James Morrison

James Morrison

    UK blue-eyed soulman James Morrison crashed onto the music scene at age 21 with his attractively produced, soulfully performed debut album, Undiscovered.  It was an immediate smash in England (helped by his tour as warm-up act for Corinne Bailey Rae) and later made a smaller impact upon release in the US.  Balancing between the singer/songwriter sound of the 70s and classic soul sounds (his voice at times resembles the teenage Stevie Wonder), Morrison fit squarely into the pop/soul crossover world of  such modern artists John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw.  His debut showed he had both the singing and songwriting chops to be in it for the long run.

    Morrison followed that disc two years later with Songs for You, Truths For Me, an even better album that moved him to the head of the class of young pop/soul troubadours.  It was one of the year's finest albums and foretold a bright future for Morrison

    By Chris Rizik