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. TH ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE ALBUM OF GREATEST HITS AND FAN FAVOURITES REIMAGINED WITH ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR

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 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. 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 is an anniversary album of sorts, but once the first note hits, you know you are listening to so much more. 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.

Dipping their toes into the Israel/Palestine conflict, ‘The Lake’ has a dreamy eeriness. You feel like you are in a dream world but with a sinister undertone that keeps you uneasy. ‘She’s A Star’ has a 50s/60s feel. Think late Buddy Holly mixed with The Beatles in their Sgt. Pepper’s pomp. In a song about a woman finding and releasing her innermost power, Booth shows us his vocal range. “She’s been in disguise forever/She’s tried to disguise her stellar views/Much brighter than all this static/Now she’s coming through”, Booth puts himself in the position of the female protagonist and explores her inner voice and strength. The strings bring a great dimension to the song, creating a feeling like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. 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. 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. 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.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. 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.

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.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. JAMES are: Tim Booth, Jim Glennie, Saul Davies, Adrian Oxaal, David Baynton-Power, Mark Hunter, Andy Diagram, Chloe Alper and Deborah Knox-Hewson.