Singer, songwriter & guitarist ELLIS HOOKS...is back with an epic, genre-busting second album for Zane Records, recorded in NYC & Nashville. All new, original songs, five tracks mixed by music legend Dan Penn (tracks 1,7,8,16,17), you might call it "Rock'n'Soul" or "Americana Soul".

The story so far...New York based Ellis Hooks' debut album ‘Undeniable' is released in the UK in September 2002.Ellis is invited by BBC presenter Andy Kershaw and Radio 3 to appear at their World Music Day concert in London on New Years Day 2003.Critics tag Ellis as a remarkable new soul man who bucks the trends. Ellis tours the UK, Holland and Norway in April 2003 and returns to Europe in July that year for Festivals in France and Switzerland, and follows up with masterly performances at the Porretta Soul Festival in Italy, sharing the bill with Solomon Burke.

Producer, Jon Tiven now takes up the story with respect to the new album (from the CD booklet liner notes): "What is Soul? Soul is the direct musical expression of the inner spirit, bypassing the intellect. You can hear it in many genres: R&B, Rock, Country, Blues and Gospel being the most obvious. Ellis and I have undertaken the making of the second album as an opportunity to expand the palate...when an artist makes his second album; there is always the challenge of producing a work as strong as (or better than) the first. Ellis and I looked at this as a great opportunity to stretch out. We began the recording process in New York with "40 Days" and "She Locked The Door"...we continued in Nashville with members of Ellis' crack touring band, Duane Jarvis and Billy Block joining the recording process... and we were able to finish up with Dan Penn at his studio, mixing. The wide cornucopia of musics that settled into Nashville infused this album with an identity that recalls the Soul music of the past but looks to the future.... above all else, what Ellis does is pure Soul..."

Also proudly stated in the CD booklet: This recording was made without the use of protools, autotune, or digital manipulation. All vocals and instruments were recorded in real time by live singers and musicians. Duncan Cowell at Sound Mastering, London, mastered the album.

Ellis is a singular talent, he definitely knows his muse. His recordings mix tough, raw Southern soul with elements of other musical genres, but he never strays from the notion of groove, the feeling of direct emotion, the sound of longing. The result is a record that sounds, fresh and contemporary, perhaps more akin to the leading lights of the modern Americana scene. This album is a considerable achievement and Ellis is a man to watch!