Soul man Sam is right back on track
SAM SMITH: The Thrill Of It All (Capitol) Verdict: Confessional comeback MAROON 5: Red Pill Blues (Polydor) Verdict: Pop with a virtuoso edge
ALOT has changed for singer Sam Smith in the three years since his debut album In The Lonely Hour.
The soul man from Hertfordshire cleaned up with Brit Awards, Grammys and even — for his chart-topping Bond theme Writing’s On The Wall — an Oscar, then stepped out of the limelight.
But as he returns this week as a noticeably leaner figure, some things remain the same. His first album, characterised by melancholy singles such as Stay With Me, was inspired by unrequited love.
Now it is the gloom of further heartache, sparked this time by a broken romance, that casts its shadow over The Thrill Of It All.
Working with long-term collaborator Jimmy Napes, the London producer who co-wrote Clean Bandit’s Rather Be, Smith, 25, says he wanted to edge away from big pop tunes while retaining his confessional edge, and he gives vent to his bruised feelings on Too Good At Goodbyes and Say It First.
The former, his sixth No 1 single, opens the record with a once- bitten- twice- shy attitude to amour.
It finds Sam advocating emotional caution against a slow- burning backdrop of plangent piano, poised strings and call-and-response backing vocals. With Napes adding a riptide of auto- tune and subtly enhanced beats, the mid-tempo Say It First is similarly forlorn.
The focus throughout is on one of the most recognisable voices in British music. Soulful and tremulous, it can soar to a piercing falsetto.
On the gospel- tinged Burning, he opens by perform- ing unaccompanied. His quavering vocals are generally well suited to the material — though he isn’t immune to over-singing.
Ballads and sly grooves dominate. Smith and Napes take a few calculated risks — Midnight Train is a countrysoul number and No Peace a duet with American Yebba Smith — but, given Sam’s vocal talent, they could easily have shown greater ambition without damaging The Thrill Of It All’s prospects.
Amid the melodrama, Smith is developing as a lyricist. As a gay man, he shied away from writing directly about his sexuality, but is now more candid on the heartfelt Him, about a son coming out to his father. Pray, a collaboration with R&B kingpin Timbaland, was inspired by a visit to Iraq with the War Child charity. Taking a 36- month sabbatical between albums is a gamble for a singer who has yet to really prove his staying power.
BuT, with an hourlong, Adele- style BBC 1 special in the pipeline, this still stands every chance of building on his debut’s success.
MAROON 5’s move from a rock/R&B hybrid towards machine-tooled, modern pop has sometimes felt uneasy.
Now a seven-piece, the LA group enlist a slew of collaborators to smooth their way on this sixth album.
Rappers A$AP Rocky and Lunch-Money Lewis both appear. Newcomer Julia Michaels crops up on the quirky Help Me Out.
What Lovers Do features R&B diva Solana Rowe, while America’s sharpest new star, Charlie Puth, co-writes Lips On You. One OF the band’s distinctive traits is Adam Levine’s honeyed, highpitched voice. He will never possess the rugged muscularity of idols Robert Plant and Kurt Cobain, but his softer style is ideal for the stainlesssteel pop on show here.
Maroon 5 are still more barband than boy-band, and the concluding Closure stresses their virtuosity.
A space-age, jazz-rock jam, it unfolds across 12 minutes of interplay between guitarist James Valentine and keyboardists P.J. Morton and Jesse Carmichael.
SAM SMITH starts a UK tour at Sheffield Arena on March 20, 2018 (gigsandtours.com).