James Morrison
Undiscovered

THE REVIEW

2006, it’s summer...

...I'm at home and have nothing to do. I decide to turn on the radio, as the television is broken, to distract myself a bit from the heavy and boring summer atmosphere. There's no one around, so I turn up the volume. I indulge in some station surfing and absentmindedly realize I've stopped: the device is broadcasting a song that I must have heard somewhere before...curious, even though with little hope of finding something good, I continue listening. The song doesn’t sound bad at all. I wait for the end to reveal the name of the artist... James Morrison, perfect. I then decide to turn on the PC, to search for more material from the young man. 2 hours later, I bought the CD. 

The CD consists of 11 songs (in the Italian version), which unfold across various genres including pop, rock, blues, and soul. It starts immediately with a lively song called "Under The Influence." The parts of the various instruments seem almost improvised, with touches of jazz and blues here and there, reinforcing an atmosphere between rock and soul. It continues with "You Give Me Something," the first single from the Rugby boy, somewhat the album’s weak point, but still listenable. At number 3, we find "Wonderful World," the second single. Incredibly, in my opinion, the songwriter managed to make this song a triumph of instruments in harmony, combined with a nice text and his rough voice.

Continuing, we find "The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore" a sweet and melancholic ballad, although perhaps a bit too 'television series-like.' Moving on, at number 5, we can see "One Last Chance," a pleasant piece in which the singer showcases his skill in combining words and music, followed by "Undiscovered," another single that gives the album its name. The soul influence is marked in this song, which strongly reminds of Stevie Wonder. The seventh, "The Letter," is a beautiful duet between voice and keyboards, accompanied by a rather pressing drum. One is surprised when reaching track 8: "Call The Police" is indeed rock-styled with a fairly tough text. The artist changes stylistic direction again in the following piece, "This Boy," perhaps the most beautiful of the album: the song begins with a beautiful voice-guitar duet and then grows in all its beauty (this “crescendo” is usual in Morrison’s songs). James concludes with two ballads: "If The Rain Must Fall" and "The Last Goodbye." The use of strings is pronounced in the latter.

The result is a coherent fusion of genres, with influences from many important artists, including John Martyn, Van Morrison, Otis Redding, Ray LaMontagne, Stevie Wonder, and Cat Stevens.