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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. 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. 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.James’ eighth studio album Millionaires has always been underrated and ‘We’re Going to Miss You’ marks one of three contributions across this collection that serve as a reminder of the overall quality of that record. When everyone else was arguing about Blur and Oasis, the real outsiders were sitting in their bedrooms cowering in dark corners listening to Pulp and James albums. ‘Tomorrow’ is one of the reasons why. So many hooks. So much melody. And what a chorus. Their famous anthem ‘Sit Down’ is quirky as hell and a delight to listen to. I would love to hear this version sung somewhere cavernous to feel the vibration and emotion bounce around every square inch of space. Outstanding! Sit Down' is a stripped-down song with Booth's vocals enveloped with stunning strings. The song sees Booth thank two women who had greatly influenced him – singer Patti Smith and author Doris Lessing. A largely sparse arrangement like this leaves little hiding place for his voice. Good job, he nails it. 'Alaskan Pipeline' continues the theme of less is more. A sparse ballad, it is most notable for the music. It creates a feeling that gnaws at you, slowly bringing you to a place where you feel like crying. I don't mind the addition of lyrics, but I would have preferred this to be an instrumental. 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. Born and bred in Moss Side, Glennie has been part of James since its inception: the band’s even named after him! He tells me he started in the band that eventually morphed into James when he was just 15, never knowing that they’d hit it big. ‘It was really just a mad, stupid thing that I absolutely loved’, Glennie says, ‘And then it kind of just took on a life of it’s own.’ It’s when they came to the attention of John Peel that things really got going.

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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 It is clear from this latest album that James have no intention of slowing down. It will be fascinating to see where they go from here. Whilst not the band’s best song, if James has a mission statement, it is surely ‘Sit Down’. Oversaturation simply cannot rob the Manchester band’s most successful single of its raw power. It’s still incredibly moving and inspirational all these years later. Goods that are faulty or sent in error must be returned to Crash Records Limited, 35 The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 6PU within 7 working days of the item being received by the customer. 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.

The Lake` was the b side to `Laid` and is maybe a hidden gem being quite reflective with shimmering strings that pictorially portray an iridescent lake or stretch of water. A wonderfully thoughtful piece which could be a metaphor for something far deeper. The joyful`She’s A Star` a song about empowerment is given a fullorchestrated workout which allows a much more emotiveimpact. His advice to young musicians hoping to break into the scene is refreshingly simple: ‘You basically have to do it because you love it.’ He speaks about the importance of being honest with yourself, and letting the music be its own reward.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.

Someone's Got It In For Me' sees Tim go full Morrissey and treats us to some serious bedsit angst. "What a state I'm in/My self-pitying/Here's another victim singing suffering", he wails. Musically, the song reminds me a little of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'The Power of Love'. His voice sounds like a raspy version of Holly Johnson. It's not a bad thing, and the song benefits from it. When I ask which songs Glennie feels most benefited from the re-recording, he immediately says ‘Sometimes’. ‘The first half is so sparse, and then everyone [in the orchestra] arrives at the same time. It’s got that emotional lift at the end.’ Another of his favourites on the new album, is ‘She’s a Star’, and not just because he doesn’t actually play on it so can actually sit at the side of the stage and watch, for once.TH ANNIVERSARY DOUBLE ALBUM OF GREATEST HITS AND FAN FAVOURITES REIMAGINED WITH ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR Top Of The World` is a fascinating listen as this adaptation has the addition of woodwind and strings which offers a unique angle. The lyrical content is fairly ambiguous and to me has many inferences. We have a song about the death of a loved one with `Moving On`This orchestrated version ensures that the song is both touching and moving but also has a sense of acceptance. God it was such a buzz! We opened up with ‘Come Home’, and we had a marching band who came in the venue with no music playing’, he says, ‘As they got halfway into the venue, they starting playing the riff, and I’ve never heard a roar like it. It was like scoring at Wembley! […] You realise the band doesn’t really belong to you, it belongs to them, like a football team belonging to the fans.’ 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. 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.