James Blunt
All the Lost Souls
(Atlantic)
There aren't many pop stars who can say they've led 30,000 troops in to a besieged city as James Blunt did in his former life as a British Army officer with Nato peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. Rather than imbuing the singer/songwriter with toughness, his is a gentle acoustic pop with a voice so reedy it sounds teenage.
So far Blunt has a winning formula. His debut album Back to Bedlam sold 14 million copies and 2005's ubiquitous single You're Beautiful was number one in Britain, across Europe and in the US, but Blunt's is a polarising success, with the non-believers decrying what they call his annoying nasal voice and middle-of-the-road pop.
All the Lost Souls, his second album, went straight to number one on release in Britain, maybe because fans were pleased to hear a second album so similar to the first.