Hugh Laurie is immediately associated with many roles; primarily the sarcastic, cynical Dr. House of the Fox TV show House. Although Dr. House occasionally plays a few jazzy lines on the piano, the British star’s newly recorded album shows a side of the actor that few have seen.
In Laurie’s first album, Let Them Talk, he takes on the persona of a 19th century New Orleans blues musician, and does so in a way only an actor as talented as Laurie could manage.
The album opens with Laurie demonstrating his musical talent in the sultry piano entrance to the classic blues song St. James Infirmary. As soon as Laurie’s vocals lay down over the classic instrumentals, it is clear that he seamlessly crosses from his brilliant TV doctor self into a passionate blues singer.
Throughout each track, Laurie belts the notes as well as any true New Orleans blues man could, and as the classic Louisiana spirit grows with the album’s progression, Laurie adds his own spin to traditional tunes, including Swanee River, which begins with Laurie showing his artistry.
“Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American south,” Laurie said in his album’s introduction, to pay his respects to the real blues musicians of the 1800s. Although such comments are expected from the humorous and critical character of Gregory House, Laurie adopts the feel of old-fashioned blues so tastefully that he does not need to excuse himself.
With this unique and unpredictable debut album, it will be interesting to see where Hugh Laurie’s music career takes him next.
