+ (Deluxe Version) - Ed Sheeran

Reviewed by Living Destiny

+ (Deluxe Version)
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Song Time: 61 Minutes and 47 Seconds
I stumbled across Ed Sheeran while searching for music to use in a project for filmmaking. Some app on Spotify was giving me songs similar to some other song, I don't really remember, but Firefly by Ed Sheeran came up. I listened to it and realized three things. One: it wasn't the song for our project. Wrong mood for our story. Two (and this was hardly a new realization): Spotify is fantastic. The new part of that was that it can now introduce me to new music. Third, and most importantly, I was quickly in love with a young British ginger who has a stellar voice and can handle any music genre you can think of. Except maybe country, I haven't heard him try country yet, but no one can really handle country music anyway.

The A Team - 8/10 - This is his most famous song, and it's played on the radio a lot. But I don't think it's his best song, which is why it's getting the lowest grade. It's not that it doesn't deserve to be on the radio, I just think he has better songs. This one is good though. The lyrics are almost funny in a way. People seem to think that Ed Sheeran only writes sappy love songs, and at first glance that's what this is, but the lyrics are actually about a teenage prostitute on drugs. Why that makes a good song topic I'm not sure, but it sounds pretty!

Drunk - 9.5/10 - Another not-quite-sappy song, it's basically all about getting drunk to get over a girl. But again I have to talk about his lyrical prowess. The words he writes just sound nice. Stuff like "I wanna hold your heart in both hands/Not watch it fizzle at the bottom of a Coke can" is beautiful. It opens new ways of thinking about things. This is a good song to sort of bob your head awkwardly to, as I'm doing right now in the hallway. It has a gorgeous musical part. It isn't a slow song, but not a fast one either. Just an enjoyable song.

U. N. I. - 9/10 - I think this is about him going to university (college) and leaving a girl. He does a lot of leaving a girl, I guess. I really love the very beginning to this. A quiet crescendo, and then humming three notes. It's incredibly effective without being overdone. The bridge of this song is great too. Simple vocals go a long way, and if a singer is talented, he doesn't need excessive music in the back. He has an incredible vocal quality that just makes you feel nice. And his accent is fun to listen to as well, because it gives his music that edge of something different. The ending is a mirror of the beginning, with three short guitar chords. This easygoing simplicity makes for a cool song that feels like it belongs on a rom-com soundtrack.

Grade 8 - 11/10 - This is one of my absolute favorite songs on the album. It has an edgier, harder tone than the first three songs on the cd. This one is a love song, but it isn't sappy either. I learned recently that grade 8 isn't actually a reference to school, but to a difficult chord on guitar. So that's a pretty neat simile he makes with "You're strumming on my heart strings like you were a grade 8". This song is fast paced and upbeat, and as usual it has stunning lyrics. It's one of those catchy melodies that can easily get stuck in your head for days.

Wake Me Up - 10/10 - Super slow song coming right after an upbeat one. I love how songs on albums are ordered. The main element of this song is the vocals. It's only accompanied with a piano, so the singer and the lyrics are really highlighted. I think all of his love songs - and most of them are love songs - have a twist to them, where it's love but life isn't perfect. And that's how life works. Anyway, this song is fantastic because it shows what a talented voice Ed Sheeran has. It's pretty much an acoustic song. The chord progression in the background is nice, but it really is the vocals that makes this song great.

Small Bump - 8.5/10 - This gets one of the lowest grades on the album for one reason only. It's really sad. It's a gorgeous song. The music to it is a little playful, with some harmonizing voices and what sounds like a weird xylophone-like instrument in the chorus, as well as Sheeran harmonizing with himself in the rest of the song. It's just gorgeous. But the lyrics are so sad. And that's why it's one of my least favorites. The song is a dad singing about his unborn child, and how much potential the child has, and how much the child is loved. And then at the very end of the song, the child is miscarried. Four lines, and the song becomes devastating. Pretty, but sad.

This - 9/10 - The guitar line in this song is the most striking part of it. It's calming and smooth, and pairs well with the melody of the song. It's a very mellow, slow song that somehow feels like curling up by a fireplace in the freezing cold winter. Cozy. My favorite lines of it are "You are the earth that I will stand upon/You are the words that I will sing". This is probably one of his more legitimately sappy songs, but even this isn't an idealistic love song.

The City - 11/10 - Another one of my favorites. This song is not a love song, and is basically about a guy who moved to a new city, and is trying to get used to it. It has a harder sound to it, but it gets soft in the bridge. Any song that says "woo" in it is cool in my book, and this one does. The lyrics make you want to get up and travel somewhere new, see something you've never seen. I can't actually pick favorite lyrics from this song, because they're all great. So I guess I'll leave it with the last lines of the chorus: "If the city never sleeps/Then that makes two".

