The way James Blunt sees it, we may get older, but nothing changes
much from elementary school. "We seem to be in exactly the same
state as when I was 8 years old. In the school playground, children
gossiped about who kissed who, who said what about who, who wasn't
cool because they weren't wearing the right clothes. Now, on a global
scale, people write about who kissed who, who said what, who's wearing
what."
In the nearly three years since Blunt released his debut album, 'Back
to Bedlam', it has sold 11 million worldwide, going No. 1 in 18 countries
and top 10 in 35. A short list of his accomplishments includes being
nominated for five Grammys, landing the first No. 1 single in the
U.S. ('You're Beautiful') by a British act since Elton John's 'Candle
in the Wind' and winning two MTV Awards and two Brit Awards.
That seemingly sudden rush to global superstardom and the attendant
experiences make up much of the lyrical content of his second Custard/Atlantic
album, 'All The Lost Souls'. The 10-song cycle about life - and death
- shows tremendous growth from 'Back to Bedlam', which Blunt calls
"a very honest, slightly naïve collection of thoughts, emotions
& experiences. I wrote them without knowing anyone would hear
them."
This time around, he knows there's an audience eager to hear his
songs about "the ups and downs of his journey." Blunt bristles
at the notion that his now-lofty perch distances him from his listeners.
"Just because I've been given the fickle title of celebrity,
it doesn't mean I'm any less human. I go through the same things,
only my mother hears about them first now," he says, laughingly
referencing his frequent appearances in the tabloids.
Indeed, one listen to 'All The Lost Souls' and it is clear Blunt
is talking about what unites us, not what divides us. We all crave
love, comfort, and security, especially in those times when they seem
the hardest to find. Those intersections are the ones that interest
Blunt the most, and on 'All The Lost Souls', he brings a focus, clarity
and urgency to our travels.
"We go through this really amazing experience called life, and
we're trying to understand it and understand why the hell we're here,"
he says. "I really love life. I really enjoy it, but it does
trouble me. And as it ticks by - it's not very long - you kind of
wonder what you're going to get out of it, where to look for greater
depth and meaning, and why we do the things we do to fill it. I think
we all experience that."
'All The Lost Souls' was found as James toured the world in support
of 'Back to Bedlam'. He wrote five songs while on the road, testing
them before a very willing audience. When it came time to write the
remaining songs, Blunt needed to get off the merry-go-round of the
last few years and be still. In the summer of 2006, he retreated to
Ibiza, off the coast of Spain. After the constant cacophony, the silence
took some getting used to. "It was the first minute I had to
stop and look around at what had really happened over the past three
years and have a think about it," he says.
James returned again to Ibiza last winter and received songwriting
assistance from a most unlikely source: "Someone had stolen my
boiler, so there was no heating," he explains. "I was in
the house wearing an overcoat, a hat, and fingerless gloves playing
on the piano. The builder said I lived like a monk. When you're cold,
no one's around, and you don't speak the language, then you can write
the songs: 'This is a miserable experience.' The songs I'd written
in the summer, having just stepped out of a club, were much happier."
Seeking some different flavours for the album, Blunt asked his publisher
to pair him with "people who weren't necessarily the obvious
writers… to just free myself." While James wrote the bulk
of the album himself, his request led to collaborations with Mark
Batson (Dr. Dre, Dave Matthews Band), Jimmy Hogarth (with whom he
also wrote for Bedlam), Steve McEwan, Eg (cq) White, and Max Martin.
Musically, the album draws much of its inspiration from great artists
of the '70s: "Fleetwood Mac, Don McLean, Elton John, maybe a
touch of Steely Dan in there, and if I'm lucky, a bit of Bowie,"
he says, before cheekily adding, "and if I'm lying I might as
well add Zeppelin as well."
The album opens with the layered, rollicking lead single '1973',
a nostalgic look back at sharing great times with friends. Songs such
as 'One of the Brightest Stars' and 'Annie' deal with the vagaries
and distortions that fame can bring. 'Carry You Home' and 'I'll Take
Everything' tackle our fragile mortality, while 'I Really Want You'
and 'Same Mistake' showcase Blunt at his most vulnerable.
The Sandhurst graduate who served in Kosovo admits that he finds
language limiting, but, in song, he finds the freedom to write what
he can't speak. "My music is autobiographical. It's my expression
and it's for me," he says. "It's a necessary expression;
otherwise I'd just be this Brit that has a shell." As for those
who may find his confessions too dramatic, he quotes Jeff Buckley:
"Sensitivity isn't being wimpy; it's about being so painfully
aware that a flea landing on a dog is like a sonic boom."
When it came time to record in Los Angeles with 'Back to Bedlam'
producer Tom Rothrock, Blunt brought in the boys from the road. The
recording marked a sharp contrast to 'Bedlam', which was tracked with
studio musicians and then with Blunt overdubbing many of the instruments
himself. This time, "I sat behind a piano or a guitar and played
the band the songs and described what I wanted from them," he
says. "We'd been touring together for two-and-a-half years. They
know exactly what it is I'm after, and it takes very little time for
them to put the flesh on a skeleton."
With the recording behind him, Blunt is eager to get back before
his fans. "Touring is the most fun you can possibly have,"
he says. "It's the best invention anyone ever came up with."
Yet even he imagines a day - hopefully in the far, far future - when
the audiences are no longer there. On the album's closer, 'I Can't
Hear the Music', he sings with a quiet resolve that even after the
fans' applause has faded and the curtain has come down for the last
time, the music remains.
For Blunt, it's a song of hope and an ultimate reminder of why he's
here. "The chorus sums it up: 'And if I can't hear the music
and the audience is gone/I'll dance here on my own.' It's about saying
I'm in it for the passion," he says. "I'm in it for the
love of it, and the audience may be a temporary thing."
'All The Lost Souls' is out now.
