Future Past

Future Past is the debut and only solo studio album to be released by Blue singer Duncan James.

For the 1987 Australian science fiction film, see Future Past (film).
Future Past
Studio album by
Duncan James
Released12 June 2006
Length54:03
LabelInnocent
Producer
Singles from Future Past
  1. "Sooner or Later"
    Released: 5 June 2006
  2. "Can't Stop a River"
    Released: 21 August 2006
  3. "Amazed"
    Released: 12 March 2007

Background

James' solo career began in October 2004, when he collaborated with singer-songwriter Keedie on the single "I Believe My Heart", which was a number-two hit on the UK Singles Chart.[1] Shortly after, James began recording a solo album, with the help of producer Stephen Lipson, who had collaborated with the likes of Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Daniel Bedingfield and Will Young.[2] The album was released on 12 June 2006, a week after the release of the lead single, "Sooner or Later", which only peaked at #35 on the UK Singles Chart. Upon the week of release, the album only peaked at #55 on the UK Albums Chart. In an attempt to boost sales, "Can't Stop a River" was released as the album's second single on 21 August 2006 but this charted even lower than "Sooner or Later", only peaking at #59 on the UK Singles Chart.

It was heavily speculated at the time that James would be dropped from the label, until January 2007, when the music video for the album's third single, "Amazed", premiered on music channels throughout Europe. However, once again, the single's release failed to gain interest from the media and fans alike, and the single's release was cancelled in the United Kingdom, becoming a German-only release. Overall, the album sold less than 15,000 copies in the United Kingdom, and less than 150,000 copies worldwide. However, it found success in Italy, peaking at #2 on the Italian Albums Chart, for sales of more than 80,000 copies.[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
BBC Music(mixed)[5]
The Guardian[6]

Sharon Mawer of Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars, stating: "Despite having high hopes after the success of Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan's solo careers, and having a hit single already behind him, Duncan James' "Future Past" was doomed from the outset after the poor performances of the lead singles "Sooner or Later" and "Can't Stop a River", despite the latter being backed by the writing talents of Seal. Every one of the twelve songs fails to break the mid-tempo ballad barrier, with only "Letter to God" being an out-and-out slow ballad. There is definitely a need for greater contrast and stronger imagination, something which this album clearly lacks."[4] Talia Kraines from BBC Music found that Future Past "isn't an album full of exciting pop songs to get your blood rushing, but if you're missing Darius and after a bunch of mid-tempo pop songs to ease you through the day then this might just be it [...] Claiming serious pop writers such as Stephen Lipson and Peter Vetesse on his album notes, Duncan's younger fans should stay well away. He's no longer your pin up – but your mum's."[5]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Sooner or Later"
Stephen Lipson3:43
2."Suffer"
  • James
  • Matt Prime
  • Tim Woodcock
Prime3:45
3."I Come Alive"
Carlsson4:03
4."Can't Stop a River"
Lipson3:53
5."I Don't Wanna Stop"
Vetesse4:02
6."What Are We Waiting For"
White3:52
7."Amazed"
Prime3:59
8."Turn My Head"
Lipson3:57
9."Letter to God"
  • Braide
  • Carlsson
Lipson3:33
10."Breathing"
  • James
  • Vettese
  • Pete Francis
Vetesse3:34
11."Frequency"
  • James
  • Braide
  • Carlsson
Carlsson3:48
12."Somebody Still Loves You"
  • James
  • Braide
Lipson3:27
13."Save This Moment for Me"
  • James
  • Vettese
Vettese4:42
Japanese bonus tracks[7]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."You Can"
  • James
  • White
White3:34
15."Part Time Love"
Prime3:58
Italian bonus tracks[8]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Senza Lei"
Lipson3:50
15."Senza Lei" (featuring Mafy)
  • M. Sutton
  • S. Sutton
  • Neil
  • Tripani
Lipson4:03
16."Can't Stop a River" (Acoustic)
  • Seal
  • Gordeno
Lipson3:37
17."Simple Love Song"
Lipson2:58
German bonus tracks[9]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."This Day"
  • James
  • Vettese
  • Poole
Vettese3:42
15."I Believe My Heart" (featuring Keedie)
Webber3:56

Charts
Chart (2006) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 68
Irish Albums (IRMA)[11] 55
Italian Albums (FIMI)[12] 101
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[13] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 72
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 59
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 55

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[17] Gold 80,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone

References
  1. everyHit.com – UK Top 40 Chart Archive, the UK Singles & Album Charts
  2. Stephen Lipson
  3. http://www.discogs.com/Duncan-James-Future-Past/release/3068136
  4. AllMusic review
  5. Kraines, Talia. "Duncan James Future Past Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  6. Sullivan, Caroline (9 June 2006). "Duncan James, Future Past". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  7. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Past-Duncan-James/dp/B000EMSLFU/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1364718534&sr=1-5
  8. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Past-James-Duncan/dp/B003T9OIZC/ref=sr_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1364718286&sr=1-17
  9. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Future-Past-Duncan-James/dp/B000H2M24S/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1364719112&sr=1-2
  10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Duncan James – Future Past" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  11. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  12. "Italiancharts.com – Duncan James – Future Past". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  13. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: {{{date}}}" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  14. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – Duncan James – Future Past". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  16. "Duncan James | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  17. "Italian album certifications – Duncan James – Future Past" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Future Past" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
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