Be Opened By The Wonderful

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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. The sixth annual National Album Day on Saturday 14th October, as the music community comes together to celebrate the art of the album, sees ... Read more Shepherd's Bush Empire for Absolute Radio's 15th birthday celebration

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. `Morrissey had been raving about them in all the music press and to be fair they were pretty entertaining. They dipped in and out of my life and I last seriously listened to them on the release of their last studio album `All The Colours of You` and got to witness them perform a few cuts from the album and some classic tunes live as well. 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. 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. JAMES are: Tim Booth, Jim Glennie, Saul Davies, Adrian Oxaal, David Baynton-Power, Mark Hunter, Andy Diagram, Chloe Alper and Deborah Knox-Hewson.

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. Medieval’ is as lyrically unforgiving as ever, but ‘Hymn From A Village’ is one of the real showstoppers on this side. It’s fun, punchy, upbeat and relentless.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. 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. 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.

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 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.

Credits

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. No album seems to be left unturned,. Whiplash offers up one of their most instantly recognisable tunes, ‘She’s A Star’. Here, the string work on is captivating and the simplicity is beautiful – again, it demonstartes how well Booth’s voice has held up over the years.