Colin James, by the numbers:
1 million: Records he's sold to date.
6: Juno awards on his mantle.
14: Tracks on his new album, Limelight. And, amazingly, each has its own personality, though the format doesn't stray far between blues, soul and R&B.

Colin Linden produced. The two have been friends and mutual admirers for years, and Linden was behind the glass for James's Juno-winning National Steel. Linden used the Memphis Horns on his last album, and gets similar honking and blazing from a horn section on several tracks here, starting off the top with 'Better Way to Heaven.' The upbeat, catchy number sets the tone with its Van Morrison-ish feel. In fact, James goes on to cover Morrison's 'Into the Mystic' on the album, a song he's been doing live for years.

The third track sounds like something Bob Dylan would have written. In fact, it is: 'Watchin' the River Flow', a testifyin' blues goodie. No lack of impressive musicianship here: the Mark Knopfler sounding guitar on 'Speakeasy', imbued with a great night-time feel, nice acoustic noodling on the even darker 'Shadow of Love' ("I watch the darkness make its move").

James gets positively funky on the infectious 'It Fill You Up', a Wide Mouth Mason kind of song. The first single is a co-write with Tom Wilson, 'Far Away Like a Radio', a chunky, brooding number with tons of overlapping vocals and a raspy-voice narration that positively screams cool. James's singing is impressive, and there are a ton of sounds on this record which will reward repeated and careful listenings. Awards list to follow.