‘All The Colours of You’ may not reach peak heights from the ‘Laid’ or ‘She’s A Star’ eras, but stands tall against their illustrious catalogue and proves that creatively, they remain at their peak.
The album is filled with celebratory and euphoria inspiring anthems like the album’s title track. Whilst listening to this gem of a record, you can imagine a full arena or a large festival field and people dancing and embracing in those ways we used to in pre-pandemic times. Part written and recorded just before that dreaded day in March 2020, you get the essence of freedom and escapism running through each track.
An album of delights, and proving once again that they are in the midst of a new creative wave, ‘All The Colours of You’ stands proud with their enchanting back catalogue. For a career that has spanned nearly 30 years, James prove that there is still inspiration everywhere, even in the most frustrating of times.
4.3/5 (86%)
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Brig – An Interview With James’ Jim Glennie
Glennie spoke through the decision-making process that James goes through when creating albums.
“It’s primarily the four song-writers: myself, Tim, Mark and Saul. The songs are our babies so we keep the decision-making between ourselves up until the producers come in.
“There’s quite a lot of what we do like getting the songs, demoing them, getting the character and identity but we all know each other really well so musically we’re all on the same page. We know what works within the unit of the band”, he added.
Glennie revealed his potential favourites in the new album. “I think Wherever It Takes Us is going to be a big live tune… Zero is going to be a good song live”.
He also added how Wherever It Takes Us will be a fun challenge as they each still have to work out the verses, patterns, chorus, harmonies and essentially recreate the whole track to develop it into a live performance.
New Sounds – Album Review: James – All The Colours Of You (Virgin)
For me the name James conjures up a plethora of images that radiate joy, whether it’s standing out on stella soundtracks like; The To-Do List, The Worlds End and a couple of American Pies, or being the living embodiment of eclectic ecstasy for over 30 years, they always seem to make the world a happier place in their own way. This is why the opening line to their latest album felt like such a knife to my heart. Hearing James say “We’re all gonna die, that’s the truth. Quit measuring time, by money and youth” is like watching Dick and Dom filling out their tax returns.
Opening track Zero, although carrying the heavy punches of realist lyrics that walk the edge of the pessimistic line, still has a beautiful feel to it that explodes into the audio equivalent of throwing open the blinds and letting the sun in.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the next couple of tracks. All The Colours Of You and Recover feel like a band blissfully unaware they are out of their comfort zone, with no sense of passion or originality that makes the opening track stand out.
Wherever It Takes Us is up next and takes a sharp turn down a new, far more interesting path. The vocal delivery in the verse doesn’t let up, sounding like if John Cooper Clarke fucked Bono, which then releases into a joyous chorus sung by a choir that is clearly going to be a highlight when played live on their upcoming tour.
This is far more than just another “It’s just a money grab, Insert Name Here fans will buy anything they put out” but if you are a James fan that will buy anything they put out I think even you will be pleasantly surprised.
3.5/5 (70%)
Irish Times – James man Tim Booth on pandemic-centric new album and touring Ireland
The album opener, ZERO, is a really uplifting song tailor-made for an audience sing/whoop-along – even if the first line is “We’re all going to die”. Are you looking forward to playing that one live?
I think that’s my probably my favourite song. And I love that being the first line of the album. I think it’s so funny, because it’s such a dark thing to say but it actually makes people laugh when they hear it.
I can’t wait to play it live, we’re definitely going to get the audience breathing on that one.
Live4ever – Interview: ‘We always look to be uplifting’ – Jim Glennie talk us through All The Colours Of You
[Tim] Booth’s lyrics may be a little close to the bone for some. As founding member of the band, does [Jim] Glennie ever feel the need interject on some of the lyrics? The short answer is no, but he is considerate enough to elaborate on their relationship:
“Our politics are very similar. His life experiences are very different to mine. A lot of the time he sings about things that I can’t really relate to or don’t reference my experiences because of where he is and what he’s doing. But he’s a good man and he sings about good things. He reflects on what he does.”
“Some of the things he sings about don’t connect with me on a personal level, but not in a bad way. He has got clearer with his messages over time, and he’s wanted to do that. He’s wanted better clarity on what he’s trying to say.”
“Sometimes you need to continue to shine a light on things, again and again and again. People listen to what he has to say. I’m not saying he’s going to change the world, but if somebody stops to think about something that they wouldn’t ordinarily because it’s a lyric or in an interview, then brilliant.”
On Magazine – All The Colours Of You 'will take you on a rollercoaster of your head space'
Tim Booth has never been an artist to shy away from addressing things others stay away from as the title track delivers a slap-in-the-face realisation of the damage that Trump and his abysmal legacy has left America. Repercussions of his actions continue to incite racial hatred, as Booth poignantly urges: “Love all the colours, all the colours of you”. It is a bona fide anthem – and one destined to become a festival favourite.
A standout track is ‘Isabella’, with its deliciously gothic undertones and some electronic beats that would make Gary Numan blush, yet it manages to be another soul-rousing anthem.
All the Colours of You will take you on a rollercoaster of your head space, but you will come out the other side feeling uplifted and enlightened.
