James Blunt dropped into the world’s lap in 2005 with the heart wrenching “Your Beautiful” and the solemnly gorgeous “Goodbye my lover”. His songs raced to the top of the chart, radio played them to the point of saturation and both newly weds and the newly single found solace in his lyrics.
Back with “1973”, Blunt once again muses about love. On his brand new single, he recounts the story of lost days, this time reminiscing about his true love and the best time he spent with her in kitschy discos 34 years ago – when he was but a glimmer in his father’s eye apparently since Blunt is only 33 years old.
Regardless of the soap opera history, Blunt’s new single indicates a new direction for the singer/songwriter. One that is more tightly focused, more musically complex and less sappy – less sappy for a man who builds his albums around sap. Instead of relying on simple voice and piano to express the emotion, “1973” builds to a funk driven chorus with stronger vocals that sound less winy.
A great new single that should establish Blunt with a larger audience than lovesick housewives and the heartbroken.
