Some Kind of Trouble

For the song by Tanya Tucker, see Some Kind of Trouble (song).
Some Kind of Trouble
Studio album by James Blunt
Released 5 November 2010 (2010-11-05)
Recorded January–August 2010
Genre Pop rock, folk rock
Length 46:04
Label Atlantic, Custard, Epic
Producer Kevin Griffin, Warren Huart, Greg Kurstin, Steve Robson, Eg White
James Blunt chronology
All the Lost Souls
(2007)		 Some Kind of Trouble
(2010)		 Moon Landing
(2013)
Some Kind of Trouble: Revisited
Singles from Some Kind of Trouble
  1. "Stay the Night"
    Released: 25 October 2010
  2. "So Far Gone"
    Released: 3 January 2011
  3. "If Time Is All I Have"
    Released: 4 April 2011[1]
  4. "I'll Be Your Man"
    Released: 23 May 2011[2]
  5. "Dangerous"
    Released: 12 September 2011

Some Kind of Trouble is the third studio album from British singer-songwriter James Blunt. The album was released on 8 November 2010.[3] On 6 December 2011, a deluxe version of the album was released, titled Some Kind of Trouble: Revisited.[4]

Background

In an interview with Contact Music, Blunt said of the album: "After the last tour, I tried writing at the piano, but I found I was repeating myself, writing sad songs about poor old me. I needed to get away from music for a while. My new songs are more optimistic. One thing I did learn is that your artistic credibility goes out the window when you have a record that big. 'You're Beautiful' meant something to me, but to most people, it's a song they sing when they're drunk."[5] In an interview with Robert Copsey from Digital Spy, Blunt describes the album, saying "It's got a certain innocence to it, which my last album didn't have. It doesn't sound like the current popular electro sound; it sounds like the late 70s / early 80s when the US electric guitar bands came to the UK. What I really like about it is its energy and optimism – it's completely positive." While answering what is his favorite track from the album, he answered "My favourite track is probably 'Turn Me On'."[6]

The album cover depicts an image of popular YouTuber Shay Carl Butler throwing his daughter Emmi ("Babytard") up in the air. The original photo was taken by Butler's wife Colette with an iPhone.

Music

The album features 12 new songs and was produced by Steve Robson (with additional production from Greg Kurstin, Eg White, Kevin Griffin and Warren Huart). It sees Blunt, capturing a new feeling of spontaneity and freshness summed up by his comment that he sees his first two albums as a pair of book ends – action and reaction. Some Kind of Trouble, then, is very much the start of a new chapter. The album was recorded largely in London with members of James' touring band.[7] Produced mainly by Steve Robson, key tracks include the bittersweet "These are the Words," the trenchant, pointed "Superstar" and the infectious “Stay the Night,” a sexy, acoustic guitar driven, party song about "singing ‘Billie Jean’ and mixing vodka and caffeine.” Written by Blunt, Robson, and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, the song also shouts-out to the legendary Bob Marley, referencing the reggae master’s “Is This Love.” In addition to collecting his first (and likely last) co-write with Marley, "Stay the Night" marks the first time Blunt has written with two other songwriters in the same room or started songs from scratch. In addition to Robson, with whom he wrote the majority of the album, Blunt also wrote with The Bird and the Bee’s Greg Kurstin, Kevin Griffin, Wayne Hector and “All the Lost Souls” collaborator Eg White, with whom he wrote the brash "Turn Me On", which will probably dispel the idea of Blunt as "Mr. Sensitive". "People expect me to be quite a serious person, who takes life and myself seriously, and that’s not really the case", he says. "Maybe they’ll see another side in this album?”. The album’s anchor is "No Tears", an unsentimental ballad about "the summing up of a life", Blunt says. "There are certain songs along the way that are milestones – that define a writer to themselves. Goodbye My Lover was that song on the first album. Same Mistake was from the second. No Tears is my milestone on this album".[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(45/100)[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
BBC Music(mixed)[11]
Boston Globe(mixed)[12]
Entertainment Weekly(C-)[13]
Evening Standard[14]
The Guardian(negative)[15]
The Independent(mixed)[16]
Los Angeles Times[17]
MusicOMH[18]
PopMatters(3/10)[19]

Upon its release, the album received mixed reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 45/100 from Metacritic.[9] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic was positive in his review, referring to the album as a "step in the right direction for Blunt, a move toward love songs free of pretension."[10] Matthew Horton from BBC Music had more mixed feelings, saying: "When all's said, Some Kind of Trouble is not a terrible record by any means, but there's little sense that Blunt has advanced—and equally little sense that it'll make any difference to his bottom line.[11] Mac Hirsch from Boston Globe was mixed, saying: "From the plinky, high-tuned acoustic guitar to the mindlessly skippy rhythm to the "whoa-oh-oh-ooh" chant, there's not a major element of "Stay the Night" that doesn't sound exactly like "Hey, Soul Sister." For some, that's a selling point; for others, a warning siren."[12] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly gave a "C-" rating, saying: "Some Kind of Trouble comes off as inert and oddly hollow; apart from the album's comparatively lively bookends."[13]

