UK ALBUM CHART - 29 June 2014 myamigouk/index.htm#701264109 1. (-) X - ED SHEERAN; 2. (3) In The Lonely Hour - SAM SMITH; 3. (1) Ultraviolence - LANA DEL REY; 4. (4) Ghost Stories - COLDPLAY; 5. (7) Caustic Love - PAOLO NUTINI. View our Top 10 albums by clicking on the link above, where you can also purchase the albums from Amazon. To purchase the number one album X by Ed Sheeran for only £9.00, click on the link below. On this weeks album chart, theres a new entry at number one for Ed Sheeran with his album X. Superficially, Ed Sheeran does not appear to be obvious pop star material, and, indeed, much of the coverage of his stellar rise has focused on how this acoustic-guitar-toting one-man band has become one of the most lauded stars of late. The title of his second album is X, as in multiply, the follow-up to 2011s +, promising to increase things exponentially. Certainly in terms of content, and in likelihood in terms of commercial appeal, it all adds up. This is, in every respect, a richer blend, more seamlessly combining the factors that made him so immediately accessible first time round. The formula might be sensitive songwriting + hip-hop flow + pop sensibility x charismatic performance = something greater than the sum of its obvious parts. Maybe he is just talented. If you subscribe to Malcolm Gladwells theory that genius takes at least 10,000 hours of hard work, then 23-year-old Ed has certainly put the shifts in, touring relentlessly since his teens. But he has also become a legend on his own social networks, harnessing the power of Twitter and Facebook with a navel-gazing writing style that dovetails neatly with the selfie generations obsession with personal detail. He has toured with Taylor Swift, and similarly his songs often have a ring of autobiographical truth. There seems little doubt that there was an actual Nina, the childhood sweetheart whose heart gets broken in the song of the same name, whilst on the bluesy, paranoid Dont there is a gossipy quality to his description of romantic assignations with another female pop singer. But, more significantly, these are genuinely great songs, where melodies flow, rhythms groove, choruses erupt and lyrics jab you with surprises. The core of Eds appeal is his apparently effortless absorption of contemporary musical styles. He can slip smoothly through the gears from soulful balladry (One, Photograph) to edgy, rocky drama (Im A Mess, Bloodstream) to anthemic singalongs (Afire Love) to twisty, poetic hip-hop (The Man), sometimes all in the same song (his irresistible number one hit Sing, recorded with pop producer of the moment, Pharrell). Throughout it all, Ed stays true to the essential artistic notions of the classic singer/songwriter genre by treating his music as a vehicle for emotional veracity, personal revelation and universal inclusion. For older listeners struggling to connect with contemporary pop, Ed might just be the artist with the X factor.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 09:12:03 +0000
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