James Blunt Back To Bedlam CD

Limited digipack edition. Recorded and produced in Los Angeles with Tom Rockrock (Beck, Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy) this album takes the listener through heartfelt songs of unattainable romances, lost loves and friend's failures before climaxing with James's first-hand experience of war. They're songs of universal appeal, all delivered with a powerfully unique vocal. In a world where division is rife and government intelligence (in both senses of the word) remains questionable, James's songs override and unite. James Blunt's life-story is nothing short of unique. His Army career saw him stationed in Kosovo as part of NATO's peacekeeping force. He then protected the Queen on horseback and the Queen Mother whilst she lay in state. He has, it can be said without exaggeration, lived a life that should provide enough material for a dozen albums. This is a definitively different singer-songwriter.

Personnel: James Blunt (vocals, various instruments); Mike Tarantino (guitar); Mr. Nau (Wurlitzer piano); S. Krivstov (bass instrument); C. Paxton (drums).
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. ~ James Christopher Monger
James Blunt is a former Royal Air Force soldier who saw active combat during the NATO mission in Kosovo, an experience detailed in his debut album's harrowing closer, "No Bravery." Judging from the rest of BACK TO BEDLAM, he's also in the market to become either a one-man Coldplay or a more commercially acceptable version of Elliott Smith. A collection of midtempo ballads based around Blunt's acoustic guitar and piano and his high, reedy voice, BACK TO BEDLAM is tailor made for a generation of sensitive college girls and their frat-boy boyfriends. Blunt shares Smith's knack for pretty mopery and self-destructive tendencies (several songs, most obviously the opening "High," tacitly romanticize drug use), as well as Coldplay's talent for decorating simple melodies with effective production tricks. Tracks like the UK smash "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" are backhanded anti-love songs that suggest Elvis Costello's lyrical wit, and add a little bite to this otherwise radio-ready set of tunes.

CMJ (p.4) - "Blunt's writing is heartfelt and wrapped in the sort of sugary strums that make couples gaze at each other longingly."