LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- `` I like L.A. , but there sure are a lot of ugly bastards running around here , '' says James Hunter , with a set of grotesque joke teeth in his mouth -- and tongue firmly in cheek . James Hunter has received raves for his recordings , but has yet to break through to big-time success . Midway through a lengthy tour , it 's nice to know his sense of humor is intact . The boyish 46-year-old British retro-R & B singer is in a dressing room at the Sunset Strip 's House of Blues , sitting in a throne-like chair festooned with Mexican Day of the Dead skulls . It 's oddly fitting . Like that festival , Hunter is remembering -- through his music -- those who are no longer with us . His classic soul-inspired sound and concert style harkens back to the golden days of R & B and the men who practiced it : Jackie Wilson , Sam Cooke and guitarist Lowman Pauling , among others . `` I think I probably stole a couple of tricks from people who were already dead by the time I started , '' he replies , when asked about his stage moves . Indeed , an hour later he 's on stage and it 's clear that if you put him in the `` Back to the Future '' DeLorean , traveled back to 1955 and dropped him off with Marvin Berry 's band at the `` Enchantment Under the Sea '' dance , he 'd be right at home . Watch Hunter perform for a sound check » . That authentic old-school sound has made him a cult favorite among jazz and blues aficionados . His first two albums -- 2006 's `` People Gon na Talk '' and last year 's `` The Hard Way '' -- were acclaimed by critics and the cognoscenti , with the Boston Globe calling `` The Hard Way '' `` one of the year 's smoothest and best discs . '' He 's also earned praise as a dazzling live performer , one who is known for guitar acrobatics performed with a smile . But he has yet to achieve the mainstream success of British retro-soul contemporaries Amy Winehouse , Duffy and Adele . Could it be because they 've found a way to blend contemporary lyrics with an older sound ? Hunter acknowledges he does n't do enough of that in his own music : `` I think that 's my downfall , to be honest . I think they picked up on a trick that I 'm trying , that I 've mastered . I mean , I think they 're as much immersed in contemporary stuff as the old days . I think that 's pretty cool . I 'm trying to do that . `` Stylistically , I 'm more embedded , not in tradition -- I mean I 'm not into genres -- but styles , you know , '' he continues . `` The sound of things . I 've got my preference in the sound and stuff . But , you know , I think I can afford to go their way a little bit , not because it 's successful , but because it works . '' Interestingly , few American acts have embraced the retro-soul sound with the fervor of their British counterparts . Hunter has his theories on why that 's the case . `` It could be because you guys invented it , you know . I think it 's possible , '' he says . `` I 'm not sure these days , but initially you had the Stones and people like that , even the Beatles who were much more in awe in this American music than Americans were . It all tends to be on your doorstep and you tend to be more cavalier to the stuff that 's already there . It 's like the thing when John Lennon told the reporters that he wanted to see Muddy Waters and they said , 'Where 's that ? ' `` But despite the love he has for the music of the classic soul era , Hunter understands that going forward , a healthy irreverence is what will keep it fresh for audiences -- and himself . `` I think the downfall of any type of music is to treat it with too much reverence , because the people at the time were n't treating it with reverence and they were sort of bashing it out , that was the beauty of it , the spontaneity , '' he says . `` But , when people are trying to preserve stuff -- you 've got to be loyal to this or that kind of music -- that 's so much nonsense . ''
James Hunter known for old-school R & B recordings . British guitarist has earned raves , but still no big-time success . Hunter admits that he 's trying to combine contemporary lyrics with old sound .