Let Them Talk (Hugh Laurie album)

Let Them Talk is the debut studio album by English actor and musician Hugh Laurie.

Let Them Talk
Studio album by Hugh Laurie
Released	18 April 2011 (2011-04-18)
Recorded	26–27 July, 1 September, 4–8 & 21 October 2010
Genre	Blues
Length	57:56
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Joe Henry
Hugh Laurie chronology
Let Them Talk (2011) Didn't It Rain (2013)
Singles from Let Them Talk
"You Don't Know My Mind" Released: Early 2011 "Winin' Boy Blues" Released: 2 October 2011

The album, which consists of classic blues songs, was released on 9 May 2011.^[1] Some of the songs are collaborations with well-known artists such as Tom Jones, Irma Thomas and Dr. John.^[2] Laurie plays piano and guitar on the album in addition to providing lead vocals. Kevin Breit plays guitar^[3] and Vincent Henry plays saxophones.^[4] The album was produced by Joe Henry and features horn arrangements by Allen Toussaint.^[1]

Laurie premiered some of the songs in a small New Orleans club in March 2011,^[5] and started officially touring with these materials in April 2011 with two consecutive live concerts in Germany.^[6] In the UK, he performed at the Union Chapel in London,^[4] at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival,^[3] Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry, and at Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music.^[7] Laurie also made several television appearances, including BBC2 programmes The Graham Norton Show and Later... with Jools Holland,^[8] and was interviewed on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Breakfast Show.

On 15 May 2011, Laurie appeared in the UK ITV series Perspectives, explaining his love for the music of New Orleans and playing music from the album, at studios and live venues in the city of New Orleans itself.^[9]

A special edition of the album, containing three more songs, was released on 15 May 2011.^[10] A second blues album, named Didn't It Rain, was released on 6 May 2013.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
Mojo	[13]
musicOMH	[14]

Critical reception

The album received favourable reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 61 out of 100, based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[15] It also received a positive review in The Independent.^[16]

Chart performance

Let Them Talk was the biggest-selling blues album of 2011 in the UK, with sales of 192,000 copies.^[17]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"St. James Infirmary"	6:25
2.	"You Don't Know My Mind"	3:39
3.	"Six Cold Feet"	4:55
4.	"Buddy Bolden's Blues"	3:12
5.	"Battle of Jericho"	3:47
6.	"After You've Gone" (featuring Dr. John)	4:09
7.	"Swanee River"	2:43
8.	"The Whale Has Swallowed Me"	3:37
9.	"John Henry" (featuring Irma Thomas)	3:34
10.	"Police Dog Blues"	3:33
11.	"Tipitina"	5:06
12.	"Winin' Boy Blues"	2:59
13.	"They're Red Hot"	1:11
14.	"Baby, Please Make a Change" (featuring Sir Tom Jones & Irma Thomas)	4:57
15.	"Let Them Talk"	4:10

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Guess I'm a Fool"	3:09
17.	"It Ain't Necessarily So"	3:46
18.	"Lowdown, Worried and Blue"	4:14

Special edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Hallelujah I Love Her So"	3:09
17.	"Crazy Arms"	3:11
18.	"Waiting for a Train"	3:34
19.	"You Don't Know My Mind" (live in Paris)	4:42

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Let Them Talk Chart (2011) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 37 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 22 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 4 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 18 Czech Albums (IPFI[23] 7 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 25 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 30 French Albums (SNEP)[26] 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 8 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[28] 35 Irish Albums (IRMA)[29] 14 Italian Albums (FIMI)[30] 55 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 40 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 26 Polish Albums (OLiS)[33] 22 Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[35] 40 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 54 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 4 UK Albums (OCC)[38] 2 US Billboard 200[39] 16 US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)[40] 1

Year-end charts 2011 year-end chart performance for Let Them Talk Chart (2011) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[41] 60 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[42] 24 French Albums (SNEP)[43] 28 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[44] 59 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 60 UK Albums (OCC)[46] 59 US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)[47] 3 2012 year-end chart performance for Let Them Talk Chart (2012) Position French Albums (SNEP)[48] 130 US Top Blues Albums (Billboard)[49] 3 Certifications Certifications for Let Them Talk Region Certification Certified units/sales Argentina (CAPIF)[50] Platinum 40,000^ France (SNEP)[51] 2× Platinum 300,000[52] Poland (ZPAV)[53] 2× Platinum 40,000* United Kingdom (BPI)[54] Gold 192,000[55] * Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Let Them Talk

Region	Date
France	18 April 2011
Germany	29 April 2011
United Kingdom	9 May 2011
United States	6 September 2011