James Blunt / Some Kind Of Trouble / Warner
There’s a hint of retro optimism in “Stay The Night”, lead single from James Blunt’s recently released third album, but, after making it through the entire downer, it becomes clear that that’s all it is – a hint. On the heels of “Stay The Night” is “Best Laid Plans”, an example of classic Blunt heart wrenching fatalism, saved from complete sorrow by a neat little Gilmour-esque solo thrown in at the end.
Producer and songwriter Steve Robson (Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood) makes a major mark on the disc, co-writing eight songs and mixing in some of his trademark country flavour. “No Tears” is the most obvious example of Robson’s influence on the album, featuring some mellow slide guitar that transports Blunt’s sound out of a Wiltshire pub and drops it onto a cloudy western prairie.
Blunt, once a NATO military man, nowadays wears a very different kind of uniform – that of the sensitive poet. “I’ll just say what you can’t say”, he whimpers on “So Far Gone,” ostensibly for the woman in the song, however, the line also describes Blunt’s role in the lives of all those doe-eyed lovers out there who may not be able to spend their days behind a piano. Blunt’s high pitched laments seem to strike just the right chord for broken hearted freshmen and lonely librarian-types, but Some Kind of Trouble is unlikely to inspire too many non-sad sack fans.
Download: “Stay The Night”