Things tend to always be the same with James Hunter, and all the better that they are! Sonically, he sounds somewhere between Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Jackie Wilson, despite being a white Englishman in his fifties. His 100% organic (nothing artificial here) soul and rhythm’n’blues floats perfectly down the mic. With Nick of Time, the ex-railway worker from Colchester pursues his wonderfully retro musical wanderings with the Daptone Records purists and their boss Gabriel ‘Bosco Mann’ Roth in the studio. Paradise for One sees the crooner/lover transform into a Nat King Cole fit for the third millennium. Overall, some exquisitely retro soul that makes us miss the old days. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz