Colin James - Traveler

'Rainy Day, Dream Away'

Canadian Colin James is a traveler. "I've been touring since I was 16 and I still find it exhilarating to change my surroundings whether it be for work or vacation." Musically, he's been considered a chameleon. He burst on the scene in 1988 as a young guitar slinger with a style steeped in the blues.

Over the years, his music has both evolved and progressed - exploring the edges of rock, blues, jump swing and traditional blues. His acoustic blues album, National Steel, won a Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Blues Recording, and he was named Best Producer in 1999 for his work on Colin James & the Little Big Band II. He's been a recipient of six Juno Awards with a recording catalogue that includes multi-platinum rock albums and best selling big band jazz records.

For his latest project, James called on renowned producer Mark Howard (Daniel Lanois, Bob Dylan, and Lucinda Williams) to carve out his current sound. They opted to treat the recording sessions with spontaneity, leaving some rough edges and doing very little sweetening in preserving the emotionalism that's often missing in today's recordings.

Honestly, we can't find many rough edges on Traveler. His originals rival material from the likes of John Mayer and Hall and Oates. And 'Sending a Message' could easily battle Train's 'Calling All Angels' for a chart slot. His sound maintains a produced pop feel as he tells tales of loneliness, heartache and loves lost. So, when he selects a song written by another artist, it needs to fit the theme. With that in mind, it's fitting he opens with a haunting interpretation of John Lennon's 'I'm Losing You' and closes with Jimi's 'Rainy Day, Dream Away'.

'Rainy Day, Dream Away' is an example of how the project represents James' ability to grow and move with the music, learning as he goes. "True to Mark's spontaneity, we listened to Jimi's version once and cut the song immediately," remembers James. "It was a one take affair."

The arrangement is an aggressive Technicolor dream, as James approaches with a harder edge than Jimi, as Colin's slices more than Jimi's, with a strong wah-wah driven lead line.