With his song “Good Thing,” I am convinced Smith is a great thing. If nothing good lasts forever, I hope at least great things do. However, with his gloriously fantastic voice, I will pretend to believe anything Sam Smith sings. Sam Smith tries to convince listeners that he is in it because he loves it, with the first song of his 2014 album “Money on My Mind.” This radio friendly song with its upbeat tempo and repeated phrase of “money on my mind,” does not make his idea too believable. While he provided an emollient edge to Disclosure’s oscillating'Latch” and Naughty Boy’s playful “La La La”, the results are certainly less inspiring in his own environment.Artists either want you to think they are in the music industry because it is their passion or because they want money and the fame.

Smith’ sugary falsetto comes across a tad one dimensional and inexpressive on his solo debut In The Lonely Hour. All its missing is a superfluous key change. That is, until final track Lay Me Down begins intimately before arriving at Boys II Men territory with a kitchen sink arrangement it’s Smith channelling the moment on X Factor where the white gowned gospel choir appear out of nowhere and the screen fills up with pixelated confetti. Most of the album steers clear of cliché rather deftly, and the uncluttered production avoids any unwelcome syrupy-ness.

“Leave Your Lover/Leave him for me” he knows what he wants and he’s prepared to play dirty to get it. Here, Smith goes some way to shed the translucent sheen of self-depreciating introspection that lies heavy on most of In The Lonely Hour. It’s juxtaposition with “Leave Your Lover”, a well crafted and refreshingly direct track co written by Cherry Ghost’s Simon Aldred, is effective though. The irksome “Money on My Mind” leaves a little to be desired, both as album opener and lead single, and seems slightly disingenuous too “I don’t have money on my mind/I do it for the love”. All the meaningful introspection of his debut seems a tad unconvincing as a result.

It’s doesn’t possess the visceral quality required to prickles the neck hairs, and it’s never arresting enough to transport the listener. It might be the sheer prettiness of his voice that limits its appeal. It’s certainly at the glossier end of the spectrum though at times Smith’s material sounds like Maverick Sabre put through a mangle, with all the interesting stuff straightened out. (I’m pretty sure latest single “Stay with Me” is as close to Sandé you can get without actually breaching copyright). Debut LP In The Lonely Hour sees Smith ride the tail end of the British Retro-Soul wave, and shares similarities with the likes of Emili Sandé and Adele.

Sam smith in the lonely hour lossless