More than a decade after becoming a sensation in both the U.K. and the U.S., Sam Smith's debut album is getting reissued for its 10th anniversary.
In the Lonely Hour will be re-released August 2 as a 2CD set including a bonus disc of a dozen rare tracks, including guest collaborations and other singles. (A 4LP equivalent, pressed on silver vinyl with signed art card will be available through the singer's official store.) For general retailers, a new 13-track pressing of the album will be issued on black vinyl, offering a re-arrangement of tracks featured on the original U.K. and U.S. pressings plus the previously unreleased "Little Sailor." All formats include a newly redesigned cover, featuring Smith recreating the original album sleeve.
The London-born Smith had aspired to sing since they were a child, studying jazz vocal performance and appearing in youth theatre. Their big break came in 2013 with a guest spot on "Latch," the debut single from U.K. electronic duo Disclosure, which peaked at No. 11 on the country's singles chart. A guest spot on British rapper Naughty Boy's "La La La" fared even better, topping the British charts. (Both tracks, plus Smith's acoustic take on "Latch," are included on the bonus disc.) These tracks primed the pump for In the Lonely Hour, largely co-written with co-producer and longtime collaborator James "Jimmy Napes" Napier. A portrait of romantic longing enhanced by Smith's soaring tenor and underlined by their open queer identity (they further came out as nonbinary in 2017), the pop balladeering of "Stay with Me" and "I'm Not the Only One" were hard for audiences on either side of the Atlantic to ignore. "Stay with Me" topped the U.K. charts and reached No. 2 in America, while "I'm Not the Only One" reached Nos. 3 and 5, respectively. (The songwriting credits to "Stay with Me" were later notably altered to reflect similarities to Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down"; Smith claimed to have not heard it but agreed with the melodic similarities and Petty and Jeff Lynne believed Smith and Napier did not intentionally plagiarize them.) Additionally, Smith scored U.K. Top 10s with "Money on My Mind" (No. 1), "Like I Can" (No. 9) and a version of "Lay Me Down" recorded with John Legend for the charity Comic Relief (No. 1).
Though In the Lonely Hour went 9x and 5x platinum in England and America and stayed a record-setting 69 weeks in the U.K. Top 10, its success was not merely limited to sales. Smith took home three Brit Awards, including Critic's Choice and Breakthrough Act, as well as four Grammys, including Best New Artist and both Record and Song of the Year for "Stay with Me." Smith's success translated to one last cherry on top of the In the Lonely Hour era: they were tapped to pen the title song for the James Bond film Spectre (2015). "Writing's on the Wall," another plaintive torch song with a John Barry-esque flair, became the first in the series' to top the U.K. charts, and the second to pick up both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song (following Adele's popular theme for Skyfall in 2012).
"Writing's on the Wall" joins a variety of tracks on In the Lonely Hour's 10th anniversary bonus disc, including Smith's 2013 EP Nirvana, two songs from a 2015 reissue (the original "Drowning Shadows" and a cover of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know") and remixes of some of the album's biggest singles featuring guest appearances by Mary J. Blige, A$AP Rocky and John Legend. All formats are available August 2 and can be pre-ordered below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases at the below links.)
In the Lonely Hour (10th Anniversary Edition) (Capitol/UMe, 2024)
2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Official Store
CD 1/LP 1-2: Original album
- Good Thing
- Stay with Me
- Leave Your Lover
- I'm Not the Only One
- I've Told You Now
- Like I Can
- Not in That Way
- Make It to Me
- Lay Me Down
- Little Sailor
- Money on My Mind
- Life Support
- Restart
Tracks 1-9 and 11-13 released on Capitol/Method 37969713 (U.K.)/B0020611-02 (U.S.), 2014
- Tracks 8 and 13 released on U.S. deluxe edition of album - Capitol/Method B0019952-02 (U.S.), 2014
Track 10 previously unreleased
CD 2/LP 3-4
- Safe with Me
- Nirvana
- I've Told You Now (Live at St Pancras Old Church, London)
- Latch - Disclosure feat. Sam Smith
- La La La - Naughty Boy feat. Sam Smith
- How Will I Know
- Latch (Acoustic)
- Drowning Shadows
- Writing's on the Wall
- Stay with Me (feat. Mary J Blige)
- I'm Not the Only One (feat. A$ASP Rocky)
- Lay Me Down (feat. John Legend)
Tracks 1-3 and 7 released as Nirvana EP - PMR Records PRM042 (U.K.), 2013
Track 4 released on Settle - Island/PMR Records 00602537394920 (U.K.)/Cherrytree/Interscope/PMR Records B0018559-02 (U.S.), 2013
Track 5 released on Hotel Cabana - Virgin CDV-3114 (U.K.), 2013/Capitol B0020710-02 (U.S.), 2014
Tracks 6, 8 and 11-12 released on In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition) - Capitol/Method 4760286 (U.K.)/B0024120-02 (U.S.), 2015
Track 9 released on Capitol single 00602547546159 (U.K.)/B0024103-32 (U.S.), 2015
Track 10 released on Target deluxe edition - Capitol/Method B0020575-02 (U.S.), 2014
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