This past June, Colin James released his latest disc, Fifteen. Aptly titled, it is James’s 15th album in his 25-year career. As CBC Music celebrates Guitar Month throughout November, you can check out those new tunes in James’s Up Close session (link), recorded at Studio 211 in Toronto. The session airs Nov. 14 on CBC Radio 2’s Canada Live.
Vancouver-based James, along with friends Tom Wilson of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar and Ron Sexsmith, among others, penned most of the tunes on the disc. One of the fun things about James, who has spent a quarter century establishing his solid career, is his desire to convey the influences that account for his growth as a musician. He has drifted easily between blues, pop, rock and soul over the years. And, of course, there is the Little Big Band that resurfaces now and then, showing his penchant for jazzy licks and swinging horns.
Fifteen includes a few covers that continue to express the breadth of influences that inform James’s music. John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” made the roster of tracks, as did “Shed a Little Light,” an obscure number from Irish songwriter Foy Vance. It was Allen Toussaint’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” however, that pumped me up.
James is a solid songwriter. His work stands up next to just about any of his peers in the blues-rock genre. But it takes a confident artist to include this kind of song on a disc alongside his own material. I literally have had “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” playing in my head for days. It will stick with you long after you’ve put the CD back into its case.
As James notes in this video vignette, he was not really aware that it was a Toussaint song. He first knew it, as most of us did, as the title track off Robert Palmer’s 1974 debut LP.
Google around and you won’t find a version by Toussaint until his more recent live performances of the past decade. Lee Dorsey did the smokin’ original version in 1970, which was the inspiration for Palmer’s take. The jam band Phish have been known to dedicate endless riffs to the tune in their live show as well.
Next time you catch James live in concert, give a call out for “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley.” I’m sure he’ll be pleased with the request.
To catch Colin James’s Up Close session on air, tune in to CBC Radio 2’s Canada Live on Nov. 14at 7 p.m.
Related:
Colin James nominated for Maple Blues Award entertainer of the year
Colin James makes Rita Chiarelli's playlist
Colin James, Up Close on Drive