''Didn't It Rain'' is the second studio album by English actor and musician

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

. Recorded in

Ocean Way Studios Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates recording facilities, but O ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in January 2013, the album contains several

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

songs (like its predecessor, '' Let Them Talk''). Unlike his previous album, however, Laurie also branches further into other

Southern US The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n genres, including

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, R&B, and

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

. Similarly to ''Let Them Talk'', Laurie once again plays piano and guitar, and often provides vocals. Additionally, Laurie is joined by guest musicians

Gaby Moreno Maria Gabriela Moreno Bonilla (born 16 December 1981) is a Guatemalan singer-songwriter and guitarist. Singing in both English and Spanish, Moreno's music covers many genres including Latin, alternative, blues, folk and Americana. She has won ...

, Jean McClain, and

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, and is supported throughout by the Copper Bottom Band. ''Didn't It Rain'' was released in the UK on 6 May 2013, with

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

providing pre-order and digital releases, and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

providing vinyl prints and a special book edition. As a promotion for a

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

interview regarding Laurie's album and upcoming tour, the album had a 24-hour free streaming period in several countries. It was released in the United States on 6 August 2013. The miniature piano seen on the album artwork was given to Laurie on a 2009 episode of ''

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

– acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, dobro, mandola, mandolin * Patrick Warren – accordion, Hammond b-3 organ, pump organ, keyboards * Vincent Henry – vocals, harmonica, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone *

Jay Bellerose Jay Bellerose is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists. Biography Bellerose was born in Maine. A jazz enthusiast, he attended ...

– drums, percussion *

Larry Goldings Lawrence Sam Goldings (born August 28, 1968) is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and jazz fusion, fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner. Life and career Golding ...

– Hammond b-3 organ * Kevin Breit – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, tenor banjo, mandocello, mandola, mandolin, background vocals * Jean McClain – background vocals * Elizabeth Lea – trombone * David Plitch – upright bass, electric bass *

– vocals, acoustic guitar, whistle, piano, Wurlitzer organ * Robby Marshall – clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone ;Also: *

Tour

Following the album's release, a promotional tour was set to span the UK and several countries starting on 31 May 2013.Hugh Laurie's Blues - the official Site back Tour listings
as reflected in the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

, retrieved on April 28, 2018 The tour began in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, and continued across

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by so ...

. After covering five EU capitals, it toured several cities in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, before concluding back in mainland Europe.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

, -

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Hugh Laurie albums 2013 albums Albums produced by Joe Henry Warner Records albums