Some Kind of Wonderful

Who? James Blunt
What? Live
When? 15th July 2011
Where? Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk
Why? Part of the Newmarket Nights series of live events
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“I can see a lot of happy faces in the crowd tonight,” beamed former British Army officer James Hillier Blount (no, that's not a typo) on the hastily erected Newmarket Nights stage on Friday evening. “You do know I've got a hundred miserable songs? Are you sure you're at the right gig?” He was, of course, riffing on his unfairly labelled persona of being an artist to slit your wrists to.

But even though his biggest and most depressing songs from debut album Back to Bedlam (“You're Beautiful”, “Goodbye My Lover”, “Wiseman”, “High”) were all present in his nearly 90minute set (I don't think he'd have got away with not playing them, to be honest), they were muddled in successfully amidst album tracks and jauntier singles from his latter LPs (All the Lost Souls and last year's Some Kind of Trouble - reviewed HERE) to create a truly fabulous rollercoaster of a setlist.

To put an end to any naysayers: No, Mr Blunt did not just spend the entire gig sat at his piano or frozen to the spot with his guitar around his neck. Please banish this prejudicial image of a boring stage artist from your mind. He interacted splendidly with the crowd, chatting between numbers and continually moving across to acknowledge, wave at each side and even jump up onto his piano. “You're probably the best dressed audience I've ever played to,” he remarked teasingly, keeping the mood cheery and never dull.

A frustrating block of people (I'm guestimating 30 or so) surged passed us and out of the gates following “You're Beautiful” – clearly fair-weather fans who were there for the evening's horse racing (which acted as the warm-up act, so to speak) and only had hung around to hear his most renowned track. The crowd certainly loved it as they sang along to the international 2005 mega hit and I was surprised that it wasn't his encore number (that pleasure went to the second album's opener “1972” which was played with epic aplomb).

Those party-poopers (sorry, early leavers) certainly lost out as what followed was the most buoyant and festive run of the night, including personal favourite “So Long Jimmy” and indisputable highlight “I'll Be Your Man” which was extended with a funky middle eight which dissolved into the Jackson Five's “I Want You Back” as James motioned for the first few rows to converge and carry him home as he jumped in and crowd-surfed like a true rock god! I'm sure he probably does this during most nights on tour (venue dependent) but for me it was a unexpected delight and really capped off a spectacular Newmarket night.


In a CR@B Shell: Full of energy and exuding confidence with a blistering and diverse collection of emotional and blistering pop songs, the man with a hundred miserable melodies was an absolute revelation live and I would easily have stayed the night at this Suffolk concert event. To quote from his biggest hit: You could see from my face that I was fucking high!
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Wiseman #Three

Album Review: “SOME KIND OF TROUBLE” – JAMES BLUNT
Atlantic/Custard
Released: 8th November 2011
www.jamesblunt.com
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When an artist as globally renowned as James Hillier Blount (that’s Blunt to you and I) releases a new album, you expect him to return to the limelight with an almighty bang: a flurry of high profile appearances, hyperbolic performances, grandiose costumes and a swirl of magazine covers and interviews; literally anything to get the word out that JAMES BLUNT IS BACK.

Yet, after three years away from the public eye, the “Wiseman” hit-maker has released his new LP in a rather muted and old-school fashion: he’s clearly letting the songs speak for themselves, which is a brave move when competing with the Rihanna’s, Lady GaGa’s and Cheryl Cole’s of the extrovert 2010 pop landscape.

And so it is that Some Kind of Trouble “only” reached #4 in the UK charts this week, after his two previous records both hit the top spot. This is not to say that this is a weaker collection of tracks – to go top 5 is by no means a failure – but three years is a long time away in this flippant and inattentive superficial age. You may require more than a guest slot on Never Mind the Buzzcocks next time, James. I’d book myself in for The X Factor results show in 2013 now, if I was you!!

Blunt has always been know for “nice” songs; inoffensive and harmonious ditties which let his soft voice soar on the choruses and can easily be played on acoustic guitar. They lack the almighty bang which I previously mentioned, relying instead upon capturing the public imagination to make an impact, much like “You’re Beautiful” did half a decade ago. It’s a shame that lead single “Stay the Night” didn’t quite manage this (peaking as it did at #37) as it is a joyful and happy track which evokes summer nights and camp-fire sing-alongs.

Alongside the warm and uniting glow of “Stay the Night”, “Superstar” (track 6) and “I’ll Be Your Man” (track 10) are my personal favourites from the album – upbeat and jaunty numbers which get your mouth humming and foot tapping. Track 2, “Dangerous”, starts off with a much heavier beat than you usually expect from a Blunt number, but that soon gets lost amid the tuneful layering – not that that’s a negative admission.

If you’re familiar with either 2004’s debut Back to Bedlam or sophomore effort All the Lost Souls (2007) then you know what to expect from Some Kind of Trouble. This album is by no means a reinvention; indeed a trio of tracks – “Best Laid Plans”, “No Tears” and “Calling Out Your Name” – retain the sombre melody of the musician’s more heartfelt ballads from previous releases. Perhaps they were written in the same sessions and held back, who knows?

From suspiciously similar songs to something spectacularly specialised: album closer “Turn Me On” is something of a unique peculiarity. More discordant in tone and with a rawer and jazzier feel than any of the album’s other tunes, this raunchy slap bass number sticks out like a sore thumb. It’s not necessarily bad, but it doesn’t feel like it belongs, either, which is perhaps why it was tagged on the end as an experimental bonus track, after the five seconds of silence which compose track 12.


In a CR@B Shell: A solid if unspectacular return for the former army officer. Playing to his strengths, Some Kind of Trouble repeats Blunt’s folksy formula, though he may have to change things up a little for future releases if he is to avoid being labelled bland.
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