  Colin James is reintroducing himself to listeners with the anthology Take it From the Top. (CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT/QMI Agency file photo) |
Colin James just came back -- to say hello again.
After being somewhat out of the limelight for a few years, the Canadian blues-rocker is reintroducing himself to listeners with the anthology Take it From the Top, a precursor to his first major-label album in nearly a decade.
"I'm going to go in to the studio soon," says the 46-year-old singer-guitarist from his home in Vancouver. "Right now, I'm trying to discern the right type of record for me to make. I like lots of stuff and I can do a fair amount of things -- whether it's more modern rock or real blues or somewhere in the middle. Keeping that in mind, I'm also a real fan of Lucinda Williams and Ray LaMontagne -- that quieter stuff. So I'm just trying to weigh out which is the best way to go, and who to work with."
While they wait, fans can make do (or refresh their memories) with the 17-track Take it From the Top, which covers most of his 23-year career, from '80s chart-toppers like Voodoo Thing and Just Came Back to his 2009 release Rooftops and Satellites. The disc also includes two bonus tracks: The fiery new blues-rocker It's Gonna be Alright and a cover of Band of Gypsys' Them Changes, both recorded with superstar producer and old pal Bob Rock.
Shortly before packing up for an acoustic tour of Ontario and Quebec, the six-time Juno winner got on the blower to talk about Little Big Band, hanging with Mick Fleetwood and the H-word.
Summarizing a career can be tough. How do you feel about this anthology?
Really good, actually. I'm so impressed that EMI could reach out to the other record labels and pull all these songs together in one package. It bodes well for a future Little Big Band collection, which I would be very excited about. But you're right -- you could put together five different records, depending on your criteria. This one, we tried to keep on the basis of radio play.
So this is more the greatest hits, say, than the best of?
That would be right. We've entertained the notion of a second one where I go through and cherrypick some of the ones that may not have been hits, but were my favourites.
Talking about the big band stuff, it's conspicuous by its absence here.
I just don't like to mix that with my other stuff. Plus the Little Big band wouldn't get radio play in this day and age. It did then -- just by the hair of its teeth.
You caught that whole swing revival with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Brian Setzer.
Actually, I was ahead of them by months. I handed in the Little Big Band record in L.A. and they said, 'Why would anyone want a record like this?' Then a month later, they called me and put on the Setzer record. All of a sudden, they understood the context. But I got lost in the shuffle. It's actually kind of a sore spot with me.
Aside from that, do you have regrets about your career?
Not really. Regrets are just a waste of time. They don't get you anywhere. I'm just happy with the fact I've done this all my life and have raised a family. In the beginning, I just wanted to go play and hopefully make a living. And I remain the eternal optimist -- surprisingly, sometimes even to myself. I always hold out hope that the next record is gonna be just smoking.
When you listen back to these cuts at the ripe old age of 46, how do they sit?
Well, time goes on. Your taste changes. And I try to live in the present more than the past. So the stuff from the '80s, especially the big drum sounds from Just Came Back, I've been there and done that.
But I've also learned to appreciate things. I've gone through periods where I refused to play some of those songs and ended up in heated arguments with fans.
I still think both ways about it. I think every artist has the right to go, 'Listen, it was 20 years ago.'
Then again, every time I play it the dance floor packs out and it always gets a reaction. So you have to be grateful.
How did you end up covering Hendrix's Band of Gypsys?
It started when I went to meet Mick Fleetwood in Maui over Christmas. I sat in with his band on Black Magic Woman and Shake Your Moneymaker. It was a gas. Then we did a New Year's Eve show with James Hetfield from Metallica, Alice Cooper, Mick Fleetwood and Michael McDonald from the Doobie Brothers. That was crazy. But they did a version of Them Changes, and I thought that would be a good idea. So I recorded it with Bob Rock. Working with him again was amazing. He was the first producer I worked with.
In the documentary video on your website, he calls you a heritage artist. How do you feel about that?
Wow. Well, it's probably better than the alternative.
Well, it's better than has-been.
That's exactly where I was going, yes. (laughs)
darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
