Working solo

The two artists today come from different directions. Bruno Mars has collaborated with just about everyone in R&B over the last two years, and this is the Hawaiian/Filipino’s first CD, while ex-soldier James Blunt has been around for some time, trying to make the audience realize he’s not some ballad-driven “one trick pony.”

Bruno Mars — Doo Wops & Hooligans (Elektra): Travie McCoy’s Billionaire and B.o.B.’s Nothin On You were made that much more special thanks to the vocal stylings of Bruno, and the first studio CD solidifies what we knew — that this singer-songwriter/producer-arranger is one gifted “dude.” He recently performed at Araneta and avid interest in the concert should also be spurred by the fact that Peter Gene Hernandez has Filipino roots. Hopelessly lovesick and laidback at his core, songs like Grenade, Just the Way You Are, The Lazy Song and Marry You should be regular sing-alongs by the time his concert happens. Loved how he showed his affinity for reggae via his collaboration with Damien Marley in Liquor Store Blues. A sunny, romantic CD, that’s easy on the ears!

James Blunt — Some Kind of Trouble (Atlantic). One can also divide the world into two categories, those that swoon everytime they hear Blunt’s You’re Beautiful, and those that reach for the air-sickness bag. And yes, Blunt knows it only too well; that despite the record sales, performing live throughout the world over several years, it’s that song that he will always be remembered by. I wish it was for Stay the Night, the perky first single that comes off this much more relaxed, upbeat third studio album. Dangerous and I’ll Be Your Man are the other uptempo tracks that remind me of ’80s bands like Fleetwood Mac. And of course, there’s his default mode of weepy ballads, tracks that I generally avoid, while conceding that they may be what hardcore Blunt fans actually prefer.