Soul. Either you got it or you don't, no faking. If you're Ellis Hooks, you got your first dose picking peas in the fields of Alabama at the age of four, singing in the Baptist choir till they booted you out for learning the blues, living on the streets of New York and singing/sleeping wherever you could. Hooks embodies all of the finest aspects of Southern musical traditions, and he's a "voice," a totally unique vocalist/songwriter the likes of which doesn't come around too often. "Hooks has the sort of voice that reminds you of Wilson Pickett, one of the strongest debut albums of the year." - The Times