One of the misconceptions in contemporary pop journalism is the labeling of the British singer / songwriter James Morrison as a soul singer. Admittedly, he has more soul in his voice than the average pop singer, but that does not make him a fully-fledged representative of the soul vocalists. His compositions are too much in line with today's pop troubadours, which in turn are inspired by The Beatles
… and Elton John. While his debut Undiscovered (2007) was still camouflaged by pointed riffs from the wind section and references to Van, that other Morrison, on Songs For You, Truths For Me, he shows his true face as a very adequate composer of catchy pop songs. Here and there are influences from his mother's record collection, in which Otis Redding and Al Green played prominent roles, upwards like on If You Don't Wanna Love Me, but not enough to go through life as a soul singer. Enough to triumph at the top of contemporary singer / songwriters with a completely unique sound. (AD)more
