Within a minute of listening to the opening track off of Seth James’ latest, Different Hat, there are hints that Delbert McClinton was a big musical influence; “Mamarita” begins with the slow roll of the drums, before the funk-ed up bass and honky tony piano kick in, punctuated by New Orleans swamp horns. One song later, on a fantastic cover of McClinton’s “Solid Gold Plated Fool,” the McClinton connection is confirmed.
The cover was suggested by the man himself, who said James should record the song. “It’s been an anthem for most of my life,” James said. “I don’t run around seeking approval because I’ve learned that’s scary and just not a healthy thing to do, but when you get that kind of nod from him, it does mean a lot.”
Like his fellow Texan, James plays an infectious mix of Blues, Funk and Rock. Don’t let the straw hat and boots fool you, James may have been raised a cowboy, but his music is straight out of the New Orleans and Chicago bars. Along with the McClinton track, James also covers two JJ Cale-penned songs, “Wish I Had Not Said That” and “Raisin’ Kane,” a song that even Cale has never recorded before now (and featuring Lee Roy Parnell on slide guitar); and Larry Jon Wilson’s “Ohoopee River Bottom Land.” There are also a slew of James’ own songs scattered throughout.
There are a few quieter moments here, like on the slow burn Blues-soaked “World Full of Strangers” and the organ-heavy “Getting’ It On,” but James is at his best when he goes full bore on the bar room jams “Mamarita” and “Solid Gold Plated Fool.” The other stand out tracks are the Cale song “Wish I Had Not said That,” both beautiful and relatable, and the charming “Moonpies,” which sounds like a long lost McClinton gem. Lest you think James is just another McClinton acolyte, with Different Hat he manages to build onto that solid genre gumbo and add in enough original elements to make it his own.
