Ellis Hooks' debut CD, "Undeniable" marked him out as a great singer, and definitely one to watch. For his follow up on the Zane label, Hooks has kept the same core team of Jon (guitars, harp, organ, percussion, sax and producer) and Sally Tiven (bass). As before, all the songs are originals, mostly written by this trio.
The album opens with countrified soul on "Gonna Take Some Time." The first of five tracks where Dan Penn had a major hand in the mixing, it shows off a slightly different side to Hooks. The overall feel on this one and "Forty Days and Forty Nights" suggests that someone has been listening to Eddie Hinton.
The bluesiest number is probably "It's a Hassle," with a tune a bit like Robert Cray's "Consequences." For the most part, though, the album is rooted in the soul spectrum: "That's Not What I Need" ventures into Otis territory, whilst "Let Love Do It" has shades of Al Green. Hooks also gets funky on the excellent "Ready This Time," donning his James Brown hat, and the guitar effects on "M'Baby" lend it a funky edge.
Hooks' tough gritty voice enables him to carry off more rock oriented material like "Uncomplicated." It is easy to imagine this one and "Slide The Gun" as being staples of a live show. The danger is they sometimes veer a little too much into rock territory, which may deter some listeners. A rockier edge is not necessarily a bad thing--it really works on "Can't Take This No More," lending it a Wilson Pickett flavor--but the album's only real failing is that some of the material is a bit too full on rock. The prime example is "Never Give Up On Your Love," where the rock guitar sound gets a bit overbearing, which would work much better if it was organ-dominated.
The album rounds out with a brace of bonus tracks. Dan Penn was in charge of the mixing, and they sound like perfect encores in a live show. The aforementioned "Can't Take This No More" rocks along nicely, without getting too much out of hand, whilst "I Don't Want To Go Home" closes things out in a more relaxed vein.
"The Hand of God" is another fine album by Ellis Hooks. It does, however, seem to be trying too hard to hit several target audiences at once: blues, soul, and rock. What shines through, though, is that Hooks is a great soul singer. I suspect that the very best of Ellis Hooks is still yet to come. It would be interesting to let Dan Penn or Steve Cropper put together Hooks' next recording. Now that would be some album!
www.zanerecords.com
www.artemisrecords.com
** In the USA, this album is called "Uncomplicated" and is released on Artemis Records.
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