Oh, Sit Down!

We will if you stop playing those infectious big-venue anthems to alienation and belonging. But James can't help themselves, and they never could, whether in their early indie phase, during Madchester, with Eno, or any time since. Still on their singular path and in pursuit of the new, they're releasing an orchestral retrospective album, Be Opened By The Wonderful. Tim Booth, Saul Davies and Jim Glennie tell Kevin Harley about their choppy journey as perennial outsiders and the value of an open mind.

- Kevin Harley

After 40 years of whirling across stages as the singer in James, Tim Booth is not slowing down. "I'm in the studio with James right now," says Booth from his base in Brighton.

"I'm artistic directing the orchestral tour. I'm trying to learn the songs. My novel is landing on my doorstep to finish the final edit. I'm going from one thing to the next, not quite knowing what I'm doing." The tour Booth speaks of revolves around Be Opened By The Wonderful, a new album of orchestral reworkings of James deep cuts, classics and B-sides. The song choices are not always obvious. And when they are, the reworkings expose tender qualities in songs you thought you knew. Under orchestrator Joe Duddell, decades-old tracks come up daisy-fresh.

Speaking warmly from his home near Ullapool, bassist and founder member Jim Glennie describes recording as a "two-way process", Duddell given leeway to "plough through the back catalogue and come up with things he thought would be interesting... [It's about] rediscovering, reinventing, and allowing other people to bring their contribution to it."

"We encourage Joe to take risks because he's very reverent to our work," says Booth. "We actually say, 'Oh, go on - fuck it up a bit and see what happens."

Ask the friendly, thoughtful Booth if the album suggests lines of continuity between the James of 40 years ago and now, and he will say: yes, but he's hard-pushed to define them. But taking some risks, not quite knowing what they're doing and opening themselves up to new ways of thinking have long been the James way. In their tale of turmoil, triumph and improvisation, the 'see what happens' spirit has been a constant.