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On one of this year's smoothest and best discs, Hunter makes The Hard Way go down so easy.
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If you thought no one made albums like this any more, they don’t so enjoy The Hard Way.
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With analog recording, Hunter’s buttery voice and primitive Les Paul playing and a muscular double-sax section, this follow-up to "People Gonna Talk" re-renders the art of musical seduction even more convincingly than Hunter’s mentor Van Morrison.
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MojoHe calls his style 'slavishly copying,' we know it better as sweet soul. [July 2008, p.108]
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Q MagazineAnother almost note-perfect recreation of the same pre-Beatles R&B world, this follow-up smoothly mainstains the good work with songs that recall the likes of The Drifters and even early James brown. [July 2008, p.102]
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The Hard Way, his debut for Hear Music, is a tad tougher--the horns are more prominent and sharper, Hunter's guitar has more bite to it, and the rhythms cut deeper--and quicker; at times Hunter veers closer to soul-rock than he has in the past, but he's still working well within his favorite genre.
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The album's highlight is the jazzy horn rave-up "Don't Do Me No Favours," where Hunter cackles, yelps, shouts and bellows about refusing to take handouts from a rich man. On cuts like these, Hunter proves he's more than just a retro-soul act--the guy's got fire in his gut.