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Store Categories SAM SMITH The Thrill Of It All (Special Edition) / 2x LP NEW VINYL / Capitol 2017
double LP special edition - There’s an essential sparseness to virtually all the songs on “The Thrill of It All” that sounds positively bizarre in 2017, albeit not so strange that the leadoff single, “Too Good at Goodbyes,” didn’t immediately become an anachronistic smash. That representative hit relies mostly on piano, finger snaps, eventually a choir and, finally, deep into the song — novelty of novelties — actual drums. Few of the other tracks add much more, though some very ’60s-esque rhythm guitar licks occasionally replace the ivories, and the Dap-King horns put in an appearance. A smattering of programmed percussion makes it clear no one’s being retro for retro’s sake. The record may be, first and foremost, a master class in white R&B phrasing, but it’s also an advanced placement course in how to spatially position the instrumentalists in minimalist soul music.
“The Thrill of It All” is easily one of the best pop albums of the year, and not just because it’s so brilliantly despondent. Believe it or not, the collection does contain some actual contentedness — but only on a couple of extra tracks on the 14-song deluxe edition. One of these, “Scars,” may be unique in the annals of pop stars writing about their parents: In alternate verses, the artist first addresses his mother, then his father, thanking them both for having had such a peaceful, fulfilling… divorce. Now, you may be thinking that may seem odd that a song about a legal separation could go down as the happiest song on anyone’s album, even Smith’s. But in his perpetually broken-hearted world, an honestly loving split may count as the greatest love of all.
A1 Too Good At Goodbyes
A2 Say It First
A3 One Last Song
A4 Midnight Train
B1 Burning
B2 Him
B3 Baby, You Make Me Crazy
C1 No Peace
C2 Palace
C3 Pray
C4 Nothing Left For You
D1 The Thrill Of It All
D2 Scars
D3 One Day At A Time