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). In the Lonely Hour is the debut studio album by English singer Sam Smith.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. It was released in the United Kingdom on via Capitol UK and Method Records. In the United States, it was released on 17 June 2014 through Capitol Records America. The album includes the hit singles " Money on My Mind" and " Stay with Me", both of which were number one in the UK the latter becoming a hit worldwide, peaking in the top ten in over 20 countries, including reaching number two in the US. The album's third hit single, " I'm Not the Only One", reached number three in the UK and number five in the US. A deluxe edition of the album contains five bonus tracks, including a solo acoustic version of Disclosure's single " Latch" and Naughty Boy's number-one single " La La La", on both of which Smith provided guest vocals. Upon its release, In the Lonely Hour received mostly lukewarm reviews from critics, many of whom praised Smith's vocal performance but were critical of the songwriting. The album was a commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
It was the second best-selling album of 2014 in the UK, and the third best-selling of 2014 in the United States. It was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, winning the latter and losing to Morning Phase by Beck in the former. In the Lonely Hour also received a nomination for Best British Album at the 2015 Brit Awards the accolade ultimately went to Ed Sheeran for x. The album was re-released in November 2015 as In the Lonely Hour (Drowning Shadows Edition), which features 12 new tracks, including the Disclosure single " Omen" (which features vocals from Smith), the Comic Relief version of "Lay Me Down" featuring John Legend, and covers of Whitney Houston's " How Will I Know" and Amy Winehouse's " Love Is a Losing Game". It was announced on 16 December 2013 that Smith's debut studio album would be released on through Capitol Records.
On 7 January 2014, Smith unveiled the artwork and track listing for the album. The standard edition of the album contains ten tracks, including the singles " Lay Me Down" and " Money on My Mind". In an interview with Digital Spy, Smith described the overarching theme of their album as "sad". Talking about the name of the album they said: "People are saying, 'Oh but it's too sad', but that's what it's about. I was sad, heartbroken, and I wrote about being sad.
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