Hugh Laurie - Didn't It Rain

So Hugh Laurie walks into a bar...

Well, more like he brings the bar with him down the street. haha

Sure enough that his release date, touring dates and this article would all come in the same time frame of a week or two.  Not being able to follow all my favourite musicians all the time, I was quite happy to sit back a few days ago and see a new Hugh Laurie album was on the move!

"Didn't It Rain" was released on August 6th, 2013 (just a few days ago!) via Warner Bros. Records.  The UK release was a tad earlier (May 6th) but still did not see much North American advertising until recently.  Being that I jumped in with both feet for his first release "Let Them Talk", I was estatic to also see an extensive touring schedule to follow for North America.  I will be very happy to see him grace the Danforth Music Hall on one of ONLY 2 nights performing in Canada, the other one being in Montreal on the following day.

I was also fortunate that someone uploaded some amazing high res photos of the album (front & back) plus some press photos to boot.  Hugh is (once again) playing piano, guitar, and providing the vocals.  The Copper Bottom Band is filling in on the additional instruments.  The album also features a wide range of guest musicians including Gaby Moreno, Jean McClain, and Taj Mahal.

So check out the track listing below:

14. Unchain My Heart (*iTunes Bonus track)

What I also find impressing about musicians is the ability to think outside the box when it comes to promotion and formats.  While anyone in this day and age can make an album, slap on a cover and give it a release date, I tend to enjoy ways musicians will add bonus pieces and different covers so that buyers will feel they got more bang for their buck so to speak.  Here is a Hugh's "Limited Edition Book Package" cover and bonus track listing.

(Alternative cover)

1. Day & Night
2. Junco Partner
3. Louisiana Blues
4. Staggerlee
5. Unchain My Heart

The album was produced by Joe Henry.  Henry has released many solo albums but has also assisted in work done by Bruce Cockburn, Elvis Costello, Ani DiFranco, Bonnie Ratt, and many more!



Over the slew of reviews that I went through to find some different POVs, All Music tends to be a trust source from which many of my own thoughts and opinions reside with their website.  Like All Music, I will not give this a top notch album rating simply because it's a notable person who knows how to strum a chord or two.  On the other hand, had I never known about Laurie's acting/producing career then I would still have to tip my cap towards this album as it is both fun and groovy.

Apart from Taj Mahal, this is pretty self-contained, Laurie playing the boogie with his band, sometimes lying back and letting his backing singers steal the spotlight, which they do with ease. Nobody is concerned with reinterpreting the songs or surprising a listener, they just want to enjoy re-creating sounds and tunes they've loved, an attitude that's rarely alienating although it's never quite infectious, either. All involved love the boogie and love the swing, happy to hit the accents hard and draw out the eighth notes, and if there's never a compelling reason to listen to Laurie and crew tackle these well-loved tunes, nobody involved embarrasses themselves, and it's a pretty enjoyable way to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. -All Music

So hopefully a few people reading this are big enough fans to catch him while on tour.  I know that the Ticketmaster website was working pretty fast this morning to get people their tickets so now is a better time than any to grab a few.  Here is the itinerary for his 2013 North American tour:

October:

13th - Nashville, TN - Schermerhorn Symphony Center

15th - Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theater

16th - Chicago, IL - The Vic Theater

17th - Munhall, PA - Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead

19th - Kent, OH - The Kent Stage

20th - Toronto, ON - Danforth Music Hall

21st - Montreal, QC - Maison Symphonique

23rd - Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere Music Hall

25th - New York, NY - Town Hall Theater

26th - North Tonawanda, NY - Riviera Theater 

27th - Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater & Performing Arts Center 

29th - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theater

30th - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theater

November:

1st - Durham, NC - Carolina Theater

2nd - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theater

3rd - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theater

See you all at the show and hopefully more music and video on the way!  AFGM recommended tracks for "Didn't It Rain" are:

The St. Louis Blues | Wild Honey | Unchain My Heart

The Weed Smoker's Dream (exactly 4:20 in length! haha)