The sound of the new James Morrison

Two things entered my head the first time I saw the album Undiscovered by James Morrison. One was the question, is this made up of "undiscovered" recordings by the legendary James Morrison of Doors fame during his very young days? It turned out that it is not. This is a different guy. The second was, if this is not that Morrison then, whoever he is going around with a name like that, had better be good. To my great relief I discovered that he is.

If you like the trendy sort of music created by Norah Jones, John Mayer, Corinne Bailey Rae or James Blunt, who got really lucky with his You Are Beautiful, then you will also enjoy Morrison. Truth to tell, he writes better than Blunt and has a better feel for pleasing, hook-filled, more commercial melodies. I really see him as a hippier John Legend. I think the Grammy winner overly milks every note for dramatic effect. Morrison’s approach is simpler. He is just a blue jeans guy rather than a tux, somebody whose naïve sincerity can be very disarming.

Morrison, who was named Best British Male Solo Artist at the Brit Awards a few weeks ago, sings like a folk-tinged Stevie Wonder or perhaps Cat Stevens. His style is impressive not just for his vocal range but for the way he nails down the required emotions. And would you believe he is also an excellent songwriter. Truth to tell, Undiscovered is what people in the music business call an album of singles because it has one ear-friendly track after another that you can listen to again and again.

I’m sure that lots of you out there will love every cut on the album and you will also go about singing "I know that it’s a wonderful world, but I can’t feel it right now..." Wonderful World and You Give Me Something were the first hits. These were recently followed by The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore and Undiscovered is next on tap. Other cuts are Under the Influence, One Last Chance, The Letter, Call the Police, This Boy, If the Rain Must Fall and The Last Goodbye.

So James from Rugby, England is not that Morrison but he certainly is the Morrison for this generation. He shines with his own intensity and I do hope that it continues to burn brightly through all the songs he will create in his many albums to come.

Singles, Rarities & Remixes

Just as Corinne Bailey Rae and Morrison exemplify the new music from the Brits, the sound of the Spandau Ballet will always be what we remember most from the Brits during ‘80s. Made up of Tony Hadley on vocals, Gary Kemp on guitars, Martin Kemp on bass, John Keeble on drums and Steve Norman on sax, the group popularized the Neo-Romantic Movement. It is a blend of chanted vocals and lush arrangements set against a dance base and it resulted in lots of hits for the group.

Several compilations containing these songs have already been released, but what’s to stop the arrival of another? Recently we got Singles, Rarities & Remixes by Spandau Ballet, a two-disc set that fans of the band will enjoy and which should give today’s generation an idea of what this British Invasion of the ‘80s sounded like.

Disc One has Gold, Round and Round, Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On), With the Pride, Highly Strung, Musclebound, Communication, I’ll Fly for You, Heaven is a Secret, Paint Me Down, Instinction, To Cut a Long Story Short, Reformation, The Freeze and the should not be missed True.

The first four cuts from disc two, Gold, Lifeline, Communication and Only When You Leave were all taken from the 12’Versions. The vinyl long-play album was on its last gasps during the ‘80s but it was still in use in the clubs as a 12-inch disc containing an extended version of a hit song. The longer edit allowed club DJs a lot of leeway with the music and the vinyl had better quality than tapes. These four songs by Spandau Ballet certainly dominated the club scene during the ‘80s era.

Also on disc two are Highly Re-Strung, live versions of Pleasure, True, Gold and Lifeline, plus Through the Barricades, Only When You Leave, Always in the Back of My Mind, Revenge for Love, Mandolin and a Gold instrumental.

Missed are Be Free with Your Love and She Loved Like Diamond. But there will surely be other Spandau Ballet compilations in the future, then maybe one will come with all that I like and all that you like in one album.