Moon Landing (album)

Moon Landing
Studio album by James Blunt
Released 18 October 2013
Recorded 2012–2013
London, New York, Los Angeles[1]
Genre Pop rock, folk rock
Length 43:18
Label Custard, Atlantic, Epic, Provident Label Group
Producer Tom Rothrock, Steve Mac, Steve Robson, Dan Wilson, Ryan Tedder
James Blunt chronology
Some Kind of Trouble
(2010)
Moon Landing
(2013)
Singles from Moon Landing
  1. "Bonfire Heart"
    Released: 4 October 2013
  2. "Heart to Heart"
    Released: 3 February 2014
  3. "Postcards"
    Released: 19 May 2014
  4. "When I Find Love Again"
    Released: 16 September 2014

Moon Landing is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter James Blunt. It was released on 18 October 2013 through Custard Records and Atlantic Records. The album is the follow-up to 2010's Some Kind of Trouble, making it Blunt's first new material in three years. The album features production from the likes of Tom Rothrock, Steve Mac, Guy Chambers and Steve Robson, and was executively produced by Tom Rothrock, who worked with Blunt on 2004's Back to Bedlam.[2]

The first single from the album "Bonfire Heart" debuted at number six before peaking at number four the following week in the UK Singles Chart. The single peaked at one in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It was in the top 10 in different countries all over the world.

On 10 November 2014, the album was re-released as Moon Landing – Apollo Edition with five bonus tracks.

Background

On 11 July 2013, Blunt announced that he had finished recording his fourth studio album, entitled Moon Landing.[3][4] The album features production from Back to Bedlam producer Tom Rothrock.

The lead single, "Bonfire Heart", was released on 4 October 2013,[5] the song is fueled by just acoustic guitars and a stomping kick drum, reflects Blunt's newly stripped-down take.[6] The song "Miss America" is a tribute to Whitney Houston, as revealed by Blunt in an acoustic video of the song on his YouTube channel. Blunt's return to music received widespread press coverage, after an error in the mailing system lead to the link to "Bonfire Heart" being e-mailed to a large number of e-mail accounts in the United Kingdom.[7] Unplugged versions of the songs called "Miss America" and "Face The Sun", and the lyrics video of the song "Satellites" were unveiled on YouTube.

On 16 September 2014, Blunt confirmed on his official Instagram account that Moon Landing would be re-released on November that same year. That new version of the album will be named Moon Landing - Apollo Edition and will contain 19 tracks: the 11 of the original disc, plus the 3 bonus tracks of the album's deluxe version (Telephone, Kiss This Love Goodbye and Hollywood) and five new tracks (Smoke Signals, When I Find Love Again, Breathe, Trail of Broken Hearts and Working it Out). The new track When I Find Love Again was released as a single that same day, after being played in BBC's Radio 2 for the first time ever. This new version of the album will also contain an 19-track live DVD recorded during Blunt's performance in the 2014 edition of the Paléo Festival.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic49/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
[9]
[10]
The Evening Standard[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]

Moon Landing received mixed reviews from music critics.[8]

Track listing

The album is available in three editions – a standard 11-track release, deluxe 14-track release and super deluxe box set, containing a bonus DVD, handwritten lyric booklet and special photographs from the making of the album, with the first five hundred to be signed by James himself.[15] The Japanese edition also contains three exclusive bonus recordings.[16] On 21 October 2014, the album was re-released as Moon Landing: Apollo Edition with five additional tracks.[17] In the United States, the new tracks were released as part of the Smoke Signals EP on 15 December 2014.[18]

Moon LandingStandard version
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Face the Sun"  James Blunt, Steve RobsonTom Rothrock 4:03
2. "Satellites"  Blunt, Claude Kelly, Steve MacTom Rothrock 3:12
3. "Bonfire Heart"  Blunt, Ryan TedderTedder 3:58
4. "Heart to Heart"  Blunt, Daniel Parker, Daniel OmelioTerefe, Robopop (co.), Ammar Malik (co.), Blunt (co.) 3:29
5. "Miss America"  Blunt, Wayne Hector, MacTom Rothrock 3:07
6. "The Only One"  Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock 3:41
7. "Sun on Sunday"  Blunt, Kelly, MacTom Rothrock 3:18
8. "Bones"  Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock, Mac (co.) 2:53
9. "Always Hate Me"  Blunt, Ammar MalikTom Rothrock 3:37
10. "Postcards"  Blunt, Hector, MacTerefe 4:46
11. "Blue on Blue"  Blunt, Steve McEwanTerefe 3:53

