Dominic Carter - 10/15/2011

For a man of still a young age, The Awakening brings both the emotional strength and maturity of a performer much older. This is not surprising baring in mind the personal aspects which are the nucleus for many of the songs on the record. His father's death and the fathering of his own daughter prevalent throughout many of the songs, become just two personal events which feature, helping to both connect with the listener whilst giving real depth to the album.

Alongside the powerful lyrics are catchy pop songs, such as Up and Forever, a 60s style injection to James's usual soulful self. I suppose that is what is so remarkable about this album. He has successfully been able to tell a story in each of his tracks but with very different flavours leading from track to track. Reggae meets Soul meets Pop all in the space of thirteen songs.

Lead off track Right By Your Side clearly stands out as a James Morrison hit. The ballad brings together the old material, gives it a slight twist and then is reformed into something bigger and better. One life is a further a song which is easily one of the best on the album. Despite the simple chorus, the songs lack of complexity arguably helps to highlight James's ability to keep it simple and just create good music.

However, in my opinion the killer tune on the album is Slave to the Music. Written in a hotel room by James at "4:05" in the morning, it is probably the only song which has ever drawn out my funky side. And for this reason it goes down as my favourite song of all time. It's samba style riffs and soulful singing moulds together into some sort of genius potion. I can't get enough of that potion.

In fact I can't get enough of this album. This is arguably James's best all-round album and will definitely become core material for his tour next year. I can imagine the dancing in the aisles already....