville suburb) Cool Springs every day for the sessions because there were no hotels available. I was way out in the outskirts.”
Walking into House Of Blues Studios in Nashville, James was confronted daily with folk-art paintings and pictures of blues legends like Robert Johnson.
“Hearts On Fire is pretty much a live record. Heart’s On Fire, the initial track, that’s what was played on the bed (track). Other than the vocal, there’s really no overdub.
“I didn’t expect (Linden) would keep my electric guitar on that one — I was just trying to cue the drummer. I actually wanted to replace it all but Colin made me keep it.”
Hearts On Fire also finds the six-time Juno winner, 17-time Maple Blues Awards winner and Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee in a spookier, more heartbroken mood, though James admitted that was probably more of a sonic preference than a reflection of real-life events.
“I’ve always liked that,” James said. “That’s a taste thing, that I always gravitate to those quiet, weird, spooky songs. Tom Wilson and I wrote (James fan favourite) Freedom together. That’s the first thing we did together back in ’94-’95. We’ve been friends ever since. We’re very close, not unlike me and Colin.
“I’ve written with a lot of people and I always went back to Tom. First of all, he’s great with lyrics. I love how he turns a phrase and his imagery is fantastic. He and I always come up with something. It’s a really strange chemistry. We just found we never get shut out. We never have yet.”
James has always had a special knack for recording covers. He covered Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well and re-interpreted Allen Toussaint on Fifteen.
Beyond the Bill Withers tune, Hearts On Fire also boasts a strange surprise: pop singer Rihanna’s powerful single Stay, done here with smouldering guitar, organ and vocals.
“I have a song called Stay in my catalogue, actually,” James said. “But I was taken with (Rihanna’s song). I didn’t know much about her until about four years ago. I mean, I knew who she was when I saw the video — she’s very beautiful and all that. But the song is a very powerful song. I fell in love with it and started playing it at my acoustic shows, with a slide. And I kinda liked the fact that no one expected it. I would scan the audience and some of the younger kids — I could tell they were having a reaction to the song. It’s a very good song.”