Blake Solomon
10/13/08, 10:22 PM
James Morrison – Songs For You, Truths For Me
Record Label: Interscope Records
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Who?
British singer-songwriter James Morrison gets bigger overseas each day. Conversely, he becomes more and more irrelevant over here. A few TV appearances for his debut album Undiscovered did little to bolster his sales, but here we are again with some blues and soul for the pop crowd. James Blunt and Daniel Powter will still sleep easily tonight, although I recommend they take a few pointers from Mr. Morrison.
How Is It?
The blues and soul Morrison aims to blast across Top-40 radio couldn’t be friendlier, and Songs for You, Truths for Me whizzes around like a ladybug. Pretty at face value, soothing and dainty, it’s pretty much what you expect. His neo-Joe Cocker posturing (“Precious Love”) and comforting ballads (“Broken Strings”, which features Nelly Furtado) are perfect mood music. And what I mean by that is, you could easily hate this disc one day and love it the next. It’s just not catchy enough to redeem the redundancy as there’s no stick-like-glue chorus like we heard on “Undiscovered.” Still, mom-jams like “The Only Night” and “Fix The World Up For You”, with their horns, pianos and Morrison’s scruffy-yet-lovable tenor, could only be hated by the Devil and possibly Jim Rome. Every now and then you’ll hear something fantastic (like the vocal Olympics on “If You Don’t Wanna Love Me”), and you’ll likely smile, but calling these moments fleeting is an understatement. It’s not quite a letdown and it’s not quite a hit: risky territory for anyone looking to make an impact.
Recommended If You Like: Joe Cocker, James Blunt, quicksand, Daniel Powter, red tape
www.myspace.com/jamesmorrison
Record Label: Interscope Records
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Who?
British singer-songwriter James Morrison gets bigger overseas each day. Conversely, he becomes more and more irrelevant over here. A few TV appearances for his debut album Undiscovered did little to bolster his sales, but here we are again with some blues and soul for the pop crowd. James Blunt and Daniel Powter will still sleep easily tonight, although I recommend they take a few pointers from Mr. Morrison.
How Is It?
The blues and soul Morrison aims to blast across Top-40 radio couldn’t be friendlier, and Songs for You, Truths for Me whizzes around like a ladybug. Pretty at face value, soothing and dainty, it’s pretty much what you expect. His neo-Joe Cocker posturing (“Precious Love”) and comforting ballads (“Broken Strings”, which features Nelly Furtado) are perfect mood music. And what I mean by that is, you could easily hate this disc one day and love it the next. It’s just not catchy enough to redeem the redundancy as there’s no stick-like-glue chorus like we heard on “Undiscovered.” Still, mom-jams like “The Only Night” and “Fix The World Up For You”, with their horns, pianos and Morrison’s scruffy-yet-lovable tenor, could only be hated by the Devil and possibly Jim Rome. Every now and then you’ll hear something fantastic (like the vocal Olympics on “If You Don’t Wanna Love Me”), and you’ll likely smile, but calling these moments fleeting is an understatement. It’s not quite a letdown and it’s not quite a hit: risky territory for anyone looking to make an impact.
Recommended If You Like: Joe Cocker, James Blunt, quicksand, Daniel Powter, red tape
www.myspace.com/jamesmorrison