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 12
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 5
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 2
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[25] 4
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[26] 6
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 5
French Albums (SNEP)[28] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[30] 1
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 7
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[33] 96
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 4
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[35] 12
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[36] 39
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[37] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[38] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[40] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 2
US Billboard 200[42] 20

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
Australian Albums Chart[43] 25
Austrian Albums Chart[44] 47
Hungarian Albums Chart[45] 29
New Zealand Albums Chart[46] 41
Chart (2014) Position
Australian Albums Chart[47] 54
Italian Albums Chart[48] 76

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[49] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[50] Platinum 15,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[51] Gold 40,000^
Germany (BVMI)[52] 3× Gold 300,000^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[53] Platinum 6,000x
Italy (FIMI)[54] Gold 30,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[55] Gold 7,500^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[56] Platinum 30,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Platinum 300,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Version Format Label
Australia 18 October 2013 Standard, deluxe CD, digital download Custard Records, Atlantic Records
New Zealand
Ireland
Germany
United Kingdom 21 October 2013 Standard edition
Deluxe edition
Super deluxe edition
Italy 22 October 2013 Standard edition
Canada Standard edition
Deluxe edition
South Korea Deluxe edition
Japan 23 October 2013 Japanese edition
Greece 1 November 2013 Standard edition The Spicy Effect[58]
United States 5 November 2013 Standard edition
Deluxe edition
Custard Records, Atlantic Records

References

  1. http://www.jamesblunt.com/news,happy-new-year_121.htm?pg=1&f=all
  2. http://www.jamesblunt.com/news,the-new-album-moon-landing_123.htm?pg=1&f=all
  3. "@JamesBlunt on Twitter".
  4. "James Blunt – The New Album 'Moon Landing' – YouTube".
  5. "JamesBlunt.com – News".
  6. Brown, Harley. "Back to Basics". ProQuest. The International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  7. "Spam attack: James Blunt apologises for mistaken 'UK-wide' mailout of new single 'Bonfire Heart'". The Independent.
  8. 1 2 Moon Landing reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "James Blunt - [http://www.newsoftwaregratis.com/ Moon Landing]". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 November 2013. External link in |title= (help)
  10. Sullivan, Caroline (17 October 2013). James Blunt: Moon Landing – review (Custard). The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  11. Gill, Andy (18 October 2013). Album review: James Blunt, Moon Landing (Custard/Atlantic). The Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  12. Murphy, John (22 October 2013). James Blunt – Moon Landing. musicOMH. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. Hoby, Hermione (19 October 2013). James Blunt: Moon Landing – review (Atlantic). The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  14. Powell, Mike (1 November 2013). James Blunt, 'Moon Landing'. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  15. "James Blunt – News – New Song – 'Miss America & more album news...". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  16. "CDJapan : Moon Landing James Blunt CD Album". CDJapan.
  17. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Moon Landing (Special Apollo Edition) by James Blunt". iTunes.
  18. "James Blunt Sends Up "SMOKE SIGNALS"; New EP Features Five Brand New Tracks; First Single, "When I Find Love Again," Available as Instant Grat With All Pre-Orders; "SMOKE SIGNALS EP" Arrives in U.S. on December 15th". Yahoo Finance. 18 November 2014.
  19. "James Blunt - Moon Landing - Only at Target". Target.
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  30. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2013. 44. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  31. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 43, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  32. "Italiancharts.com – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Hung Medien.
  33. "Top 100 México – Semana Del 21 al 27 de Octubre 2013" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
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  35. "Norwegiancharts.com – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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  37. "Portuguesecharts.com – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  38. November 2013 "2 November 2013 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company.
  39. "Swedishcharts.com – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 JanuaryNovember 2014.
  40. "Swisscharts.com – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  41. "James Blunt | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  42. "James Blunt – Chart history" Billboard 200 for James Blunt. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  43. "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2013". ARIA. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  44. austriancharts.at - Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich
  45. "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2013" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  46. "Lorde topped by Sol3 Mio in album charts". New Zelaand Herald. 25 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  47. "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2014". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  48. "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  49. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Chart - 18/11/2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  50. "Austrian album certifications – James Blunt – Moon Landing" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 20 July 2013. Enter James Blunt in the field Interpret. Enter Moon Landing in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  51. "Canadian album certifications – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  52. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (James Blunt; 'Moon Landing')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  53. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2014" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  54. "Italian album certifications – James Blunt – Moon Landing" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter James Blunt in the field Filtra. Select 2014 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  55. "New Zealand album certifications – James Blunt – Moon Landing". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  56. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Blunt James; 'Moon Landing')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  57. "British album certifications – James Blunt – Moon Landing". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Enter Moon Landing in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  58. "MUSICAL - MOON LANDING - Λεπτομέριες Προϊόντος". musical.gr.
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