Be Opened By The Wonderful

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The band also is touring the U.K. in April and May with an orchestra, and also has a number of festival dates set for this summer.

Of course the fact that these songs work so well in this way is also testament to the underlying quality of the songwriting of James – which has just been recognised at the 2023 Ivor Novello Awards, with the band being awarded the PRS for Music Icon Award for their enduring successful career and excellence in songwriting. Much deserved and about time too in my opinion, congratulations. Life begins at 40. For our midlife euphoria we recorded a double orchestral album of some of our deepest cuts.” Disc 2: Someone’s Got It In For Me / Hey Ma / Hello / Beautiful Beaches / Why So Close / Medieval / Hymn From A Village / Say Something / Top Of The World / Moving On / Laid The brief `Why So Close` a protest song aboutworking withnuclear energy has a raw barber shop quartet texture, while the feudal `Medieval preserves its narrative folk-tinged tone. `In episode #150 of The XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar meets Guitar legend Peter Frampton to talk about his recent live album – Peter Frampton At Royal Albert Hall. Peter Frampton is one of the […] James have really excelled themselves, orchestrating a true time capsule of thought-provoking and memory-laden songs. One of the greatest bands of a generation keep getting better, and Be Opened By The Wonderful is the proof. Tonight I raise my glass to an old friend. I'm sad and brimming with happy memories – Angelo Badalamenti died yesterday evening. I spent most of 1995 working with him making the 'Booth and the Bad Angel' album over an idyllic year in New York. I was obsessed with the Julee Cruise 'Floating Into The Night' CD and h... Read more Playground Festival, Glasgow – September 2021 ABOUT USLouder Than War is a music, culture and media publication headed by The Membranes & Goldblade frontman John Robb. Online since 2010 it is one of the fastest-growing and most respected music-related publications on the net. James produced some notable and instantly recognisable hits from humble beginnings in Whalley Range, Manchester (I don’t know if they lived in a rented room) in 1982. Nineteen Top 40 singles and fourteen Top 20 albums are not bad. After all, you would not be surprised if the band needed to challenge itself, to do something against the grain. James has done just that with Be Opened By The Wonderful.

This first disc closes with `Alaskan Pipeline` which could refer to trust issues in a relationship and is an intense listen. It has an almost operatic aria towards the end that is delightfully evoking. A thoughtful and weighty number to leave us on. One of Britain’s most enduring success stories, James has released 16 studio albums, selling over 25 million copies with a recent run of Top 5 albums proving to be a golden era for the band. All The Colours Of You released in 2021 was James’ most critically acclaimed in years, preceded by Living in Extraordinary Times and Girl at the End of the World which narrowly missed out on the top spot in 2016 to Adele. Hymn From A Village` has a similar pace and recalls its funky texture with added strings on this possible dig at the superficial music around at the time of its composition.A plea for somebody to open up gains a deeper emotional quality on `Say Something`.A hint a somebody struggling with substance abuse is maybe hinted at andthefrustration felt is almost tangible in the vocal delivery. How does one become qualified to write a fictional music novel? The author of Sophomore Songs offers some clues. Growing up reading NME, doing a stint at Clash, drumming for several bands on and off, and […] a b Royle, Natalie (4 June 2023). "James: Be Opened by the Wonderful – album review". Louder Than War . Retrieved 22 June 2023.

Be Opened By The Wonderful 2xCD + vinyl 2xLP

So what are you waiting for? Get ready to be opened by the wonderful sounds of James and their double album “ Be Opened By The Wonderful.” It’s a must-have for fans of the band and anyone interested in discovering their unique sound. With James’ experimentation, Joe Duddell’s expert touch, and the addition of the orchestra and choir, this album is an experience you won’t want to miss. Let James take you on a musical journey like no other! Absolute Radio have always been extremely supportive to us, so we're looking forward to helping them celebrate their 15th birthday on th... Read more Our Blog Tonight I raise my glass to an old friend. Angelo Badalamenti. And let’s not forget about “ Sit Down,” one of James’ most popular songs. Joe Duddell’s version of the song is a testament to his talent for transforming music into something new and exciting. With layer upon layer of strings, the song has a deep richness that elevates it to a different level. It’s a song about connection and reassurance that you are never alone, and with Duddell’s arrangement, it speaks to a wider audience and resonates on a deeper level. Their famous anthem ‘Sit Down’ is quirky as hell and a delight to listen to. I would love to hear this version sung somewhere cavernous to feel the vibration and emotion bounce around every square inch of space. Outstanding! Lookaway` is fairly ethereal but speeds up while remaining fairly dreamlike. From the intro, you wouldn`t guess that `Sit Down` was one of the bands most famous signature songs but it was always gonna sound unusual as you`ve known the standard for over thirty years. A re-imagining that i`m sure I’ll come to love as I did the original.