Matt Diehl from Los Angeles Times was somewhat more favorable, saying: "Despite all the work put into his workmanlike pop, it ultimately comes off as agreeable, but not memorable."[17] The Observer gave the album a favorable review, calling it "a cheery, ramshackle".[20] Jamie Milton from musicOMH was also favourable, saying: "When Blunt sticks to playing it safe, he offends the least. And whilst it seems contrived to applaud an artist for sticking to his zone, this man is an exceptional case."[18]

Molloy Woodcraft from The Guardian was negative with his review, describing the album as a "Shallow, soulless and strangely cynical, Some Kind of Trouble is a thoroughly depressing listen."[15] Gavin Martin from Daily Mirror was also mixed, saying: "Some Kind of Trouble repeatedly surprises with its ability to find new depths of awfulness, right down to the toe-curling, heavy rock closer Turn Me on where his wimpering sex monkey persona is stripped naked."[21] Simon Price from The Independent was also mixed, saying: "On his third album, featuring the dread hand of Linda Perry, Blunt once again shows all the soulfulness of the junior Chris de Burgh he so blatantly is. Cliché follows cliché and banality follows banality: he's got a heart of gold, he'll always be by your side, and so on, like a Hallmark Cards random verse generator.[16] Mike Schiller from PopMatters rated it three stars out of ten, enjoying "Stay the Night" but saying that: "Aside from the brilliant departure offered by the album’s opener, Blunt has lost all concept of how to sound like himself. His voice is the same, but it’s singing songs that don’t sound like his songs.[22]

Rick Pearson from Evening Standard was positive and he liked the album, saying: "it's 35 minutes of well-crafted pop music – and [I] see no trouble with that."[14] Blogger Lee Walsey also reviewed the album, commenting: ""Some Kind of Trouble" doesn't fail the third album litmus test, but it doesn't get much more than a Bwap, "Stay the Night", "So Far Gone" and "I’ll be Your man" alone do enough to compensate for some of the weaker tracks, and on the whole the album gets a reasonably safe: 6/100".[23]

Commercial performance

The album debut at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with first-week sales of 100,000 copies.[24] On the Billboard 200, the album debuted at number eleven, with sales of 26,000 copies. To date, the album has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.[25]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Stay the Night", was released on 11 September 2010 as the first British and American single.[26] It achieved success in many parts of the world, reaching number-one on the Swiss charts, the top ten on the Australian, Belgian, Dutch, German and Italian charts, the top forty on the UK Singles Chart and the top 100 on the Billboard Hot 100.[27] The second single, "So Far Gone", was released on 3 January 2011, as the second British single and first Australian single.[28] It failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart, but reached the top ten on the Swiss charts and made the top forty in the Netherlands and Hungary.[27] The third single, "If Time Is All I Have", was released on 1 April 2011[29] as the third British single and second Australian single. It failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart, but peaked on the ARIA Charts at number sixty-four.[30] "I'll Be Your Man" was released as the fourth British single and second American single on 5 May 2011.[31] It was officially released to iTunes on 23 May 2011.[2] Blunt performed it on the Conan O'Brien show and on Dancing with the Stars.[32][33] The music video was released on 26 May 2011 and was shot while James was touring.[34] "Dangerous" was released as the fifth British single on 12 September 2011. "Calling Out Your Name" was included on the Brazilian soap opera Insensato Coração and was subsequently released as the only single from the album there.[35][36]

