James Blunt's transcendent talent in SA

Published Feb 11, 2015

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JAMES Blunt is back in South Africa to tour Moon Landing. With more than 20-million albums and 17m singles sold worldwide, his success speaks for itself.

I remember watching him in concert at The Coco-Cola Dome in 2011. He isn’t big on showmanship, per se. But, boy, when he belts out those lyrics, you find yourself powerlessly transfixed. He is all about the music. His passion and dedication is transcendent.

And that is why, to this very day, the memory from three years ago lingers.

Now he is back to promote his fourth album.

The British singer-songwriter walked off the battlefield (he served under Nato in Kosovo in 1999) and into EMI’s recording studio for his debut album, Back to Bedlam (2004).

It didn’t make a big noise until the release of singles, You’re Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover hit the shelves.

What is admirable about Blunt is his unapologetic air. He isn’t trying to make an impression, yet he does with that distinct melodic voice and those haunting lyrics. He doesn’t try to fill the stage, but his impregnable presence ensures he does.

Yes, he comes across as serious – and a tad on the aloof side – but when you listen to his songs, and the profundity of his take on relationships, you are immediately consumed by curiosity over this enigmatic talent.

While those Grammys elude him, other platforms have acknowledged his talent.

His three-year turnover for albums has brought us to Moon Landing (Apollo Edition). It is produced by Ryan Tedder, frontman for pop rock band OneRepublic. He is also celebrated for his work with the likes of Adele, Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake – as a writer and producer. Did I mention Tedder worked with Blunt on Stay the Night from his third album, Some Kind of Trouble?

In an interview with songwriteruniverse.com, Blunt explained the genesis of Moon Landing.

He revealed: “Ryan invited me to jump on the OneRepublic tour bus during their European tour, so I got to be a groupie for a while.

“He’s got a lot of energy. We both pick up our guitars and make noise together, it’s kind of that simple. It’s hard to define how we approach our songwriting because it’s a natural process, but the idea for Bonfire Heart was a universal concept we all related to. No matter where you’re from, no matter your orientation, colour or creed, we are all part of the human condition in which everyone needs to connect with other people. We just need someone to light the spark in our bonfire heart.

“We dialled in on the lyrics together and Ryan totally got where I was coming from. We literally wrote it on the tour bus. It was a fun experience all around. I would be in the audience enjoying their concerts while thinking about the lyrics, then go later to the band’s dressing room and let him see my lyrics. He’d whip out his guitar and say: ‘Let’s write some more’. It’s a slightly different experience than working with Sacha (Skarbek) on You’re Beautiful, in which I had all the lyrics done before the songwriting session. Ryan and I worked on everything together, which is the nature of things when two singer/songwriters get together.”

In many ways, Blunt’s latest album offers a more contemplative and intimate look at the artist and the music that is at his very core.

That’s what fans can expect to see at his upcoming concerts this weekend. But, I’m sure he will bring on the nostalgia by revisiting his big hits too – perhaps for an encore!

• James Blunt’s Moon Landing World Tour will be in Cape Town at the Grand Arena, GrandWest tonight and tomorrow night and in Joburg at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City, on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets can be booked at Computicket and cost R455 to R625 in the Mother City and vary between R395 and R735 in Jozi.

JAMES BLUNT

Moon Landing (Apollo Edition)

Rating: ***

Soldiering on with a fourth album to appease fans.

You can almost measure an artist’s growth with each album they churn out. Some embark on risky pursuits by experimenting with different sounds and others, like James Blunt, take it back home.

This album covers the whole relationship landscape from wanting a fresh start, reaching that point of no return, nursing those gaping pains of heartbreak and exploring the possibility of a new love.

With music often being a cathartic experience for an artist, you can feel Blunt

has injected a lot of himself and his personal encounters with romance into this album.

It is dark, broody and interspersed with bursts of energy and hope. Bottom line – he stays true to his emotional roots. While I found it succumbing in parts to monotony, die-hards will enjoy the mellow flow.

Standout tracks for me are: Smoke Signals, Face the Sun, Bonfire Heart, Sun on Sunday, Kiss This Love Goodbye, Trail of Broken Hearts and Working it Out.

Telephone sticks out like a sore thumb on what is a very adult album. Teens will love it, though. Perhaps he is trying to broaden his appeal here.

With 19 new tracks as well as his Live At Paleo Festival DVD, which features him performing his previous hits, too, it is the best of both worlds of Blunt. A must-have for fans. – Debashine Thangevelo

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