8/10 (80%)
Los Angeles Daily News – Wildfires, pandemic and protests inspired James’ new album, says singer Tim Booth
The English performer has been a longtime Topanga Canyon resident, but he’s moving his family out. For most of a decade, Tim Booth of the English rock band James loved the quiet, peaceful life he and his family had found in a rustic hillside neighborhood of Topanga Canyon.
It was the perfect place to relax and recharge after weeks in hotels and buses on tour with the band he’d been part of for nearly 40 years, and it offered all of that sunny optimism that drew him from his homeland in the first place.
But about two years ago, not long before the Woolsey Fire burned its way from Ventura County into Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains near Topanga, Booth says he attended a ceremony held by a Peruvian shaman.
“And this very strange thing happened where I saw an earthquake in California,” he says. “I saw fires. I saw myself driving our family out, and we got away. But I saw all hell breaking loose in California, and I was going, ‘OK, is this a warning?’.”
Coming back to himself, Booth says he decided it was his own subconscious fears, nothing more.
“Then I woke up in the morning and California was on fire, the house was full of smoke, and we had to evacuate,” he says. “And I went, ‘I’ve got to take this more seriously.’”
That episode, and the subsequent exit from Topanga Canyon after 11 years, inspired the song “Beautiful Beaches” on James’ new album, “All The Colours Of You.” The band’s 16th studio record, it arrives on June 4.
Record Collector – Manchester veterans continue to explore different territory
On their 16th album, James face down the challenges of longevity assuredly. Bands don’t often produce their most engaged work four decades in, but All The Colours … looks to James’ past only to channel their founding exploratory impetus into exultant, reflective and wide-ranging new shapes.
Begun before the pandemic and completed during lockdown with producer Jacknife Lee, the album grapples with Covid-19, climate change, American injustice and more. And yet it foregrounds themes of unity and release with care, urgency and soft psychedelic colours: without downplaying its themes, All The Colours … unifies James’ fringe credentials and capacity for festival-sized catharsis.
James’ arsenal of unifying song is rousingly expanded for the occasion here. Both an album for today and a testimony to their formative drive, it silences any fear that James might be losing altitude. They have earned the right to bask in past glories, but James still have things to say and the momentum needed to put them across. ‘:Jump the fence,” sings Booth, recalling 1992’s (“Break down the … “) Government Walls as XYST closes the album with another stinging attack on divisiveness. As James know, this is no time for sitting down on the job.
4/5 (80%)
Riff Magazine – Interview: Tim Booth of James searches for a safe haven on ‘All The Colours Of You’
All The Colours Of You was partly recorded before the pandemic, but by the time James went looking for a producer, lockdowns had begun and options for tracking together in a studio were nonexistent. That’s how Booth and co. ended up partnering with Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol), his neighbor.
Booth has said that in the before times, he wouldn’t have thought to work together because of Lee’s high-profile status. Lee left his fingerprints all over James’ demos. Much of that work was done in his “cave,” full of keyboards and guitars. Lee contributed to the album as a musician.
“I was looking for grooves and a kind of a contemporary psychedelia. I wanted some level of not quite knowing where your footing is, not quite knowing if you’re in this world or another,” Booth said. “He went looking for it, and he’s fucking genius.”
In the process, Lee made the band more accessible to listeners’ ears. That turned an originally bleaker song like “Recover” into something uplifting.
“I didn’t know we weren’t accessible before!” he said.
Northern Life – Culture Club And James Join The Scarborough Line-Up
This will be the third time James, who gave the world such timeless anthems as Sit Down, Born of Frustration, She’s A Star and Come Home, have headlined Scarborough OAT after shows at the Yorkshire coast venue in 2015 and 2018.
“We always have a great night there,” said bassist Jim Glennie, “even back in the days when you had to cross the old moat to get to the audience! We are looking forward to another very special night on the Yorkshire coast.”
Recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck, All The Colours Of You was produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (U2, REM, Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, The Killers) who bought a fresh approach to their sound. Working remotely from his studio and liaising with them, Lee reimagining their demos, and captured a band in all their virtual glory.
The result is a record with the freshest and festival-ready tracks of James’ 38-year career. It is the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers.
Stereoboard – James Continue To Tease 'All The Colours Of You' With New Track Recover
Recover marks the third single to be lifted from the band’s upcoming 16th studio album, ‘All The Colours Of You’, due out on June 4 via Virgin Music Label and Artist Services (formerly Caroline International).
Following Beautiful Beaches and the record’s first single and title track, the poignant offering finds the band at their most personal while celebrating a loved one’s life and legacy. Cast across delicate production, lyrically it reflects on the death of vocalist Tim Booth’s father-in-law to COVID-19 in spring 2020. He said “This song is made and dedicated to all those who have lost loved ones during the pandemic or otherwise. It speaks to the waiting, the pain of not being able to be there when they pass and the gift of the love of their life.”
The song arrives with a special video of the band performing Recover in isolation. It opens with an emotional message from Booth.
