James Morrison Album: “Songs For You, Truths For Me”

Description :

Personnel: James Morrison (vocals, guitars, background vocals); Nelly Furtado (vocals); Seton Daunt (guitar); Martin Terefe (guitars, Wurlitzer organ, bass instrument); Eg White (guitars, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, drums, background vocals); John Shanks (guitars, keyboards, bass instrument); Alex Smith (guitars, percussion); Luke Potashnik, Adam Phillips (guitars); Perry Montague-Mason, Luigi Mazzocchi, Ghislaine Fleischmann, Igor Szwec, Emlyn Singleton, David Davidson, Emma Kummrow, David Angell, Gregory Teperman, Charles Parker (violin); Ruth Frazier, Kristin Wilkinson, H.S. Alexandra Leem, Monisa Angell, Bruce White (viola); Arnulf Lindner (cello, bass instrument); David Daniels, John Catchings, Jennie Lorenzo (cello); The Love Sponge Strings, The London Session Orchestra, The London Studio Orchestra, Chris Elliott (strings); Steve Robson (melodica, piano, keyboards, glockenspiel, bass instrument, drums, percussion); Jose Luis 'Chewy' Hernandez (saxophone); Chris Farr, Gregory Riley, Andy Ross (tenor saxophone); Matt Gallagher, John Thirkell, Mike Jarosz, Dominic Glover, Alexander Abreu (trumpet); Mat Colman, Amaury Perez, Neil Sidwell (trombone); Ryan Tedder (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Nikolaj Torp (piano, Hammond b-3 organ, keyboards); Dan Wilson (piano, bass instrument); Paul Beard (Hammond b-3 organ); Paul Barry (Wurlitzer organ, bass instrument); Mark Taylor (keyboards, percussion, programming); Charles Judge (keyboards); Kristoffer Sonne, Ash Soan, Eddie Fisher , Jeff Rothschild, Karl Brazil (drums); Rita Ora, Donovan Blackwood, Ayak Thiik, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters (background vocals). <p>Audio Mixers: Tom Elmhirst; Ash Howes; Jeff Rothschild. <p>Arrangers: Larry S. Gold; Joaquin Betancourt; Cliff Masterton; Mark Taylor; David Davidson. <p>James Morrison may have the same last name as the late lead singer of the Doors, but the young Brit has much more in common with the confessional singer-songwriters of the 1970s: he's much closer to James Taylor or Jackson Browne than "Light My Fire." SONGS FOR YOU, TRUTHS FOR ME is as earnest and self-revealing as its title, filled with songs that directly address Morrison's girlfriend and other intimates, set to gentle adult contemporary soft rock tunes. "You Make It Real" and "Once When I Was Little" are key tracks.

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.

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 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 must admit that I'm a relative newcomer to James Morrison's music. I'd heard 'You Make It Real' but never really gave the artist much thought until June 2009 when I caught his concert in Copenhagen. Despite the driving rain, he was a fantastic performer, and through chattering teeth, I said to my friend, "We've got to check this guy out when we get home!"

"Songs for You, Truths for Me" is Morrison's second album, and it's a true gem. The record manages to combine blues, soul, and just plain good acoustic rock music into a seemless blend of catchiness. The first six songs are the highlight of the album, led by the gentle 'You Make It Real' and the piano-driven 'Please Don't Stop the Rain'. Morrison's duet with Nelly Furtado, 'Broken Strings', is somewhat dance-like, while 'The Only Night' and 'Nothing Ever Hurt Like You' are more '60s influenced. After track six, the record slows down a bit with slower and less-exciting songs, but it still retains its soulful flair. That, combined with Morrison's gravely voice, lend a retro feel to the entire thing.

Many people have compared James Morrison to that other English James, Mr. Blunt. I'm not familiar with the latter's music, so I can't really draw an accurate comparison. What I can say is that, for me, "Songs for You, Truths for Me" was a fresh record full of good music. What more could you want?