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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. The A Team |
| 2. Drunk |
| 3. U.N.I. |
| 4. Grade 8 |
| 5. Wake Me Up |
| 6. Small Bump |
| 7. This |
| 8. The City |
| 9. Lego House |
| 10. You Need Me , I Don't Need You |
| 11. Kiss Me |
| 12. Give Me Love (Track 12 contains a hidden track 'The Parting Glass') |
| 13. Autumn Leaves |
| 14. Little Bird |
| 15. Gold Rush |
| 16. Sunburn |
Product Description
Review
Lines between genres have never been more blurred than right now, especially in the mainstream. Experimentation with styles and the melding of musical approaches is to be commended, obviously; but to relate authenticity with consistent, similar output is something very wrong indeed, as not everybody singing the same song is coming from the same place. These charting mutations and variations have as much to do with our culture of instant gratification as they do with music growing out-of-date more quickly - and what better person to stand tall at the lectern than 20-year-old Ed Sheeran, whose unlikely combination of acoustic folk and grime has seen him become one of 2011's biggest domestic successes.
This is a man who's been couch-surfing for six years while incessantly gigging, putting out new music, plugging, and building a fanbase (and getting said fans to absolutely worship him). He's worked with grime artists and toured with Nizlopi, getting shout-outs along the way from Elton John and Jamie Foxx. Given the effort he's put in, it's certainly hard to begrudge Sheeran his achievements to date. Raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he could always see further than the confines of his home town, and recorded his first EP aged 14 - the same year MySpace was bought for $580m by NewsCorp, for some context. Hard grafters were slightly easier to spot in 2005, and users of social media had to try harder to define themselves: The JCB Song's run for the Christmas number one felt like a huge-scale rebellion back then.
But it's a shame that Sheeran's biography is a better summation of where we're at right now than this debut album, on which his precocious self-referencing can become infuriating. You Need Me, I Don't Need You is unbearable, as he sings, "I've done around about a thousand shows / But I haven't got a house plus I live on a couch / So you believe the lyrics when I'm singing them out". The escapist Drunk is sweet, but his auto-biographical approach to writing has a very limited shelf-life because, essentially, the story just isn't interesting enough to stretch across 12 tracks. There are standout cuts, though: Grade 8 is a flying track made for radio which opens with a bassline seeped in the nostalgia of Wifey by RnB boyband Next. The City's chorus also soars; again, the song draws on 90s RnB with Sheeran's driving, natural delivery and some emphatic drum fills comprising winning constituents.
+ will give Sheeran's rabid fanbase a lot to love, but it'll also make him an easy target for critics hungry for new directions in pop, as it fails to really gel the man's loves of folk and rap. But even though originality isn't quite what it could be throughout this set, the way he observes and picks situations apart is quite something - something to be developed for album two, certainly. If he ditches his bottom-of-a-Tube-escalator ballads (see Kiss Me) and stops trying to show off, Sheeran could well become a thrilling proposition over an entire long-player, rather than just in all-too-brief moments of magic.
--Natalie Shaw
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
+ is the hugely anticipated debut album from flame-haired 20-year-old, Ed Sheeran. Aged 16, Ed arrived in London from Suffolk with one thing on his mind: playing gigs, as many as he could and as often as he could. Selling CDs out of his rucksack he supported himself and gathered fans one at a time. Written and recorded between shows, largely in a home studio, + is the next exciting stage in Ed’s do-it-yourself career. Featuring huge hit "The A Team" as well as "You Need Me, I Don't Need You", the album talks of love and loss and reflects London and the people in it. Sheeran picked up two BRITs at the 2012 awards, Best Male Solo Artist and Best British Breakthrough, after the huge success of the album. This deluxe edition has been lovingly repackaged with four bonus tracks.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I bought it for my partner and both him and I absolutely love the album and can't stop listening to it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Best album of the year so far. Waited ages for it and am very impressed. My younger brother introduced me to Ed Sheeran and I don't always agree with his taste in music but this is so easy to listen to. Would highly recommend.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of the best albums I've ever heard
Wow! Ed is such an amazing artist, his lyrics are ridiculously beautiful and emotional and is easily one of the best songwriters ever! Read more
Published 18 days ago by Cookie12345
Brilliant.
F***ing brilliant. That's all I can say. Every single song on this album is amazing. What an incredible artist Ed Sheeran is!
Published 22 days ago by linco9
One of the year's best albums
In a pop landscape dominated by dance tracks that all sound the same, here comes Ed Sheeran with a brilliant collection of what I'd have to call Acoustic Hip Hop. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Christoph R Leavy
Fantastic!
This album is amazing! There isn't a song on it that I didn't like. They sent it to me really quick and even though it wasn't sealed it was brand new and not a scratch on it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rox
Love this CD
I would recommend this CD, absolutely brilliant - I am sure we will be hearing more and more about Ed Sheeran
Published 1 month ago by E. L. Jones
Review 1
This product arrived here on time, was as described and has been good to be able to give my sister the c. d. she wanted.
Published 1 month ago by DaveyRavey
pureeeee loveeeeee
wish there was 100 star option! this is by far the BEST CD i have EVER bought! i love ed sheeran so if you love any one of his songs, you will love this entire album :D :D say no... Read more
Published 1 month ago by TheGirlInTheGreenScarf
Awesome!!!
I'm from the US and Ed Sheerans Album isn't available here. It didn't take long to get to me and I an more then satisfied!!!
Published 1 month ago by Taylor1819
Great album - but disappointed with seller...
I bought this album for my mum (who loves Ed Sheeran's songs) for mother's day, and I will certainly be borrowing this album off her as I think his songs are great. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lauren-444
Mr ED Sheeran is fantastic!
This c.d. is brilliant! Can't stop listening to it. Every track is great. The man has an amazing voice. An excellent album and well worth buying.
Published 2 months ago by J. F. Clerkin
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