Singer-Songwriters : All the Lost Souls

All the Lost Souls

CDN$ 9.99

  1. 1973
  2. One of the Brightest Stars
  3. I ll Take Everything
  4. Same Mistake
  5. Carry You Home
  6. Give Me Some Love
  7. I Really Want You
  8. Shine On
  9. Annie
  10. I Can t Hear the Music

In 2005, James Blunt was everybody s favorite overnight success story. In 2007, he s the guy who s making rock meaningful again. All the Lost Souls,, the sophomore effort from the Brit responsible for restoring the seriousness of beautiful as a compliment, brims with big build-ups, epic-sounding ballads, and lyrics to lose yourself in. The vibe, laid out neatly on first single and opening track 1973, is clear-eyed and heavy-hearted, in anybody over 35, it ll produce nostalgia tempered by hopefulness--here s a set that suggests rock has got its head screwed on straight again, that the path to real feelings need not necessarily be led by Norah Jones. In anybody younger, it ll cause the unsinkable suspicion that a lot of modern balladeers should be digging deeper. But in both cases it will satisfy. Compared with David Gray and Damien Rice last time out, this time Blunt seems to owe a debt to Barry Gibb--his voice quavers as sweetly and with the same delicate reach. Stand-outs on a brief but dud-less set include I Really Want You, in which the sound of Blunt s breaking heart is set sparely and elegantly to something approximating the chirp of a cricket, the poignant and desperate Give Me Some Love, and the VH-1 ready Same Mistakes. -Tammy La Gorce

JAMES BLUNT - ALL THE LOST SOULS - The first time I heard anything off this CD was two months ago when I was sitting in a pub on Belmont Street in Aberdeen, Scotland and the video for 1973 came on the video jukebox. I immediately took a liking to the song, it s a pleasant, up-tempo, catchy number inspired by the good times James had in clubs on the island of Ibiza, which is pretty much considered the party capital of the world. A lot of music critics have not been kind to James since his CD debut 3 years ago with many saying he should never be allowed to live down You re Beautiful as one of the sappiest and most annoying songs of all time. To boot, his name has now become cockney rhyming slang for a very unpleasant insult. Then why has his debut CD sold over 11 million copies? It s obviously not just daft housewives buying them up. If James Blunt is guilty of anything, it s becoming too successful and too omnipresent. But what new artist would say no to all of that? The majority of the songs on this CD are more melancholy and introspective than what was on his first album but there are some lighter moments with Annie and I ll Take Everything , both are great songs. The lyrics to One Of The Brightest Stars takes a look at fame and how fleeting it can be and Carry You Home is the companion song to Goodbye My Lover , from his debut CD, with Carry being equally as touching and moving as it s predecessor. You would have to be a contestant on Survivor Mars to not know what James Blunt sounds like so it s safe to say you already like him or you don t . This album is no great departure from past songs but it is a really good album. For any musician/singer/songwriter, the most important thing usually is how their music has reached out and touched people. You re Beautiful has now become the most requested wedding song in the United Kingdom, beating out Robbie William s Angels for that spot. I ll bet that puts a smile on James Blunts face as he says so there to the critics whilst he hoists a glass in a nightclub in Ibiza, in the company of another supermodel. Touché.

Enjoyable Listen - I have listened to this album a couple of times now and find it to be an extremely enjoyable listen. If I had not heard the first album I would probably be enjoying it more. I find the musical style, rhythms and lyrics to be very reminiscent of the debut CD and wondered a couple of times if I were listening to the same songs. Mr. Blunt needs to change up his style just a little, perhaps getting a little input from other writers in order to break out of the box he has built for himself. What he does is great, he just needs to expand his milieu.

A true gem... - I think James has done a wonderful job with ATLS. It does show growth as a musician and a songwriter. Mind you...It ll take a little while for me to get used to NOT having to sob uncontrollably during each song as B2B did and I believe that s the only real thing that has been omitted here. This is probably the reason why some are suggesting that it doesn t have the emotional oomph that B2B does but that doesn t make ATLS any less passionate. I love the recognizable Beatlesque sound that some have noticed. IMHO, James Blunt is the next John Lennon. :)

WOW - Great CD, but too short. You can listen to it in half and hour. Songs #3,4and 7 are the best. I d say its better than Back to Bedlam

Prepare for a good time - The cons first: the album is too short. I d have settled for twenty more minutes of this stuff. The pros: Expert recording from a great artist who has worked to seamlessly fuse the sounds from the seventies and eighties into his own. All The Lost Souls is a wonderful journey by a great artist--James Blunt. If you don t know this guy s music, get started now. Would also recommend any album by Nickleback or anything by Maroon 5, especially the Songs About Jane album. Great stuff, all.




All the Lost Souls