Hugh Laurie, Let Them Talk (Warner Brothers Records) *** (From York Press)

Hugh Laurie, Let Them Talk (Warner Brothers Records) ***

11:42am Friday 13th January 2012 in CD reviews By Julian Cole

SUPERSTAR actor, rumpled charmer, blues musician – is there any other way Hugh Laurie can find to make the rest of us feel inadequate? And should you wonder about an old Eton boy getting the blues, Laurie nips in there first: “I was not born in Alabama in the 1890s.

You may as well know this now…” Laurie’s rhythm and blues album has already been a best-seller, and here it is again in a slightly more posh version, with three added tracks and a 15-track bonus DVD. It is difficult not to warm to Laurie in interviews and in his acting, and much the same applies to his music, especially as he is backed up by a top-notch band, and is a good piano player too.

The weakness, as on the original release, lies in that voice. For a man with a rich speaking voice, the singing voice is too thin to sustain a whole album. Voice aside, there are moments to enjoy here, notably St James Infirmary, Buddy Bolden’s Blues and one of the bonus tracks, Hallelujah I Love Her So.