Fresh 102.7 Artist James Blunt
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James Blunt
It's been over a year after the UK arm of Atlantic Records released the debut album from a new singer/songwriter named James Blunt. Since then, Blunt has gone from playing small London clubs to headlining UK tours, selling out venues like The Shepherd's Bush Empire...from obscurity to quadruple-platinum status (for over a million copies sold in Britain alone)...from early critical acclaim to Music Week stating that 'the artist development story of 2005, perhaps, was that of James Blunt.
James's album, BACK TO BEDLAM, spent 4 weeks at the top of the UK artist album chart (where it bumped Coldplay from the #1 spot), while his first single, 'You're Beautiful,' also spent 4 weeks at #1 – marking the first time that a male solo artist has ruled both charts at the same time for four weeks running since Rod Stewart did it thirty years ago.
Given these remarkable accomplishments, the temptation to proclaim James 'the latest British sensation' is nearly irresistible...and would completely miss the point. Impressive facts, yes, but ones reflecting precious little about who he is and how he has captivated the ears of so many. Because far from being the newest pop product, Blunt is the anti-hero of mass marketing. He is an artist whose audience has found him, embraced him, and spread the news...an artist who has become an unlikely chart-topper, drawing comparisons to the likes of David Gray and Damien Rice...an artist who has built his following the old-fashioned way, by constant gigging and contagious word-of-mouth – fan by fan, week by week, month by month.
In some ways, everything you need to know about 28-year old James Blunt is there in BACK TO BEDLAM. Ranging from acoustic, stripped-down tracks to charged-up, band-driven numbers, the album charts a journey through life's experiences, relationships, hardships, and aspirations. Produced by Tom Rothrock (Beck, Elliott Smith, Badly Drawn Boy), BACK TO BEDLAM is full of stories, vignettes, and snatched moments, all told in James's passionate and unique voice.
While James has always been musical, playing both piano and violin from a young age, growing up he had little exposure to the rock/pop world. There was no CD or record player in the house, and it wasn't until he went away to boarding school that he heard the likes of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. At the age of 14, he picked up a guitar for the first time and started writing songs. It wasn't long before he knew what he wanted to do with his life.
However, he was slightly sidetracked on the path to a musical career. It turns out that for a thousand years or so, the Blunts have been a family of soldiers, including James's father – a recently retired colonel in the Army Air Corps. So it was naturally assumed that James would follow in the family tradition. Not to mention the fact that the armed forces had funded his education. As James wryly explains, 'I either had to pay back the money, or the payback was that I owed the army four years.'
So it was that upon graduating from Bristol University at the age of 21, Blunt joined the army, where he served in the elite Household Calvary. After a brief stint in Canada, he was sent to Kosovo in 1999 as a reconnaissance officer with the Nato peacekeeping force. The one song on BACK TO BEDLAM that speaks specifically about James's experiences in the military – the album's powerful closing track, 'No Bravery' – was written in the barracks in Kosovo, a haunting response to the genocide he had witnessed.
Returning to the UK, Blunt served in the Life Guard, where his responsibilities included being the Queen's sovereign escort on ceremonial occasions and standing sentry while the Queen Mother lay in state. The bulk of the songs that would become BACK TO BEDLAM were written in London during James's final year of service. He did his duty during the day, while making 'some dodgy demos' and gigging at night.
Although clearly a huge influence on Blunt's life, his army experience forms only one aspect of his work. 'The core element running through my songs is the lonely path one walks through life, the connections you make, and the thoughts that you don't generally share with people,' he says.'The songs are about life experiences that anyone can identify with. It's just about being a human being. And people seem to be connecting with that.'
Leaving the army in 2002, James became a full-time musician. 'My dad was nervous,' he recalls, 'because I was leaving a steady job to do something risky.' It wasn't long before the risk paid off. In short order he was picked up by Elton John's management company and inked a publishing deal with EMI. In early 2003, he travelled to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, where he was spotted by songwriter/producer Linda Perry. She signed him on the spot to her own label, Custard Records – which in turn led to his worldwide pact with Atlantic.
BACK TO BEDLAM was recorded in Los Angeles, which helped reinforce James's admiration of such American singer/songwriters as Jeff Buckley and father Tim, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Paul Simon. James chose Tom Rothrock to produce the album, a decision made in part because of Rothrock's work with another influence, Elliott Smith.
Blunt describes the process of writing and producing the album as a mixture of 'my naivete and Tom's experience'. Since James had little formal experience with recording, Rothrock had to find a way of reining in and focusing his ideas, while developing a common working vocabulary. 'Tom is an enabler rather than a dictator,' says James. 'I was banging sofas and recording in bathrooms – anything to articulate what was in my head. Tom is very experienced and very subtle. I had lots of ideas and he helped me edit and focus my thoughts in whatever way and with whatever came to hand.'
The album's '70s West Coast feel was doubly informed by the decision to compose and record on original '70s instruments. For his part, James played as many instruments on the album as possible, partly to feel fully connected to the tracks and partly to create a truly individual sound.
Released in the UK in October 2004, BACK TO BEDLAM was greeted with widespread raves. Time Out called it 'a work of tender, intimate songcraft,' Q lauded Blunt as a 'major talent in waiting,' while the Sunday Times noted that the album is 'a compulsive, gorgeous slow-burner, packed with solid hooks and love songs with a twist, all delivered in the voice of a fallen angel.' Before reaching his current headlining status, Blunt played a series of dates with Elton John – who has described 'You're Beautiful' as a modern successor to 'Your Song.'
Exactly one year after it first appeared on UK shelves, BACK TO BEDLAM arrived in the U.S. in October 2005.
James Blunt - Official Site
James Blunt on MySpace
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
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