Lego House - 11/10 - The first little guitar line of this song sort of sounds like the guitar part of It's Not Over by Daughtry. That's where the similarities stop. It's upbeat, but soft. Sometimes I think it's a love song, but then I watch the music video and I'm not sure. The lyrics in this song are fantastic. The words are the best part of this. They're all so powerful, but I really like "And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm/And if you're broken I'll mend ya/And keep you sheltered from the storm that's raging on". Brilliant stuff. Plus, the video has Rupert Grint from the Harry Potter movies in it, and I'm not entirely sure why, so that's a bonus.

You Need Me, I Don't Need You - 10.5/10 - This song is essentially perfect. I don't know if you've ever listened to a white, redheaded guy from England rap, but it's amazing. And I really don't know what else to say, because it's a rap song. The lyrics are really good, which is typical of Ed Sheeran. It's a rap, but it's not a stereotypical beez-in-the-trap-style rap song. It tells about his story, and how he became famous. The background music is catchy, and the song in general makes me want to sing along - which isn't pretty, because I can't rap. My favorite lines are "Suffolk sadly seems to sort of suffocate me", and the last line of the rap. It's a wicked fun song.

Kiss Me - 10/10 - Alright, this one really is a 100% sappy love song. I read recently that he wrote it for his two godparents, who were getting married and asked him to sing one of his songs at the wedding. It's a beautiful, heartfelt song. The instrumentals are gentle, and include what I think is a violin. They help to highlight the words of the song, which are a bit sappy, but the whole song is so pretty, you can get over the love song lyrics. It would probably be a brilliant song to get married to.

Give Me Love - 9/10 - Someone asked me what I was listening to once, and when I let them listen in, they asked why I was listening to The Lion King. And ok, the end of the song does get a little tribal sounding, but it also sounds really cool, so I don't mind. The last two minutes are for sure the best part. The chorus comes in, but instead of being calm, as it usually is, it gets intense and powerful, and then the quasi-tribal part comes in, and it sounds passionate and raw and just wicked awesome. The beginning is good too, of course, but the ending is what makes this song.

The Parting Glass - 9/10 - This is actually a hidden track on the album, stuck onto the end of Give Me Love after an awkward thirty seconds of silence. When I first heard it, it reminded me of a Christmas carol, and I don't really know why. I think it's the way the melody sounds. Not necessarily joyful, but it's got that old school Christmas thing going. It starts out with just breathing. That should be creepy, but it's actually pretty chilling. Then it's a simple, beautiful melody and awesome harmonies. One repeated line, "Good night and joy be with you all", is a nice sentiment and also probably the real reason I think of Christmas carols. This hidden track is almost better than the track it's attached to.

Autumn Leaves (Bonus Track) - 9/10 - This song is so beautiful. It's one of those songs that I'm not totally certain what the lyrics mean, and that's ok. It can mean whatever you think it should. Ed Sheeran's voice is incredible. I think I've been gushing about him a lot, but he really is that good. This is kind of a driving around in the rain at night song. It's very peaceful, and when the lyrics say "float down" the instrumental music almost makes you feel like floating. My favorite lyric is "My symphony played the song that carried you out".

Little Bird (Bonus Track) - 9.5/10 - This song is one of the more fast paced ones on the album. It starts off with a strong guitar line, and stays quirky and upbeat. It's a great song to sing along to, because it's so much fun. The lyrics are about a guy trying to get a girl to stay with him. The lyrics are fantastic. The comparisons and descriptions are so creative, like in the chorus where it says "And if I kissed you/Will your mouth read this truth/Darling how I miss you/Strawberries taste how lips do". It just sounds interesting.

Gold Rush (Bonus Track) - 10.5/10 - This is my favorite bonus track. It's definitely a summer song, one that I can picture listening to at the beach as soon as it gets warm enough to actually do that. There's an excellent guitar solo right before the last chorus that makes you want to get up and dance, before it gets slow and a little more serious for just a bit, then right back into the playful melody it has for most of the song. It's a fun, summery track with an upbeat feel and, once again, killer lyrics. One of my favorites.

Sunburn (Bonus Track) - 9.5/10 - This one, I think, is written about an ex of his. Actually I think most of them are, but this one says "Alice" in the lyrics, and that's her name, supposedly. I should really keep up. Anyway, a nice mellow song to finish off the album. The bridge is the best part of this song. He goes up into falsetto, and a good falsetto always wins me over. It's a song about missing someone, and it's something everyone can relate to, because everyone has missed someone at some point. It's a calming song, and it's one you could listen to before you go to bed to soothe you to sleep. I know I do.

Real Teen Rating ~ A+: Look it up right now!!!

Real Teen Download: Grade 8, The City, Lego House