Roy Brown's "Cadillac (Baby)," Ike Turner's "Leading Me On," Roscoe Gordon's "No More Doggin'" rumble from the days just before Elvis exploded. This music is swinging stuff too rarely heard. Detouring from his proven AOR track, Canadian heartthrob Colin James stomps this 1948-56 turf engagingly, his expert Wes Montgomery-style guitar licks jousting sassily with the Roomful of Blues horns. Less a...

If you didn't know better, you'd swear that Canadian guitarist Colin James was from Texas. James, one of the best blues-rock guitarists to emerge in recent years, has all the earmarks of the traditional Texas guitar slinger: dazzling, cocksure technique, a flair for dynamics, enough humor to stand clichés on their heads and an innate sense of direction in his soloing. It's not surprising,...