James Blunt Back to Bedlam [Bonus Disc] Album Review, Songs, Rating

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James Blunt
Back to Bedlam [Bonus Disc]
Release Date: 2005 01 04
Label: Custard/Atlantic
Rating:

Soulful British crooner James Blunt's wistful debut infuses the listener -- in order -- with rainy-day hope, the wistful comfort of unattainable love, and finally, world-weary resignation. While his parched and effeminate falsetto recalls Gasoline Alley-era Rod Stewart with a healthy dose of Antony and the Johnsons, it's the late Elliott Smith who casts the largest shadow on Back to Bedlam. Predictable but effective four-chord guitar motifs are the chosen vehicle for the ex-Royal Armed Forces soldier, and when they connect ("Wiseman," "Goodbye My Lover," "You Are Beautiful"), it's like a "Dear John" letter from a lover who you know will remain a close but ultimately guarded friend. Opening track "High" sets a determined midtempo pace that rarely wanes -- it's like an acoustic version of "Drive" by the Cars with a Coldplay chorus. It's a pace that would sink some records, but Bedlam's perfectly rendered, under 40-minute run time ensures that the listener doesn't suffer from a melancholy overdose. Blunt recounts his harrowing experiences as part of the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo on the closer, "No Bravery," and it's a shock to hear all of the romantic lyricism that informed Bedlam up to this point reduced to "Old men kneel and accept their fate/Wives and daughters cut and raped/A generation drenched in hate," but it's damn effective -- as is the majority of this fine debut. [Back to Bedlam was also released with a bonus CD, "Live in Ireland," which features in-concert versions of album tracks as well as covers of Crowded House's "Fall at Your Feet" and the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?"] James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	High	Blunt, Ross	4:03
2	You're Beautiful	Blunt, Ghost, Skarbek	3:32
3	Wisemen	Blunt, Skarbek, Hogarth	3:42
4	Goodbye My Lover	Skarbek, Blunt	4:18
5	Tears and Rain	Blunt, Chambers	4:04
6	Out of My Mind	Blunt	3:32
7	So Long, Jimmy	Hogarth, Blunt	4:24
8	Billy	Ghost, Skarbek, Blunt	3:37
9	Cry	Skarbek, Blunt	4:06
10	No Bravery	Blunt, Skarbek	4:01
11	Wisemen [Live][*]		3:49
12	High [Live][*]	Blunt, Ross	3:55
13	Cry [Live][*]	Skarbek, Blunt	3:44
14	Goodbye My Lover [Live][*]	Skarbek, Blunt	4:48
15	So Long, Jimmy [Live][*]	Hogarth, Blunt	5:25
16	Sugar Coated [Live][*]		3:51
17	You're Beautiful [Live][*]	Blunt, Ghost, Skarbek	3:38
18	Billy [Live][*]	Skarbek, Ghost, Blunt	3:46
19	Fall at Your Feet [Live][*]		2:42
20	Tears and Rain [Live][*]	Blunt, Chambers	4:17
21	No Bravery [Live][*]	Skarbek, Blunt	3:36
22	Where Is My Mind? [Live][*]		6:39
23	Goodbye My Lover [*][Multimedia Track]	Blunt, Skarbek

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