Be Opened By The Wonderful (40 Years Orchestrated)(2×LP, Album, Limited Edition, Numbered, Pink Transparent & White Pinwheel Effect) Welcome to the October 2018 edition of our monthly new music playlist, which is available to listen to and watch via YouTube. If you enjoy any of the songs featured here, we encourage you to support […] Be Opened By The Wonderful is an anniversary album of sorts, but once the first note hits, you know you are listening to so much more. The Lake` was the b side to `Laid` and is maybe a hidden gem being quite reflective with shimmering strings that pictorially portray an iridescent lake or stretch of water. A wonderfully thoughtful piece which could be a metaphor for something far deeper. The joyful`She’s A Star` a song about empowerment is given a fullorchestrated workout which allows a much more emotiveimpact. I cannot stop listening to this album. The themes covered – such as war, climate change and death are at total odds with the beauty of the songs and the music, with the emotions and feelings of these new versions intensified ten fold by the orchestra and choir. By working once again (and this time recording with) Joe Duddell, James have given themselves and their fans the opportunity to make new musical memories whilst revisiting old ones. There are so many layers and details to these songs and I am still discovering more after numerous listens. My advice is to shut yourself away, pop on some headphones and lose yourself in the pure musical magic – let yourself be Opened By The Wonderful.Be Opened By The Wonderful was recorded at Blueprint Studios in Manchester, orchestrated and conducted by Joe Duddell with the ORCA22 Orchestra lead by Andra Vornicu featuring the Manchester Inspirational Voices choir, directed by Wayne Ellington. Manchester favorites James are celebrating their 40th anniversary with an album of 20 re-recorded classics and deeper cuts “re-imagined” with a 22-piece orchestra and an 8-piece choir — and they’re taking the orchestral show on the road this month in the U.K. Moving On was written by Tim after losing his mother and close friend within months of each other. Tim has described his mother dying in his arms as a beautiful experience. Of grief he says it “is an expression of how much you love that person. I embrace grief and it is a medal of love”. The feeling of love and grief and the outpouring of emotion in this version is heightened by the slower pace of the song, the soaring strings and the amazing chemistry and harmonies between Tim and Chloe’s voices. This added beauty reinforcing Tim’s view on death. In 2022, following an eight-year live hiatus, Hard-Fi advised that they would play a handful of dates, including a gig at the Kentish Town Forum in London. Whether it was the length of time since […] Neal Barnard is a man of many talents and many passions. Impressively, he’s found a way to blend his work, encouraging people to eat and live well with that of his work as an artist […]

Top Of The World’ sees the protagonist struggling to balance their Life. “If I will not be faithful/I must accept betrayal/When your turn comes to leave me/Will my freeways have failed?” A song about loss, specifically concerning the death of Booth’s mother, ‘Moving On’ builds slowly. You begin to feel your heart beat a little more. Your breathing starts to become heavier. The eyes start to fill. This song takes you to a place where your experiences of loss float to the surface and take over. The album’s finale, ‘Laid’, sees Booth examining the relationships of those around him. His voice soars high and merges with the strings, flying high like a leaf a breeze whilst a gentle guitar strums below—an excellent way to end. Tim performs Sit Down with Coldplay at two nights of their Music Of The Spheres tour at a sold-out Etihad ... more Favourite album: Impossible to choose but Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys is pretty awesome. Johnson, Rob (9 June 2023). "James Be Opened by the Wonderful review". TotalNtertainment . Retrieved 22 June 2023.

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TH ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE ALBUM OF GREATEST HITS AND FAN FAVOURITES REIMAGINED WITH ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR James perform an orchestral set with Orca 22 and the Manchester Inspirational Voices Choir at the Acropolis in Greece as ... more We are coming up to that time of year when the beautiful and distinctive voice of Kirsty MacColl will be blasting out in bars and shops and being played regularly on radio and TV music […] Someone’s Got It In For Me’ sees Tim go full Morrissey and treats us to some serious bedsit angst. “What a state I’m in/My self-pitying/Here’s another victim singing suffering“, he wails. Musically, the song reminds me a little of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘The Power of Love’. His voice sounds like a raspy version of Holly Johnson. It’s not a bad thing, and the song benefits from it. copies were also retailed by Assai Records with an approved hand numbered and signed Japanese style Obi under Assai Obi Editions.