Track listing

  1. "Stay the Night" (Blunt, Robson, Tedder, Marley) – 3:36
  2. "Dangerous" (Blunt, Robson) – 3:10
  3. "Best Laid Plans" (Blunt, Hector, Robson, strings arranged by David Campbell) – 3:30
  4. "So Far Gone" (Blunt, Robson, Tedder) – 3:34
  5. "No Tears" (Blunt, Hector, Robson) – 3:50
  6. "Superstar" (Blunt, Kurstin) – 3:49
  7. "These Are the Words" (Blunt, Hector, Robson) – 3:23
  8. "Calling Out Your Name" (Blunt, Hector, Robson) – 3:24
  9. "Heart of Gold" (Blunt, Robson) – 3:31
  10. "I'll Be Your Man" (Blunt, Kevin Griffin) – 3:37
  11. "If Time Is All I Have" (Blunt, White) – 3:25
  12. Empty Track – 0:05[38]
  13. "Turn Me On" (Blunt, White) – 2:29
14. "Stay the Night" (Live at Metropolis) (video) – 3:46
15. "So Far Gone" (Live at Metropolis) (video) – 4:00
16. "If Time Is All I Have" (Live at Metropolis) (audio) – 3:25
14. "Into the Dark" – 2:50
15. "Stay the Night" (video) – 3:46
16. "Stay the Night" (Making of the Video) – 3:00
14. "There She Goes Again" – 3:49
14. "This Love Again" – 2:58
14. "Into the Dark" – 2:50
15. "There She Goes Again" – 3:49
  1. "Stay the Night" (video)
  2. "So Far Gone" (video)
  3. "If Time Is All I Have" (video)
  4. "Stay the Night" (Making of the Video)
  5. "Some Kind of Trouble" (Making of the Album)
1. "Stay the Night" (US edit) – 3:25
14. "You're Beautiful" (Live in Belgium) (Blunt, Skarbek) – 3:38
15. "If Time Is All I Have" (Live in Belgium) (Blunt, White) – 3:31
14. "Into the Dark" – 2:50
15. "There She Goes Again" – 3:49
16. "This Love Again" – 2:58
17. "Stay the Night" (Fred Falke Remix) – 3:36
18. "Stay the Night" (video)
14. "Into the Dark" – 2:50
15. "There She Goes Again" – 3:49
16. "Stay the Night" (Fred Falke Remix) – 3:36
17. "Dangerous" (Deniz Koyu & Johan Wedel Remix) – 5:11
Live in Paleo
  1. "So Far Gone"
  2. "Dangerous"
  3. "Billy"
  4. "Wisemen"
  5. "Carry You Home"
  6. "These Are the Words"
  7. "I'll Take Everything"
  8. "Out of My Mind"
  9. "Goodbye My Lover"
  10. "High"
  11. "Same Mistake"
  12. "Turn Me On"
  13. "Superstar"
  14. "You're Beautiful"
  15. "So Long, Jimmy"
  16. "I'll Be Your Man"
  17. "Stay the Night"
  18. "1973"
Music videos
  1. "Stay the Night"
  2. "So Far Gone"
  3. "If Time Is All I Have"
  4. "I'll Be Your Man"
  5. "Dangerous"

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[39] 5
European Top 100 Albums[40] 2
Finland's Official List[41] 9
French Digital Albums Chart[42] 1
French Albums Chart[42] 3
German Albums Chart[43] 2
German Downloads Chart[44] 1
Italian Albums Chart[45] 7
Polish Albums Chart[46] 14
Swiss Albums Chart[47] 1
UK Albums Chart[48] 4
US Billboard 200[49] 11

