Some Kind of Trouble

James Blunt records a more optimistic work

Seven years ago nobody knew that the former British army officer James Hillier Blount would become one of the most successful singers performing under the moniker James Blunt. Releasing his debut album Back To Bedlam, Blunt could hardly hope for a global success but things changed dramatically after the release of the album’s third single You’re Beautiful. Today this song is known to the whole world, it has become one of the most popular wedding ceremony tracks, besides it is often used in romantic films as part of a soundtrack. It is Blunt’s calling card, and his further task was to write some more hits of the kind. The base of his compositions is soft rock combined with pop tunes and the main themes are himself, his failed relationship and of course the war. The 2007’s sophomore effort All The Lost Souls featured a nostalgic single 1973 and proved quite melancholic on the whole. It is no surprise that James decided to change his habits after that and recorded a more optimistic third album Some Kind Of Trouble on which he demonstrated his interest to some more joyful romantic songs instead of making it all sad ballads.

Ballads and meeting a new love on Some Kind Of Trouble

His soulful singing, sincerity and lyrical simplicity characterize each James Blunt’s album but Some Kind Of Trouble is remarkable for the highest percentage of songs about a fulfilled meeting a new love. The opening first single Stay The Night is exactly that kind of song, filled with hope to continue the acquaintance but filled with a hot atmosphere of a Californian party. A shy and bashful protagonist of Dangerous tells about a heart-breaking fatal woman against the background of a dance beat, whereas another lively composition So Far Gone is interesting because of Blunt’s falsetto voice and a contagious arrangement made of fiddles and guitars. As for the artist’s favorite ballads he is maximum generous in this respect as always. The beautiful and emotional Best Laid Plans is built around some piano chords and pleases with an electro guitar as most ballads on this album, and No Tears is the saddest of all compositions in Blunt’s entire repertoire. The sparkling beat of Superstar suits perfectly the pleasant tune and an incredible guitar solo while These Are The Words finds Blunt turning into a tough cynical man with a disturbed self-esteem on. Nevertheless, he returns to an unhappy love on Calling Out Your Name and to difficult relationships on Heart Of Gold but he does not led this mood settle on the album offering an optimistic and danceable number I'll Be Your Man conquering from the very first hand claps. Finally an unfulfilled relationship on If Time Is All I Have contrasts with the final track Turn Me On, the frankest, the most complicated and anguished in the artist’s creative work leaving us surprised at his personality’s new sides.

A step forward in finding himself

The difference between James Blunt first two albums and the third creation is that the singer has got tired of the constant digging in his own complexes and has recorded some more joyful tracks but his optimism is somewhat subjective. The point is that with all his believing in the possible relationships – contrasting with their absolute improbability on the previous material and on certain tracks on Some Kind Of Trouble – the new stories protagonist is still suffering from the lack of self-confidence (Stay The Night, Dangerous) or is cynical (These Are The Words, Turn Me On). Soulful ballads full of sadness and despair alternate with fireworks of emotions, boldness and frank confessions on Some Kind Of Trouble. These mood variations can well be considered as James Blunt’s attempt to find himself in music just because his being tired of melancholy and self-pitying but has not yet learned to enjoy life without analyzing everything. Besides, thoughtless pop melodies are definitely not what he does best which is why all up-tempo tracks on Some Kind Of Trouble sound rather like an experiment than a new word in the artist’s creative work. Anyway, James has made a step forward with his new album and only time will show if he has chosen the right direction.