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JAMES MORRISON Undiscovered (Polydor/Universal) |
 MORRISON is one of the poster-friendly oh-so-earnest male singer-songwriters who seem to be in such abundance these days. While his brand of Britpop-tinged soul (think Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene or Toploader) offers a different style from the music purveyed by John Mayer and James Blunt, he does seem to be saying the same sort of things. The formula is pretty set in place with the emphatic opener Under The Influence which lays down the marker combining soulful vocals with an attractive "Indian" string hook. Whether it be silky ballads in the vein of You Give Me Something and the pleading One Last Chance or more upbeat numbers like the brassy Wonderful World and the insistent Call The Police, Morrison rarely lets up. And that is perhaps my only complaint ... that there aren't really enough dynamics in this album. Basically, Morrison does "white soul" well, but it's all he does and it takes a certain kind of listener to stay interested throughout the course of the album. |