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
German Albums Chart[50] 28
UK Albums Chart[51] 63
Chart (2011) Position
Australian Albums Chart[52] 52
Austrian Albums Chart[53] 58
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[54] 93
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[55] 32
Dutch Albums Chart[56] 94
Swiss Albums Chart[57] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australian Albums Chart Platinum 70,000
French Albums Chart 2x Platinum[58] 200,000
Austrian Albums Chart Platinum[59] 20,000
German Albums Chart Platinum[43] 200,000
Italian Albums Chart Gold[60] 30,000
Polish Albums Chart Gold[61] 10,000
Swiss Albums Chart Platinum 30,000
UK Albums Chart Platinum[62] 300,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases -UK: Forthcoming Singles". Radio 1. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  2. 1 2 "I'll Be Your Man – Single by James Blunt – Download at iTunes". iTunes. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Some Kind Of Trouble: James Blunt: Amazon.co.uk: Music. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 Trouble Revisited: Amazon.co.uk: Music
  5. ↑ Optimistic singer James Blunt – Interview Contact Music Retrieved 26 November 2010
  6. ↑ James Blunt Interview by Robert Copsey – Digital Spy Digital Spy Retrieved 28 November 2010
  7. ↑ Some Kind of Trouble at Amazon Amazon Retrieved 25 November 2010
  8. ↑ James Blunt's Some Kind of Trouble Music Amazon Retrieved 29 November 2010
  9. 1 2 "Some Kind of Trouble" (2010): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 8 April 2011.
  10. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen (18 January 2011). "Some Kind of Trouble – AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  11. 1 2 Horton, Matthew (2 November 2010). "BBC – Music – James Blunt Some Kind of Trouble Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  12. 1 2 Hirsch, Mac (18 January 2011). "James Blunt – Some Kind of Trouble". Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  13. 1 2 Greenblatt, Leah (18 January 2011). "James Blunt – Some Kind of Trouble – Review by EW". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  14. 1 2 Martin, Gavin (5 November 2010). "CDs of the week: James Blunt, Cee Lo Green and Nadine Coyle". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  15. 1 2 Woodcraft, Molloy (7 November 2010). "James Blunt: Some Kind of Trouble – review (Atlantic)". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  16. 1 2 Price, Simon (7 November 2010). "Album: James Blunt, Some Kind of Trouble (Rocket)". The Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  17. 1 2 Diehl, Matt (18 January 2011). "Album Review: James Blunt's "Some Kind of Trouble": Pop & Hiss". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  18. 1 2 Milton, Jamie (8 November 2010). "James Blunt – Some Kind Of Trouble – Album review – musicOMH". musicOMH. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  19. ↑ James Blunt: Some Kind of Trouble | PopMatters
  20. ↑ Molloy Woodcraft. "James Blunt: Some Kind of Trouble – review". the Guardian.
  21. ↑ Martin, Gavin (5 November 2010). "CD of the week review: James Blunt – Some Kind Of Trouble". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  22. ↑ Schiller, Mike (7 February 2011). "James Blunt: Some Kind of Trouble < PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  23. ↑ Ph. D: "Some Kind of Trouble" by James Blunt: A Review
  24. ↑ "James Blunt – Latest News". Guilfest. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  25. ↑ Some Kind of Trouble: Optimistic ala James Blunt
  26. ↑ "Stay the Night – Single at iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  27. 1 2 "Charts.com: JAMES BLUNT – STAY THE NIGHT (SONG)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  28. ↑ "James Blunt News – Next Single is: So Far Gone". James Blunt.com. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  29. ↑ "If Time is All I Have – Single at iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  30. ↑ "Chartifacts – Week Commencing: 16th May 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  31. ↑ "New Music Alert: James Blunt – I'll Be Your Man". New Music Alert. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  32. ↑ "James Blunt performed "I'll Be Your Man" on Conan". Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  33. ↑ "'Dancing With the Stars': James Blunt performs 'I'll Be Your Man'". IMDB. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  34. ↑ "Twitter/@James Blunt: Check out my new video for "I'll Be Your Man" which we shot on tour.". Twitter. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  35. ↑ "Warner Music – Calling Out Your Name – The New hit from James Blunt". Warner Music. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  36. ↑ "Som Livre – Vários – Insensato Coração – Internacional Vol.2". Som Livre. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  37. ↑ James Blunt: Some Kind Of Trouble (2010): CD. hmv.com. Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  38. ↑ Florino, Rick (20 January 2011). "James Blunt talks "Some Kind Of Trouble", The Blues, "Turn Me On" and more". artistdirect.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  39. ↑ James Blunt – Some Kind of Trouble. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  40. ↑ "Billboard - Music Charts, Music News, Artist Photo Gallery & Free Video". Billboard.
  41. ↑ Musiikkituottajat – Tilastot – Suomen virallinen lista – Artistit. Ifpi.fi. Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  42. 1 2 "Tops Albums : Florent Pagny n°1" (in French). Chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  43. 1 2 Bundesverband Musikindustrie: Gold-/Platin-Datenbank – BETA. Musikindustrie.de. Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  44. ↑ "X Factor"-Gewinnerin auf Platz 15 der Download-Charts – media control. Media-control.de (19 November 2010). Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  45. ↑ "federation of the italian music industry" (in Italian). fimi.it. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  46. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart" (in Polish). olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  47. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Charts – Albums Top 100 05.12.2010". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  48. ↑ "James Blunt – All The Lost Souls worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aCharts.us. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
  49. ↑ Music Albums, Top 200 Albums & Music Album Charts. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 25 June 2011.
  50. ↑ "Shows, Musikvideos, Charts, News - VIVA.tv". viva.tv.
  51. ↑ "End Of Year Charts: 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  52. ↑ "Adele's "21" crowned ARIA's highest selling album of 2011 LMFAO takes single honours with "Party Rock Anthem"" (PDF). Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  53. ↑ http://oe3.orf.at/charts/stories/albumyear/
  54. ↑ "JAAROVERZICHTEN 2011" (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  55. ↑ "RAPPORTS ANNUELS 2011". Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  56. ↑ "JAAROVERZICHTEN - ALBUM 2011". Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  57. ↑ "SCHWEIZER JAHRESHITPARADE 2011". http://hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2 January 2012. External link in |publisher= (help)
  58. ↑ Snepmusique.com, le site du Snep
  59. ↑ http://www.ifpi.at/?section=goldplatin
  60. ↑ "ARTISTI – Dalla settimana 1 del 2009 alla settimana 10 del 2011" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  61. ↑ "ZPAV : Gold" (in Polish). ZPAV.
  62. ↑ David Sirota. BPI
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