Canadian blues artist Colin James offers 11 tasty tracks on his latest long player, Chasing the Sun. He rocks out on the guitar and reminds us of strings’ power to pull emotions out of one’s heart. He passionately reminds us that the truth is still true; we are all fools, and life is as simple as being good to ourselves and each other. All we have to do is open our minds. James bends the notes on his guitar in familiar ways as the blues are wont to do: is that a T-Bone Walker riff or a Stevie Ray Vaughn one? —but makes them unique by adding his own touch. As a result, something unique and heady is going on. The listener feels comfortable with the sound and remains interested to hear what comes next.
While the album is mostly James’ showcase, he does get some heavyweight help. The great singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams joins James on vocals on her petition for “Protection”, which adds punch to a cut that declares we all need help in dealing with assholes. They are aided by some of Nashville’s top gospel singers, the McCrary Sisters, who turn the plea into a prayer. The world may seem against us, but the implication is that together, we can make life worth living.
Chicago harmonica blues maven Charles Musselwhite joins on two cuts, including a smoldering version of John Hammond’s “Come to Find Out” that features James on acoustic guitar, Musselwhite on the harp, and Colin Linden on electric guitar. Linden (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings) co-produced Chasing the Sun with James and plays on every cut. Other performers who contributed to several tracks include drummer Charley Drayton (The Rolling Stones, Neil Young), bassist Daryl Jones (The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis), and saxophonist Jim Hoke (Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves). Their support provides a solid foundation for James’ guitar playing and vocals.
The cuts with a full band with songs written and or co-written by James, such as “Crystal Ball”, “Too Far Gone”, and “Star-Studded Sky”, showcase how the standard blues tropes still kick butt. The noise of a marital beat underneath a choppy guitar lick, a bass refrain that undercuts a vocal melody, and two guitars challenging each other to a slashing contest have served everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Marcus King well. Colin James extends those traditions here, and it sounds like he is having a blast while doing so. There may be nothing new here, but pleasure is found in doing things the old way. For example, when James croons anthemic lyrics on “This Song Kills Hate” over chugga-chugga electric guitar lines, one can’t help but want to join in the festivities.
James sings about “not needing nobody’s help” on his eloquent version of Paul Butterfield‘s “In My Own Dream”, which features the Canadian musician on vocals as well as acoustic and electric guitars. The accompaniment is minimal (Linden on strings, Janice Powers on keyboards). James sings the confessional lyrics with long breaths that suggest his strength until he realizes the futility of his efforts. “The strongest river can’t flow up a hill,” James realizes. One can’t do it and live a good life without the help of others. He mellows out when realizing that essential truth.
Feeling the blues is normal. It doesn’t even mean one is sad. Blues musicians have been singing the happy blues as well as the gloomy ones ever since the beginning. Just being alive is reason enough to sing the blues. “I’m Still Alive”, Colin James proclaims multiple times in the song by that name. The McCrary Sisters back him up to reinforce the lesson. We all will die sometime. That’s reason enough to celebrate by singing the blues while we are here.