Kenji Lloyd - 7/27/2011

After literally decades of watching Hugh Laurie on television and seeing him demonstrate his musical genius from time to time on various television shows and films, we have finally been treated to the utter gift from Laurie recording this 15-track album. Let Them Talk takes us on a musical journey to New Orleans through his selection of blues classics and forgotten songs of days and decades gone by.

We have always known that Laurie has a brilliant singing voice, and this album really does that voice justice. Not only can he sing, however, he can play both piano and guitar, and do so fantastically. He truly is a man of many talents.

The album begins with a song made famous by the great Louis Armstrong, St. James Infirmary, opening with a virtuosic piano solo from Laurie that introduces us to some of the album's darker tones that stay true to the blues genre. It doesn't, however, stay constantly in sad songs, moving quickly into the much more upbeat sing-along track, You Don't Know My Mind, and later the brilliant and contagiously melodious Swanee River.

Laurie has also brought in some of the greatest artists to collaborate with him on the record, including Dr. John, Irma Thomas, and the powerfully popular Sir Tom Jones, who opens the album's penultimate track, Baby, Please Make A Change. The harmonies that Jones, Thomas, and Laurie all create on this album are beautiful, incorporating their different vocal styles on one track that really complement each other in their difference.

Closing the album is the title-track, Let Them Talk, and it is nothing short of a masterpiece that we end with; sheer musical brilliance. It is blues in perfection from start to finish, and thus the perfect way to conclude Laurie's musical debut. It is a love song, a sad song, and a glorious song. It is a song that will stay in your head for days. It is a song in which Laurie bears his soul, and we must love him for it, bringing this incredible album to an end. Laurie is known across the world as a talented actor, and now he can finally be recognised as the exceptional musician he is.