With a vocal that takes two shots Paolo Nutini, a twist of Rod Stewart, shaken with a dash of the screams of Robert Plant and served in Will Young style pop shots, James Morrison quickly became one of the UK’s most successful male artists following the release of his debut, Undiscovered, nine years ago. Warming himself up for album number four, Morrison followed two nights at Wilton’s Music Hall with a sell-out show in Notting Hill, previewing new material alongside hits from his previous releases.
In the years since his last live dates the voice has only improved, sounding stronger and purer than on record during singalong favourites ‘Wonderful World’ and ‘I Won’t Let You Go’. The only weakness comes with that fact that over the three LPs, many of the numbers stick to the same formula, however a stripped back ‘Broken Strings’ (with Morrison switching pitch for Nelly Furtado’s verse) alters the tempo.
New track ‘Heaven To A Fool’ hints at a change in sound, focussing on his influences from the blues and soul records he heard growing up, while there are moments from 2011’s The Awakening that funked his sound up before Paolo did the same to his own last year. ‘Demons’ (his upcoming single) sees the biggest beats to date on a JM track, while the swirls of organs turn early album track ‘Call The Police’ into an almost raucous closer.
Although his blues and soul are more James Blunt than Sam Smith, Morrison’s album chart-topping role could quite easily continue – and now with added cute daughter tales between tracks.
Dan Bull
@danbull7609
Dan Bull
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