Customer Reviews

Songs for You Truths for Me

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James Morrison comes through yet again with a brilliant sophmore album. If you liked undiscovered you will definitely love this one. Without getting into too much detail I can tell you that although its hard to believe, this album is better than his previous one. I love every song with the exception of "Dream On Hayley", but considering I'm writing a review after listening to it only once I'm sure that will change. Every song is spectacular but I'd have to say that my favorite is "Please Don't Stop The Rain". I highly reccomend that you go out and buy this album if you were a fan of the first one, and if you havent heard any James Morrison before give him a chance. It definitely will be worth your time.

I discovered this CD after buying Jason Mraz's new CD. Awesome, Love it, listen to it every day. He immediately reminded me of John Waite (his old stuff when he was in The Baby's), great lyrics, soulful, and a true artist.

Should by some "Back to the future"-style magic Otis Redding or Sam Cooke hitched a ride on a time machine to the present, I think they would be pleasantly surprised to find their retro Soul sound still going very strong, with people like Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Raphael Saadiq and Robin Thicke (to mention a few) flying the flag very high.

Add to that list UK singer/songwriter james Morrison. Brought up on a staple of soul music that included Stevie Wonder, his very soulful debut "Undiscovered" topped the UK album charts 2 years ago. "Songs for you, truths for me" continues where his debut left off; simple songs, highly melodic, very soulfully sung, his gruff vocals recalling a smoother Rod Stewart.

Lead-off single "You make it real" is a lovely piano/guitar driven ballad with a plaintive delivery. The gently pulsing "Broken strings" features Nelly Furtado on additional vocals. "If you don't wanna love me" is Blues-tinged with fiery vocals, and would put a smile on Mr Cooke's face.

"The only night" is an upbeat piano rocker Elton John or Paul Weller could have done, while the gently stomping "Nothing ever hurt like you" reminds me ever so faintly of "I heard it through the grapevine".

Other standouts include the horn/organ peppered "Fix this world up for you" (ah, if only life were that simple), the beautiful "Save yourself" (with Gospel-style harmonies), the acoustic "Love is hard", and my absolute favourite, the delicate "Once when I was little".

Great!!

I thoroughly enjoy James' first album, feeling he is a really unique artist, and could hardly wait for his second album.

His songs are very mature, dealing with relationships, hardships, emotions and he belies his youth. I could hardly believe such deep, touching lyrics flowed so easily from him. One aspect I really love about his vocal style is his emphasis, where he growls and hums. You really hear that a lot on his first album, it just adds to his distinct style.

Here on the latest album, he still sounds fabulous but all but one song are stripped of this emphasis, which is too bad. I wonder why.

The duet with Nelly Furtado I could do without. I'm not really famililar with her artistry, but the nasal vocal is not to my taste.

All in all, a good second effort but the first album's still my favorite of the two.

I have been waiting for James to follow up his first album, Undiscovered, and was not disappointed after listening to this album. His style has definately matured since Undiscovered. This is such a talented young man whose passion for music radiates every track on this cd. Once again he has delivered songs that were written from the heart, and sung with soul. Take a minute to check him out, you wont be disappointed. Meanwhile, I will be waiting for his NEXT album release !!

I'm thoroughly smitten! I just discovered James Morrison, and now I find that his two records are almost all I play. I love his distinctive voice, and he definitely knows his way around a memorable, hooky melody. He has taken various influences, from Stevie Wonder to Al Green (and John Waite, at least to my ear) and plenty of greats from the Memphis Stax era and has given them his own unique, modern interpretation. I find myself singing/humming/dancing to his melodies even when they're only playing in my mind, and that doesn't happen to me very often. I'm especially impressed with his songwriting skills, and am looking forward to catching him live on his next tour of the states. I can't recommend James Morrison or this CD highly enough. It's already one of my favorites.

James Morrison sticks to the same format with this his second album. I do enjoy the 'rawness' of his voice and his songs are contructed with great melodies and fine soulful lyrical content. Standout tracks for me are 'Real to Me', 'Broken Strings (with Nelly Furtado)' and 'Once When I was Little'. It's a little too safe for me and he does not really venture outside of his comfort zone. I thought that his debut album 'Undiscovered' was a better offering. But, he is young and has tremendous potential and the album is very listenable and unoffensive. Not bad..

Okay I admit it...man crush. Seriously, if your looking for a fresh soul infused, heart wrenching singer songwriter, he is right here, and this is the CD. Very talented singer for all the right reasons, not technically perfect, but gut wrenching, pour your heart out singing that is what it should be all about. Songs are well crafted, playing is top notch, production is perfect. Not to clean, not to dirty, just heart and soul declarations, that cant help but make you think of whatever relationship your in......Nicely done !!!!

I bought both James Morrison's cds together, and I honestly can't tell which one I like better - which is saying a lot considering I find it rare that artists put out two equally good pieces of work back-to back. I played this cd at a dinner party recently and as soon as I put it on, everyone wanted to know who the artist was.
James' voice is rich, raspy, smoky, passionate and soulful, and it's able to pull off a range of musical styles which is well-served on this album. His songs are a wonderful mix of blues, rock, jazz, and pop.

Favorite tracks:

You Make it Real
Once When I was Little
Please Don't Stop the Rain

If you like John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, and Josh Kelley, you'll *probably* like James Morrison. He's one of those artists who, no matter how bad your day has been, you can put on their music and instantly you'll feel calmer/better/happier. This album is a great buy!

I have both his album. And no lie according to my iTunes, I have listed to both his records over 500 times. It's so good to hear real music. James Morrison's CD "Songs for me..." live in my CD player in my car. I have turned a couple of people on to him.

I have had the privlage (sorry if the spelling is wrong) to see him perform in New York. I was so blown away by him, I listen to his music even more.