BBC Review
Twelve pleasantly hummable 'soul' ditties
Rowan Collinson 2008-09-26
It's unfortunate that James Morrison shares his name with a high street supermarket. After all, one is famous for purveying budget versions of mass market fodder and the other…well, I'll leave you to decide which is which.
Still, we shouldn't be too hard on James. Given that over a million people bought his debut LP Undiscovered, it would be churlish to slate him for deviating from a successful formula.
Its follow up, Songs For You, Truths For Me is much as expected – twelve pleasantly hummable 'soul' ditties with James' rasping vocals all over them. There's the uptempo radio pop of You Make It Real, the superstar duet Broken Strings - featuring a phoned in performance from Nelly Furtado - and the big ballad, Dream On Hayley, which could easily find its way onto a future set of X Factor auditions.
There's nothing offensive about Songs For You, Truths For Me…except its inoffensiveness. Compared to the smart, adult pop being made by Will Young, it just sounds flat and hollow in comparison. Even the sleek American pop of Please Don't Stop The Rain - co written by Ryan Tedder of One Republic and Bleeding Love fame - can't stop it sounding like an album made by a marketing department for Mothers Day, but delivered six months too late.
James Morrison offers 'real music' for people who think Snow Patrol are 'edgy'. On the same week that Will Young proves that quality and pop aren't exclusive qualities, this amounts to poor timing from Mr Morrison.
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This review is plain wrong. It must have been written by someone with way too much cynicism, poor judgement, an inflated ego and little music knowledge!
This second album by James Morrison has some great stuff on it. In particular I like The Only Night, You Make It Real and Precious Love, but all the songs are strong and different. James has one of the great current British voices, with a harshness and soul in it that reminds one of a young Rod Stewart, and this gives him the ability to put great expressiveness and feeling into the songs. James also writes the songs, plays guitar, and is fantastic live.
Disregard what the reviewer said here. He doesn't know what he is talking about. If you get the chance to see James Morrison live, don't give it up. Equally buy this record. You won't be diappointed on either count.
Etchit Crumb
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