2021- 2022: All The Colours
Articles from this James era:
- 3 Songs & Out – All The Colours Of You - 'do whatever you need to do to listen to this album' (June 2021)
- Yorkshire Times – Interview With Saul Davies, Guitarist With James (June 2021)
- mxdwn.com – Album Review: All the Colours of You is “made of stars.” (June 2021)
- Leeds Living – All The Colours Of You, the 16th Studio album from “Madchesters” one and only James. (June 2021)
- Stereoboard – James - All The Colours Of You (Album Review) (June 2021)
- The Line Of Best Fit – Nine Songs: Tim Booth (June 2021)
- North East Post – Review: 'James continue to drive ahead on this colourful journey' (June 2021)
- Redbrick – Music Critic Bethany Carter meets Jim Glennie to discuss James's new album, politics, tours, and more (June 2021)
- Yorkshire Post – James release new music video filmed in grand surroundings of Broughton Hall in the Yorkshire Dales (June 2021)
- Music Week – Virgin's Jim Chancellor on James: 'We've been reaching for the stars!' (June 2021)
- GSGM – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- QRO – Album of the Week: James – All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Pop Matters – James' 'All The Colours Of You' is complex pop (June 2021)
- York Calling – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- The Arts Desk – Album Review: James - All the Colours of You (June 2021)
- NME – Why it’s time for a return of the indie beef – in all its messy, undignified glory (June 2021)
- Charles Hutch Press – ‘The last thing you want at this time is something that’s depressing and heavy,’ - Jim Glennie (June 2021)
- Under The Radar – Review: James have done it again! (June 2021)
- Our Sound Music – Review: JAMES - 'All The Colours Of You' (June 2021)
- Independent – James: ‘We were so hopelessly indie-schmindie...’ (June 2021)
- Hot Press – Review: Powerful effort from veteran rockers (June 2021)
- XS Noise – Podcast: Saul Davies, Guitarist With James on their 16th album 'All The Colours of You' (June 2021)
- MSN – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Daily Express – New album breaks emotional boundaries (June 2021)
- Courier Mail – Review: James – All the Colours of You (June 2021)
- OMH – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Skiddle – Manchester band James release brilliant new album 'All The Colours Of You' (June 2021)
- Vanguard Online – All The Colours Of You’ by James - A Metaphorical Masterpiece (June 2021)
- Varsity – Interview - Jim Glennie ‘You want something that’ll make people dance’ (June 2021)
- Absolute Radio – Session: Watch James perform 'Tomorrow', 'Say Something' & three new songs (June 2021)
- God Is In The TV – Review: James – All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Absolute Radio – Video Interview: James' Tim Booth recalls rescuing Jacknife Lee's family from a rattlesnake (June 2021)
- Music Week – James' co-manager Meredith Plant on the band's fresh start (June 2021)
- Clash – Review: An eclectic and poignant offering from one of the UK’s most seminal bands (June 2021)
- Telegraph – Interview: Tim Booth on cults, Coldplay and why Sit Down is ‘a medicine we need right now’ (June 2021)
- The Phonograph – All The Colours Of You - 'carefully considered and meticulously put together' (June 2021)
- Mojo – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Scottish Music Network – Review: This remarkable album is not just one for fans of the band (June 2021)
- Uncut – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- The VLM – Review: All the Colours Of You is a technicoloured apex in the band’s discography (June 2021)
- The Fire Note – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- Louder Than War – James: All The Colours Of You – album review (June 2021)
- The Hustle – Podcast: Interview with Tim Booth of James (June 2021)
- Stereoboard.com – James To Headline Dreamland Margate (June 2021)
- Northern Exposure – Review - James 'All The Colours Of You' Album (June 2021)
- Gigwise – Album Review: James - All the Colours of You "Woefully out of step" (June 2021)
- Even The Stars – Review: James - All The Colours Of You (June 2021)
- NARC – Paul Broadhead discovers a melting pot of sounds on James’ 16th album (June 2021)
- This Is Soundcheck – 'All The Colours Of You' proves that creatively they remain at their peak (June 2021)
- Brig – An Interview With James’ Jim Glennie (May 2021)
- New Sounds – Album Review: James – All The Colours Of You (Virgin) (May 2021)
- Irish Times – James man Tim Booth on pandemic-centric new album and touring Ireland (May 2021)
- Live4ever – Interview: ‘We always look to be uplifting’ – Jim Glennie talk us through All The Colours Of You (May 2021)
- On Magazine – All The Colours Of You 'will take you on a rollercoaster of your head space' (May 2021)
- Los Angeles Daily News – Wildfires, pandemic and protests inspired James’ new album, says singer Tim Booth (May 2021)
- Record Collector – Manchester veterans continue to explore different territory (May 2021)
- Riff Magazine – Interview: Tim Booth of James searches for a safe haven on ‘All The Colours Of You’ (May 2021)
- Northern Life – Culture Club And James Join The Scarborough Line-Up (May 2021)
- Stereoboard – James Continue To Tease 'All The Colours Of You' With New Track Recover (May 2021)
- 2021- 2022: All The Colours (January 2021)