Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk

[Kush]

This threw me for a loop....Dr. House releasing an album of early jazz and blues later this month (although most tracks already seem to be on youtube). I believe he also plays piano on most or all the tracks.

St. James Infirmary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1x7AeEogGM&

Tipitina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbsClHVXKtI&

Battle of Jericho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F223DEpchq4&

John Henry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFJbs5Bc-9U&

and he introduces the album here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI7_sXFN6t0

[Diane]

Kush I wasn't aware of this side of Hugh Laurie! Very cool. What a pair Fry and Laurie have turned out to be since they first burst on the scene as a comedy double.

[Paula]

I still have a fondness for Jeeves and Wooster

[Kush]

Diane, Paula - I have seen some of Jeeves and Wooster somewhere (and liked it very much) but dont believe I've seen Fry and Laurie but definitely know of the series. Both may have aired on PBS not sure. I dont really watch House either but its very popular I think. Think I stopped watching TV sitcoms at the end of Seinfeld and later on Frasier.
Hugh Laurie sounds like a cross between Eric Clapton and John Hiatt atleast to my ears. I look forward to this music.

[Diane]

I just heard on the radio that he is playing London tonight. Strange to listen to the clips although there's no reason why he can't have a music as well as his better-known career. Jeeves and Wooster yes but Blackadder was the best, Paula. But I have never heard of House. Has it been on over here? The Americans have nicked one of our best!

[Paula]

Diane - He is very good at playing the "nice but dim" parts isn't he. I do love him in Blackadder as well.

I think we have House in England but I don't watch it.

Kush - In Jeeves and Wooster Stephen Fry (a national treasure) played Jeeves and Hugh Laurie played Bertie Wooster.

[Diane]

Diane - He is very good at playing the "nice but dim" parts isn't he. I do love him in Blackadder as well.

yeah, he's a natural. Could it be both Fry and Laurie have done their best work since they separated, as they both seem to be at the height of their success right now yet still the best of pals.
Re. Blackadder, Rowan Atkinson's pliable face makes me laugh before he even speaks. Baldrick makes serious documentaries these days doesn't he. But he'll always be Baldrick. Good comedy is a type of poetry!

[joyezekiel]

Just a tip for those who are Stateside..... I pre-ordered the CD and it is WAY cheaper in the UK than in the USA, so I'm getting it sent over from Amazon.co.uk. Also, although it's now been released in UK, it's not due to be released in the USA until later in the year. I don't understand, but there you go.

The clips I've heard & watched so far sound great. He's a super-talented man.

Joy

[Mordy]

Yes, a truly talented man. Brings to mind another great Brit - the wonderful and much-missed Dudley Moore - a brilliant comic and, just as an added extra, a superb musician.

[Kush]

Just a tip for those who are Stateside..... I pre-ordered the CD and it is WAY cheaper in the UK than in the USA, so I'm getting it sent over from Amazon.co.uk. Also, although it's now been released in UK, it's not due to be released in the USA until later in the year. I don't understand, but there you go.

I tried to download it from amazon.co.uk but it doesnt work due to "geographical restrictions". So went ahead and ordered it. Another new CD to my growing list of new and barely heard new CDs. There ought to be moratorium on all new CDs until I get caught up. Its a tough life we lead.

[joyezekiel]

Just a tip for those who are Stateside..... I pre-ordered the CD and it is WAY cheaper in the UK than in the USA, so I'm getting it sent over from Amazon.co.uk. Also, although it's now been released in UK, it's not due to be released in the USA until later in the year. I don't understand, but there you go.

I tried to download it from amazon.co.uk but it doesnt work due to "geographical restrictions". So went ahead and ordered it. Another new CD to my growing list of new and barely heard new CDs. There ought to be moratorium on all new CDs until I get caught up. Its a tough life we lead.

Ha! Join the club - I hear one tiny clip of one song and I have to buy the whole CD!

Joy

[joyezekiel]

Actually, the CD is very good. It's had a couple of plays already.......

Joy

[Kush]

Well I just got it and have listened to it about 1.5 times. It is quite outstanding and the credit for that goes to not just Hugh Laurie but also to the musicians and the producer to come with such a great album. Except for maybe a couple of tracks, he sounds absolutely authentic and like he could have been making this music for decades. I look forward to more from him. This is one of three outstanding debt albums I have come across in the past year or so broadly in the same genre (American roots/jazz/blues/soul), the others being by Mati Haskell and Jennifer Zarine.
And apart from anything else, Mr. Laurie writes the most hilarious and entertaining liner notes I have ever read. He makes a best case for why he as a white middle class Englishman should be singing the the blues. Worth the price of admission.