Let Them Talk (Hugh Laurie album)

Let Them Talk
Studio album by
Released18 April 2011 (2011-04-18)
Recorded26–27 July, 1 September, 4–8 & 21 October 2010
GenreBlues
Length57:56
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerJoe Henry
Hugh Laurie chronology
Let Them Talk
(2011)
Didn't It Rain
(2013)
Singles from Let Them Talk
  1. "You Don't Know My Mind"
    Released: Early 2011
  2. "Winin' Boy Blues"
    Released: 2 October 2011

Let Them Talk is the debut studio album by English actor and musician Hugh Laurie.

The album, which consists of classic blues songs, was released on 9 May 2011.[1] Some of the songs are collaborations with well-known artists such as Tom Jones, Irma Thomas and Dr. John.[2] Laurie plays piano and guitar on the album in addition to providing lead vocals. Kevin Breit plays guitar[3] and Vincent Henry plays saxophones.[4] The album was produced by Joe Henry and features horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint.[1]

Laurie premiered some of the songs in a small New Orleans club in March 2011,[5] and started officially touring with these materials in April 2011 with two consecutive live concerts in Germany.[6] In the UK, he performed at the Union Chapel in London,[4] at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival,[3] Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry, and at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music.[7] Laurie also made several television appearances, including BBC2 programmes The Graham Norton Show and Later... with Jools Holland,[8] and was interviewed on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

On 15 May 2011, Laurie appeared in the UK ITV series Perspectives, explaining his love for the music of New Orleans and playing music from the album, at studios and live venues in the city of New Orleans itself.[9]

A special edition of the album, containing three more songs, was released on 15 May 2011.[10] A second blues album, named Didn't It Rain, was released on 6 May 2013.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic61/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Mojo[13]
musicOMH[14]

Critical reception

[edit]

The album received favourable reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 61 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15] It also received a positive review in The Independent.[16]

Chart performance

[edit]

Let Them Talk was the biggest-selling blues album of 2011 in the UK, with sales of 192,000 copies.[17]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."St. James Infirmary"6:25
2."You Don't Know My Mind"3:39
3."Six Cold Feet"4:55
4."Buddy Bolden's Blues"3:12
5."Battle of Jericho"3:47
6."After You've Gone" (featuring Dr. John)4:09
7."Swanee River"2:43
8."The Whale Has Swallowed Me"3:37
9."John Henry" (featuring Irma Thomas)3:34
10."Police Dog Blues"3:33
11."Tipitina"5:06
12."Winin' Boy Blues"2:59
13."They're Red Hot"1:11
14."Baby, Please Make a Change" (featuring Sir Tom Jones & Irma Thomas)4:57
15."Let Them Talk"4:10
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Guess I'm a Fool"3:09
17."It Ain't Necessarily So"3:46
18."Lowdown, Worried and Blue"4:14
Special edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Hallelujah I Love Her So"3:09
17."Crazy Arms"3:11
18."Waiting for a Train"3:34
19."You Don't Know My Mind" (live in Paris)4:42

Charts and certifications

[edit]

Release history

[edit]
Release history for Let Them Talk
Region Date
France 18 April 2011
Germany 29 April 2011
United Kingdom 9 May 2011
United States 6 September 2011

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Let Them Talk". Amazon.com. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  2. ^ "'House' star Hugh Laurie's blues album 'Let Them Talk' out in May". NME. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  3. ^ a b Fordham, John (3 May 2011). "Hugh Laurie – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  4. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (5 May 2011). "Hugh Laurie and his fake American accent". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  5. ^ Smith, Caspar Llewellyn (23 March 2011). "Hugh Laurie plays first ever blues gig". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  6. ^ On April 27, 2011 in Hamburg, and on April 28, 2011 in Berlin. see Hugh Laurie's Blues - the official Site back Tour listings, as reflected in the Internet Archive, retrieved on June 10, 2018
  7. ^ "Welcome thenatter.co.uk - BlueHost.com". Thenatter.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  8. ^ "BBC Two - Later... with Jools Holland, Series 38, Episode 3, Hugh Laurie chats to Jools Holland". Bbc.co.uk. 23 April 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  9. ^ Hugh Laurie: Down by the River, The ITV.com webpage, as reflected in the Internet Archive, retrieved on June 10, 2018
  10. ^ "Official website". Hugh Laurie official website. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Reviews for Let Them Talk by Hugh Laurie". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  12. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (9 May 2011). "Let Them Talk - Hugh Laurie | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  13. ^ "Critic Reviews for Let Them Talk". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk | Album Reviews". musicOMH. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Let Them Talk Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Album: Hugh Laurie, Let Them Talk (Warner) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. 8 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  17. ^ "The Top 20 blues albums of 2011 revealed". Official Charts Company. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Hugh Laurie Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Čns Ifpi". Ifpicr.cz. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Lescharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  28. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2011. 20. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  29. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Hugh Laurie". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  30. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Charts.nz – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. 29 May 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  35. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  36. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  39. ^ "Hugh Laurie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  40. ^ "Hugh Laurie Chart History (Top Blues Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  41. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2011". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  42. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2011". Ultratop. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  43. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2011" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  44. ^ "Top 100 - lista roczna - 2011". ZPAV. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  45. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2011". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  46. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  47. ^ "Blues Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  48. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2012" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  49. ^ "Blues Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  50. ^ "Prensario Música – Discográficas" (PDF) (in Spanish). Prensario Música. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  51. ^ "Année 2013 Certifications Au 05/11/2013 – Albums Double Platine + De 300 000 Exemplaires Vendus" (PDF) (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  52. ^ "French album certifications – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 27 April 2021. Select HUGH LAURIE and click OK. 
  53. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2012 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  54. ^ Lane, Dan (19 January 2012). "The Top 20 Blues Albums Of 2011 Revealed". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  55. ^ "British album certifications – Hugh Laurie – Let Them Talk". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
[edit]