James Blunt: All the Lost Souls
Monday, 17 Sep 2007 14:29
James Blunt: All the Lost Souls – As unadventurous as you would expect
Custard/Atlantic, out September 17th.
In a nutshell
Unexciting, but should keep the fans happy.
What's it all about?
All the Lost Souls (ALS) is the second album from the Marmite of pop. Love him or hate him, James Blunt is back from enjoying his Mediterranean lifestyle in his Ibiza mansion in an attempt to follow up his debut album Back to Bedlam.
With the burden of the hugely successful but also much hated hit You're Beautiful on his shoulders, Blunt claims he put no pressure on himself to follow that up but instead focused on creating ten songs that he was happy with.
The result is something not too dissimilar from Back To Bedlam; a mix of upbeat, emotional mainstream pop that will no doubt be as much loved and hated as his earlier hits. Recorded in an LA studio with his live band, ALS has Blunt's distinctive vocals and keeps him firmly in the same footing as James Morrison and Paulo Nutini.
1973, the first single to be released from the album which is currently at number four in the UK singles chart, is a misleading album opener. With an insistent chirpy beat it's a hit that will stay in your head whether you want it to or not. None of the remaining nine songs is in the same vein, instead delving into a Back To Bedlam-esque mix of well-meaning love songs with the odd ballad thrown in.
Blunt may claim he simply made a record he wanted to be happy with, but the words "Me and my guitar play my way, it makes them frown/But little pieces by the highway bring me down" (Give Me Some Love) suggest that he may care more than he thinks about how this album is received by his fans and haters.
Who's it by?
Blunt was born James Hillier Blount in 1974 into an upper middle class background – an upbringing which seems to make critics dislike him all the more. Posh boys in pop for some reason seem to be more repellent than those singing with affected street accents. After a stint at Sandhurst Blunt then had a brief career in the army including time in Kosovo. Following that his music career began and the over-hyped You're Beautiful was inflicted on the world.
Since then Blunt has sold over 11 million albums – with Back To Bedlam going to number one in 18 countries – won two Brits and been nominated for five Grammys. This success has been largely overshadowed by the anti James Blunt backlash, which includes his name being added to the Dictionary of Cockney rhyming slang for one of the nastier swearwords ("He's a right James Blunt"). He also faced the shame of being named as the fourth most irritating thing in the UK – beaten only by cold-callers, caravans and queue-jumpers.
Ignoring the jibes at his less-than-deep and manly voice, Blunt took himself off to Ibiza, reportedly dated numerous beautiful women and spent time completing ALS. "[The album] shows my growth and development as a songwriter and musician," he claims, "shows development in my own life and documents it in that way."
As an example
"Why don't you give me some love?/I've taken ship-load of drugs/I'm so tired of never fixing the pain/Valium said to me/I'll take you seriously/And we'll come back as someone else/ Who's better than yourself." (Give Me Some Love)
"Shine on, Just shine on/With your smile just as bright as the sun/'Cause they're all just slaves to the gods they made/But you and I just shone/Just shone.
"And when silence greets my last goodbye/The words I need are in your eyes, and I'll sing." (Shine On)
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
No stranger to Grammys, Blunt may be in with a shot of best male in the pop category but the competition would have to be pretty weak for him to win for ASL.
What the others say
"Too much of All the Lost Souls is just pleasant ether, with Blunt showing a gift for drabness on forgettable ballads that make Coldplay seem like the Arctic Monkeys. Blunt can write a solid pop song now and then. But on All the Lost Souls, the impulse to woo you with that androgynous voice and Byronic sensitivity overwhelms his better instincts." - Rolling Stone.
"If you sing about killing a man, as Blunt does on I Really Want You, in precisely the same voice you use to sing about fellatio, it's bound to have an emotionally levelling effect: you're going to come across as if you don't mean any of it. And perhaps that, rather than his class or his looks or his success, is the reason so many people dislike James Blunt. There's something weirdly insincere about what he does." - The Guardian.
So is it any good?
All the Lost Souls is so similar to Back to Bedlam that it will no doubt keep his fans happy but will also fail to win over any of his critics. 1973 is a classic pop hit while those anticipating the love ballads of his debut album will not be disappointed with the tracks I Really Want You and Carry You Home.
His live band lifts the lyrics and succeeds in creating an impressive background of catchy beats and rhythms. But while there is plenty of material for his fans to enjoy there's also plenty in ASL that shows Blunt's banality and lack of range – 1973 is the only attempt to branch out from his comfort zone and even then he doesn't venture too far.
6/10
Carolyn Robertson
Your comments
"I have been a fan from the start. I find James' words and music... touch me within. I haven't found this since my love for Bob Dylan. Thanks James and may you have all the luck in your future." - Lisa Clark
"James Blunt is a modern John Lennon. His words have more meaning than any other artist's. James Blunt doesn't just sing his words, he means then and says them in such a way that he can make you feel what he felt to write the song. He's amazing." - Melissa del Balso
"I have both albums and I think that they are both as good as each other. I've listened to all the tracks several times over and i believe that the combination of his voice, accent and his own memories make a perfect combination for great songs and albums . I think people should just leave him alone and maybe give somebody some credit for being a normal person making it to the big time and having some quality fun with the lovely ladies." - Paul W
"James Blunt is absolutely breathtaking. The combination of his style of lyrics, voice and music make him superb. I don;t know why many people don't like him ..maybe it's because they like to see a person fall than to rise." - Rohan Devgekar
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