James Blunt's All the Lost Souls: Better Than Debut, But Barely

James Blunt became an international sensation on his debut album, Back To Bedlam. This success was mostly due to his omnipresent hit single You're Beautiful. From that one song, Blunt was able to become an international star. On his sophomore album, All The Lost Souls, has Blunt hit the sophomore slump, or does he have the hit-making ability to remain a star in the music industry?

The first single off of All The Lost Souls is 1973. The song is a very strong pop song. The melody and chord changes are very inviting and the song builds to a big pop bridge. The song is a big hit outside of America peaking at number 102 on the Billboard American Hot 100 Charts. The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and written by Mark Baston and Blunt himself. The most ironic part of this song is the fact that Blunt was not even born until 1974.

Give Me Some Love seems like a completely retro song caught in 2007 and that is not a bad thing. The vocal arrangements and harmonies are straight out of the 1960's. The song is one of the bright spots on the album.

I'll Take Everything features heavy rock drums which almost sound like they belong better in an urban song. The song features Blunt singing in and out of his falsetto which is pleasing to the listener. The song crests during the chorus which is the strongest part of the song.

Annie is more acoustic fare by Blunt. The song talks about a star that has fallen yet she can pull it back together. The song follows the same format of most of the tracks on the album. The song builds and builds than drops to a scant acoustic song and then builds back up before dropping to the outro. The song is a solid pop record and will be a staple of Blunt's live show.

I Can't Hear The Music is one of the catchiest songs on the album. Like most of the other songs on the album it has an old school feel. The chorus on the song is the high point on the whole album.