Speaking bluntly

Speaking bluntly
The Daily Yomiuri - Osaka,Japan
... That's exactly what happened to critics' whipping boy James Blunt, who rides into town this weekend for a three-date tour that gives Japanese fans their first ...

Imagine barging in on the turf previously owned by emotive warblers Coldplay, selling millions of records, scoring No. 1 hits and then getting royally slagged off by the music press for your efforts.
That's exactly what happened to critics' whipping boy James Blunt, who rides into town this weekend for a three-date tour that gives Japanese fans their first close-up view of Britain's biggest-selling artist of 2005.

Platinum-selling Back to Bedlam helped Blunt achieve what The Guardian called "irritating ubiquity" and NME's choice as worst album of the year.

On first listen, though, it's hard to see what made them so angry. Blunt's love songs rely on pared-down acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments and a lot of "you're" phrases to pull in the listener. Apparently, he's a victim of British inverted snobbery, getting slammed for a) being too posh--he went to one of Britain's most expensive public schools and became a British Army officer; and b) being bland and appealing to couples, the young middle-aged wanting something nice on in the background, and Bridget Jones-types who use his music as an emotional crutch while they sit at home, eat chocolate and get drunk on cheap red wine.

As if in response, Blunt has used interviews to highlight his debt to singer-songwriters from the other side of the tracks, such as Elliot Smith and Tim and Jeff Buckley.

And to be fair, Blunt is better than his reputation allows. He knows how to use his gravelly voice to redeem otherwise pedestrian songs, such as the No. 1 hit "You're Beautiful," and comes across as the thinking woman's Joe Cocker--another singer saved from inanity by a fantastic pair of pipes.
He also happily filches from other pop eras to good effect. "So Long Jimmy" has a nice line in lyrics and Doors-style Hammond hooks, while "Wisemen" apes late-'90s manic depressives Counting Crows.

The best tracks on Back to Bedlam cut the distance between the listener and Blunt's undeniably affecting voice, including stand-out track "No Bravery," reportedly inspired by his time in Kosovo as a British Army captain.

But then again, there are moments during Back to Bedlam that remind me of the four-hour car journey I once took with a friend and her mother, who played Richard Clayderman's Greatest Hits on repeat and left the windscreen wipers on for the duration of the trip even though it wasn't raining.
So what about the live sets? Chasing Time--The Bedlam Sessions, a DVD and live CD released last week to coincide with the tour, shows Blunt and his band as affable and well-rehearsed, giving performances almost indistinguishable from the studio.

In keeping with the suspicion Blunt is trying to up his credibility, there also is a cover of the Pixies' slacker classic "Where is My Mind." Played cleanly and crisply, Blunt seems nowhere close to being as "naked" as the sleeve notes claim. Instead the song's selection seems to emphasize just how far he is from the emotional depths his audience seems to think he plumbs.

While being posh doesn't have to get in the way of making music that sandblasts the listener's soul--Nick Drake came from a similar background--it seems Blunt's performances are too clean, sanitized and well-drilled for the music press to think he's really going for the kill.

But even if he isn't about to deliver the kind of gut-wrenching, spine-tingling music critics might wish to hear, it's the contrast between this impeccably mannered British officer's rugged, chiseled exterior and the tenderness in his voice that has produced a winning combination unlikely to lose its popularity, or effectiveness, anytime soon.

James Blunt will play April 24, 7 p.m. at Ax in Shibuya, Tokyo, (03) 3402-5999; April 26, 7 p.m. at Club Quattro in Nagoya, (052) 264-8211; April 27, 7 p.m. at IMP Hall in Osaka, (06) 6341-4506.
(Apr. 20, 2006)