Single of the Week: You Give Me Something

    This week’s installment of “Single of the Week” brings us a song from an English balladeer that has already hit the top of the iTunes single chart. It was #1 in radio airplay in England over the summer, and helped propel the artist, James Morrison, to 3 Brit award nominations (the UK’s equivalent to the Grammys, which will be presented in slightly over a week). So what does this highly-lauded single sound like?

What’s the song?

You Give Me Something, from the album “Undiscovered”

Who’s the artist?

James Morrison is a 21-year-old from Rugby, England. His official homepage outlines an upbringing that was rooted in poverty and “hard knocks”—the kind of stuff that befits any up-and-coming blues singer.

What’s the genre?

      Modern soul

What does iTunes say about it?

“ ‘You Give Me Something’ has a warm, brassy feel that sounds like it could have rolled off of the soul music assembly line in the early ‘70s. A touch of strings, brass, and acoustic guitar build up into a crescendo that Morrison is able to navigate safely due to his strong, belting vocals. He’s obviously a student of the Stevie Wonder songbook who also happens to have his own songs to sing. Should we mention that he hails from the U.K.and is barely in his twenties?”

What’s it sound like?

Less Stevie Wonder, more The Commodores-meets-James Blunt. It’s a slow burner that could easily bore or seduce, depending on the audience. Quotes on Morrison’s homepage liken him to Otis Redding (“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”), but that’s really overselling the strength of Morrison’s voice. 

How does it work as a single?

Clearly well, given the success it found in the U.K. However, I imagine that this would be a song that works on a ‘right time-right place’ basis.  

How about a whole album?

A quick listen to the other songs available in sample form on Morrison’s homepage (which are nearly impossible to avoid) shows that “You Give Me Something” is pretty representative of the sound on the album. If you like this song, it would probably be a safe purchase.

Forget the rest of that—what’s the bottom line?

“You Give Me Something” is lacking depth but provides a nice, easy-going bit of blue-eyed soul to relax to.

But that’s just my opinion. What do you think?

Sarah Erlewine, Music Correspondent:

Sarah’s column, Single of the Week, published every Wednesday to Gather Essentials: Music (http://music.gather.com), is a look at the latest up-and-coming singles highlighted on iTunes and available for free download.

 Sarah Erlewine has previously written for the All Music Guide. In her daily life, she is a technical writer for Ferris State University in Big Rapids, MI.

 You can find all of Sarah’s columns at http://www.gather.com/singleoftheweek .

Keep up with Sarah’s other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network -- just click here http://sarahe.gather.com and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page.

 You’ll find Sarah and other Music Correspondents plus celebrity content and plenty of other music buffs at http://music.gather.com.