Moon Landing (album)

Moon Landing
Studio album by
James Blunt
Released18 October 2013
RecordedMarch–July 2013
StudioLondon, New York City, Los Angeles[1]
GenrePop rock, folk rock
Length43:18
LabelCustard, Atlantic
ProducerTom Rothrock, Steve Mac, Steve Robson, Dan Wilson, Ryan Tedder
James Blunt chronology
Some Kind of Trouble
(2010) 		Moon Landing
(2013) 		The Afterlove
(2017)
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, 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.[3]

Background

On 11 July 2013, Blunt announced that he had finished recording his fourth studio album, titled Moon Landing.[4][5] The album features production from Back to Bedlam producer Tom Rothrock.

The lead single, "Bonfire Heart", was released on 4 October 2013,[6] the song is fueled by just acoustic guitars and a stomping kick drum, reflects Blunt's newly stripped-down take.[7] 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 led to the link to "Bonfire Heart" being e-mailed to a large number of e-mail accounts in the United Kingdom.[8] 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 a 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[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
musicOMH[13]
The Observer[14]
Rolling Stone[15]

Moon Landing received mixed reviews from music critics.[9]

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.[16] The Japanese edition also contains three exclusive bonus recordings.[17] On 21 October 2014, the album was re-released as Moon Landing: Apollo Edition with five additional tracks.[18] In the United States, the new tracks were released as part of the Smoke Signals EP on 15 December 2014.[19]

Moon Landing — Standard version
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Face the Sun"James Blunt, Steve RobsonTom Rothrock4:03
2."Satellites"Blunt, Claude Kelly, Steve MacTom Rothrock3:12
3."Bonfire Heart"Blunt, Ryan TedderTedder3:58
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 Rothrock3:07
6."The Only One"Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock3:41
7."Sun on Sunday"Blunt, Kelly, MacTom Rothrock3:18
8."Bones"Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock, Mac (co.)2:53
9."Always Hate Me"Blunt, Ammar MalikTom Rothrock3:37
10."Postcards"Blunt, Hector, MacTerefe4:46
11."Blue on Blue"Blunt, Steve McEwanTerefe3:53
Moon Landing — Deluxe version (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Telephone"Blunt, Kevin GriffinTerefe3:22
13."Kiss This Love Goodbye"Blunt, GriffinTom Rothrock2:34
14."Hollywood"Blunt, Hector, RobsonSteve Robson3:21
Moon Landing — US version (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Miss America" (Acoustic version from Angel Studios)Blunt, Wayne Hector, MacDan Massie3:04
Moon Landing — Target edition (bonus tracks)[20]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Miss America" (Acoustic version from Angel Studios)Blunt, Wayne Hector, MacDan Massie3:04
13."Telephone"Blunt, Kevin GriffinTerefe3:22
14."Kiss This Love Goodbye"Blunt, GriffinTom Rothrock2:34
15."Hollywood"Blunt, Hector, RobsonSteve Robson3:21
Moon Landing — Japanese version (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Telephone"Blunt, Kevin GriffinKevin Griffin3:22
13."Kiss This Love Goodbye"Blunt, GriffinTom Rothrock2:34
14."Hollywood"Blunt, Hector, RobsonSteve Robson3:21
15."Next Time I'm Seventeen"Blunt, Matt Hales, Dan WilsonDan Wilson3:55
16."Heroes"Blunt, Guy ChambersGuy Chambers3:43
17."Miss America" (Angel Studios Acoustic)Blunt, Mac, HectorSteve Mac3:04
Moon Landing: Apollo Edition[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Smoke Signals"Blunt, Danny ParkerParker3:43
2."When I Find Love Again"Mac, Benjamin Levin, Ammar Malik, Daniel Omelio, Ross Golan, Charlotte AitchisonSteve Mac, Benny Blanco, Robopop3:05
3."Face the Sun"James Blunt, Steve RobsonTom Rothrock4:03
4."Satellites"Blunt, Claude Kelly, Steve MacTom Rothrock3:12
5."Bonfire Heart"Blunt, Ryan TedderTedder3:58
6."Heart to Heart"Blunt, Daniel Parker, Daniel OmelioTerefe, Robopop3:29
7."Miss America"Blunt, Wayne Hector, MacTom Rothrock3:07
8."The Only One"Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock3:41
9."Sun on Sunday"Blunt, Kelly, MacTom Rothrock3:18
10."Bones"Blunt, Hector, MacTom Rothrock, Mac2:53
11."Always Hate Me"Blunt, Ammar MalikTom Rothrock3:37
12."Postcards"Blunt, Hector, MacTerefe4:46
13."Blue on Blue"Blunt, Steve McEwanTerefe3:53
14."Telephone"Blunt, Kevin GriffinKevin Griffin3:22
15."Kiss This Love Goodbye"Blunt, GriffinTom Rothrock2:34
16."Hollywood"Blunt, Hector, RobsonSteve Robson3:21
17."Breathe"BluntTerefe4:21
18."Trail of Broken Hearts"Blunt, Malik, TerefeTerefe4:26
19."Working It Out"Blunt, Hector, MacMac4:21

Personnel

  • James Blunt – lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards
  • Sasha Krivtsov – bass
  • Charlie Paxson – drums, percussion
  • John Nau – keyboards
  • Matt Chait – guitars
  • Tom Rothrock - guitars, keyboards
  • Mike Tarantino – engineering
  • Smith Carlson - Engineer[21]
  • John Garrison - Bass Guitar

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[68] Platinum 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[69] Gold 40,000^
France (SNEP)[70] Platinum 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[71] 3× Gold 300,000‡
Hungary (MAHASZ)[72] Platinum 2,000^
Italy (FIMI)[73] Gold 25,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] Gold 7,500^
Poland (ZPAV)[75] Gold 10,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[76] Platinum 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] Platinum 387,745[77]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Version Format Label
Australia 18 October 2013 Standard edition
Deluxe edition 		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[79]
United States 5 November 2013 Standard edition
Deluxe edition 		Custard Records, Atlantic Records

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