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Smith has a flair for creating an intimate space with the listener. You feel he’s singing directly to you.

SAM SMITH, SONG BY SONG

HITS' Senior Editor Nerd Runs Down the Capitol Artist’s Grammy-Bait Album, In the Lonely Hour
by Simon Glickman

We’ve had a locked-down copy of Sam Smith's Lonely Hour on repeat for days now; it’s definitely a high-water mark in record-making for 2014, with a consistent theme of searching for love, of dealing with heartbreak and the pain of loneliness. The following is our handy-dandy primer to its stellar selection of songs.

"Money on My Mind" (written by Smith and Ben Ash) kicks things off in high gear, as Smith wields his powerful falsetto on the club-ready hook. This one displays his range—from plaintive and vulnerable to explosive—as well as any track on the album.

"Good Thing" (by Smith and Eg White) demonstrates how Smith excels at drawing the listener in, finding a range of emotional colors in the quietest moments.

"Stay With Me," co-penned by Smith, James Napier and William Phillips, is as close to an old-school soul anthem as anything on Lonely Hour, and Smith shows himself fully capable of punching in that class. Particularly noteworthy: That falsetto, which has a strength and clarity other male singers must envy. That probably includes The Voice contestant Josh Kaufman, whose version on the show couldn’t touch Smith’s but still breached the iTunes Top 10.

"Leave Your Lover": The true test of any singer—and any song, for that matter—is how the material comes off in a minimal instrumental setting. This hushed, aching ballad, written by Smith and Simon Aldred, adds just a bit of piano, acoustic guitar and tasteful string flourishes to the vocal; it’s an absolute knockout, and you’ll be surprised what an earworm that refrain turns out to be. A quiet and beautiful anthem that could be Song of the Year.

"I’m Not the Only One" (Smith-Napier) finds the singer comfortably ensconced in his old-soul wheelhouse; his muscular high notes recall Seal and Steve Winwood. It’s still kind of hard to believe that those sounds come out of that head.

"I’ve Told You Now": Another stripped-down ballad written with Eg White. Smith starts in the low part of his range, then leaps into his upper register for the angry accusations of the chorus. But this time the heartbroken melody is paired with an infectious groove.

"Like I Can": Certainly a candidate for radio greatness, this surging, uptempo love song by Smith and Matt Prime lives up to its boastful refrain—"he’ll never love you like I can can can"—with multiple strong sections and a magnificent payoff. Let’s put this one down as a Record of the Year must.

"Life Support" (Smith-Ash): "I’ve been sleeping with the lights on," wails Smith at the very top of his range, once again sounding like the most vulnerable soul and the most powerful voice imaginable at the very same time. Another seemingly unassuming song that lodges inextricably in your brain.

"Not in That Way": Timeless soul in a no-frills setting—with a lyric that makes it feel like an instant standard. A supreme example of Smith’s expertise at channeling heartbreak with grace and empathy.

"Lay Me Down": A vintage R&B vibe suffuses this alternately dreamy and soaring composition, which the singer crafted with Napier and Elvin Smith; its quarter-note groove leaves lots of room for him to stretch out.

*"Restart": Shimmering neo-disco (co-penned with Zane Lowe) that feels like a tribute to the R&B divas who were Smith’s earliest influences, with more than a pinch of Prince.

*"Make It to Me" (Smith-Napier-Lawrence): Smith’s vocal command in this stately ballad is absolute; another superb example of his skill at creating an intimate space with the listener. You feel he’s singing directly to you.

*"Latch": Smith sang the hook on Disclosure’s global EDM smash (which he co-wrote with the group’s Howard and Guy Lawrence and Napier), rendered here in a delicate chamber-soul arrangement that brings its gospel-tinged melody to the foreground.

*"La La La," the global #1 for Capitol’s Naughty Boy, was co-penned by the London producer/artist (né Shahid Khan) and a large group of collaborators, including guest singer Smith and Napier. It’s another demonstration of Smith’s ability to lend emotional gravity to monster club grooves.

*On the deluxe version of the album only.

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