Let Them Talk

Hugh Laurie releases his debut album LET THEM TALK on Warner Bros. Records. A glorious celebration of New Orleans blues, LET THEM TALK unites Laurie's musical talent with a very personal selection of standards and lost blues classics performed with his band of renowned musicians and some very special guest stars. Produced by Joe Henry and recorded at sessions in Los Angeles and New Orleans, LET THEM TALK sees Laurie on vocals and piano heading a team of musicians whose previous collective credits include work with artists as varied as Greg Allman, Solomon Burke, Robert Plant, kd lang, T-Bone Burnett, Alison Krauss, and John Legend. Together, they interpret and revive songs originally recorded by New Orleans blues legends such as Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, Ray Charles, and Memphis Slim.

Music has been present in Hugh Laurieￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs career in some form or another since the days of Fry & Laurie, even working its way into House, the American television series that turned him into an international star in the 2000s. Without House, Laurie would never have been granted the opportunity to record an album like 2011ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs Let Them Talk, a full-blooded immersion into American blues via New Orleans, shepherded by acclaimed roots producer Joe Henry and featuring such Big Easy heavy-hitters as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and Irma Thomas. To his enormous credit, Laurie never sounds like a dilettante among this group; he holds his own, working his way into the marrow of the songs, playing credible piano throughout the record. Which isnￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢt to say that he quite makes this selection of standards his own, either. There are reworkings and reinterpretations, ￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￅﾓTipitinaￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬￂﾝ in particular being turned on its head, but the problem with Let Them Talk isnￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢt the guts and blood of the music, or the slightly studious air Henry cultivates. No, the problem is how Laurieￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs blues accent inevitably slides into affectations quite familiar from House. He canￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢt help it, thatￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs his American accent, but itￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs disarming to have a number cooking along and all of a sudden Princeton Plainsboroￃﾢ￢ﾂﾬ￢ﾄﾢs favorite misanthrope has taken the lead. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Performer	Hugh Laurie
Music genre	Rock
Music subgenre	CD - ROCK
Media format	CD
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	St James Infirmary,You Don't Know My Mind,Six Cold Feet,Buddy Bolden's Blues,Battle of Jericho,After You've Gone,Swanee River,The Whale Has Swallowed Me,John Henry,Police Dog Blues,Tipitina,Winin' Boy Blues,They're Red Hot,Baby Please Make a Change,Let Them Talk
Record label	Warner Bros / WEA
Music producer	Joe Henry
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N