Tuesday, August 5, 2008

It's time to discover the Undiscovered

So I have a tendency to pull a John Cusak in High Fidelity and make 'Top Five' lists. Top 5 movies, top 5 best pick up lines, even top 5 best sandwiches. Well as a music buff, I have to make sub-categories because there's just too much good stuff out there. I want to tell you a little bit about one of my favorite CD's released in the past 5 years.


This Boy. Wonderful World. You Give me Something. Undiscovered. All hit songs off of 23 year-old James Morrison's breakout CD Undiscovered. And if you haven't heard of any of these, they are huge hits in the UK. Now, I first heard this amazing talent while in Ireland a little over a year ago. I mistook him for Ray LaMontagne. The throaty voice, the tame melody, and though provoking lyrics all pointed in that direction. But after a few times hearing You Give Me Something on the radio, the Irish DJ proceeded to tell me that it was James Morrison. As soon as I returned stateside, I looked him up on iTunes, only to be disappointed when he wasn't there. So I ordered his CD online. As soon as I popped it into the player, I didn't take it out for a month.



So let me just start by saying WOW. Not exactly poetry, but there might not be any other words to describe this young wonder. And no studio tricks necessary. I saw him live, TWICE, in the same day. All acoustic, and all fabulous. The highlight of the second show was when he broke out in the Van Morrsion classic
And it Stoned Me. The young crowd seemed oblivious to the fact that they were hearing history.


But enough of my praise for the singer. Technically, James Morrison is flawless in his songwriting and perfectly flawed in his voice.
This Boy tells a tale of a young boy forced to make up for his parents shortcomings. Clearly comes from past experiences. The boy grows up into a young man who falls in love and gets his heart broken, but lives to tell the tale in The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore. As the boy recovers and experiences adulthhood he realizes that he's "Not lost, just Undiscovered." This he screams from the top of his lungs in Undiscovered.


Undiscovered by James Morrison is a CD you will listen to for 60 days straight, then put back in it's case for a few months. You will find it while looking for your Bob Dylan or Dave Matthews, see it, and think 'This is a great CD. I think I'll listen to it again'. And as you do, you'll wonder why you ever stopped.


But that's just This Girl talking...

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