Music Review : James Blunt - All The Lost Souls

James Blunt website



Released on 18 September 2007, 'All The Lost Souls' is Blunt's sophomore album and if he sang about Billy and Jimmy in the debut album 'Back To Bedlam', he is singing about Annie and Simone in this album.

1. 1973 - 4:40
2. One of the Brightest Stars - 3:12
3. I'll Take Everything - 3:05
4. Same Mistake - 4:59
5. Carry You Home - 3:57
6. Give Me Some Love - 3:37
7. I Really Want You - 3:30
8. Shine on - 4:27
9. Annie - 3:29
10. I Can't Hear the Music - 3:45

News of Release of Album

He has stated that the inspiration for the music and lyrics are driven by a "band" mentality rather than "thinking of myself as a singer/songwriter with a guitar and piano". In a sense, this latest offering seems more diversified.

Look out for the album for the lyrics and you may love the album, just as with 'Back To Bedlam'.

'1973' is the infectious first single and Blunt recounted the times he had with an ex-girlfriend. 'One Of The Brightest Stars' is about someone taking chances and fulfilling his potential and try to eventually become a 'Bright Star'.

'I'll Take Everything' is one of the simplest songs in the album and it is spiritually-driven. 'Same Mistake' is one of the best tracks for me in the album and it's about doing/saying something wrong and knowing that he will make that mistake repeatedly, which triggers back memories from my personal experience with someone I used to be with.

'Carry You Home' was co-written with the renowned songwriter from Sweden, Max Martin and another of my favourite tracks. This track is a sad song because it's about someone singing for a close friend (spouse) who has died. 'Give Me Some Love' is, as the title suggests, about someone going through a bad patch "taken ship-loads of drugs" and needing love.

'I Really Want You' is my pick for the album and is a accomplished written and refined track. Hear it for the various instruments being used and if Blunt mention diversity in creating this album, this track probably sums it up. 'Shine On' is an angsty song about defiance.

'Annie' is about a celebrity whose "dreams are crumbling" and will probably relate to some Hollywood celebrities. 'I Can't Hear The Music' takes awhile to understand and it actually reflects the album title "All The Lost Souls".

Look out for the album cover too which depicts a thousand pictures of James Blunt in various snippets of his life.

I rate this album 4 out 5.

Music Review : Bon Jovi - Lost Highway

Bon Jovi official website



Released on 18 June 2007, this is Bon Jovi's tenth studio album. The music is somewhat country-inspired though they did not dispense noticeably with the rock music they are famous for.

1. Lost Highway - 4:14
2. Summertime - 3:18
3. (You Want to) Make a Memory - 4:37
4. Whole Lot of Leavin' - 4:17
5. We Got It Going On' featuring Big & Rich - 4:13
6. Any Other Day - 4:03
7. Seat Next to You - 4:23
8. Everybody's Broken - 4:13
9. Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore" featuring LeAnn Rimes) - 4:44
10. The Last Night - 3:33
11. One Step Closer - 3:37
12. I Love This Town - 4:38
13. Lonely - 3:55 (Bonus Track: UK/Japan/Australia) / Walk Like a Man - 4:29 (Bonus Track: USA, only available on albums bought from Target stores)
Put the Boy Back in Cowboy - 3:59 (Bonus Track: Japan/ UK "(You Want to) Make a Memory" single)
The first single released is '(You Want To) Make A Memory', which was a surprise first single for me as they normally released the more edgier rock tracks before releasing a slow lovely rock ballad eg

1) 'It's My Life', 'Say It Isn't So' followed by 'Thank You For Loving Me' ('Crush' album)
2) 'Everyday', 'Misunderstood' followed by 'All About Lovin' You' ('Bounce')
3) 'Have A Nice Day' album was introduced with the release of the rock album-titled track 'Have A Nice Day'.

I have always like Bon Jovi because they are a clean rock band who really enjoy their music. Of course, it helps that Jon and Sambora writes great music too. I also enjoy their addictive rock songs which was non-evident (to me) in their last album 'Have A Nice Day'.

The most immediate thing I noticed about this album was the way it was packaged in a great casing (yes, casing plays a part too) and that it had collaboration tracks, which was not a feature of their previous albums namely "Til' We Ain't Strangers Anymore" featuring the great country/pop singer LeAnn Rimes and "We Got It Goin' On'" featuring Big & Rich,

The album as a whole is decent although with the exception of (You Want To) Make A Memory, I had prefer it to have more addictive rock tracks ('Say It Isn't So', 'Captain Crash...' ('Crush'), 'Misunderstood', 'Bounce' ('Bounce'). As stated before, 'Have A Nice Day' also didn't really offer these tracks but such is the influence of this legendary rock band.

I will recommend 'Seat Next To You, a lovely ballad, 'Everybody's Broken', which is one of those tracks for the down-hearted soul and the enjoyable country track 'I Love This Town' which has the mould of the song 'Two Story Town' from 'Crush'.

I rate 'Lost Highway' 3 1/2 out of 5, though I will push it to 4 simply because of the best track from this album '(You Want To)...', which I will have in my iPod for a long while.