Album songs：
Album Intro：
用靈魂演唱 讓感動覺醒
*全英音樂獎最佳男歌手 當代最具代表性白人靈魂歌手 真實的故事中最震撼的歌聲力量
*流行搖滾名團Suede吉他手/冠軍專輯製作人Bernard Butler擔綱製作，碧昂絲、接招、Adele、Duffy幕後團隊跨刀合作
*收錄真情主打'I Won't Let You Go'，驚喜推薦2011年全英音樂獎得主Jessie J跨刀曲'Up'
詹姆斯墨里森 James Morrison
The Awakening 感動覺醒
「19歲的那年，我覺得我已經40歲了。」在龐大債務、數度付不出房租、重大疾病纏身的單親家庭下成長，少年詹姆斯墨里森，在15歲那年揹起吉他，自學彈唱想為家人掙口飯吃，19歲擔任洗卡車工人一職，一邊洗著卡車一邊想著，有誰會知道自己才19歲，噩夢何時才有甦醒的一天。
詹姆斯墨里森至今仍不敢相信，幸運之神在3年後降臨。2006年以專輯『Undiscovered未知數』出道，專輯中的'You Give Me Something'[#5]、'Wonderful World'[#8]紛紛打入英國金榜TOP10，成為該年度最暢銷的英國歌手專輯。2008年『Songs For You, Truth For Me我的故事,未完待續』問世，其中與Nelly Furtado合唱單曲'Broken Strings'成為他個人最暢銷單曲，全球銷售突破150萬張。巡迴演唱會足跡踏遍美國、澳洲、日本及歐陸各國；獲邀為Bruce Springsteen、Stevie Wonder在倫敦海德公園演唱會的開場嘉賓；在爵士跨界藝人Herbie Hancock的葛萊美獎專輯中詮釋靈魂歌手Sam Cooke的名曲'A Change Is Gonna Come'。詹姆斯墨里森，無疑地成為當代最成功的白人靈魂歌手。
但是詹姆斯並沒有立刻乘勝追擊，他的人生仍在擺盪。創作方面，他一度質疑自己第二張專輯是否太過流行？面對親人，他無力看著父親承受酒精、憂鬱症的折磨，最後因病辭世。種種經歷觸動他敏感的神經，讓原本在歌曲創作、歌聲演唱與樂器彈奏各方面都具有超齡成熟感的詹姆斯墨里森流露出更加濃烈的情感，這些變化無疑的也深化了2011年全新大碟【The Awakening】的感動力量。
【The Awakening】專輯由英國流行搖滾名團Suede吉他手、Duffy冠軍專輯「Rockferry」製作人Bernard Butler擔綱製作大任，歌曲創作拍檔包括：Steve Robson [*Take That]、Eg White [*Duffy]、Dan Wilson [*Adele]、Toby Gad [*Beyoncé]。整張專輯就像是以溫馨的演唱會方式詮釋既傳統又兼具摩登風情的民謠靈魂樂作品。新作在樂風上延續了首張專輯的特色，同時添加更細膩的質感以及更昂揚的自信風采；有沸騰人心的弦樂，雀躍開朗的和聲，饒富靈魂韻味的情歌，甚至還有令人不禁想要隨著節奏打拍子的搖擺舞曲；曲風有Motown唱片公司的傳統靈魂樂風情，也洋溢著福音、鄉村民謠與拉丁神采。專輯中有詹姆斯墨里森繼'You Give Me Something'之後，再度寫給女友Gill的深情之歌'I Won't Let You Go'；還有望著3歲女兒Elsie所抒發的爸爸心情小品'The Awakening'；也有他與瀕臨死亡的父親對談之後，寫下由詩作蛻變而成的感人歌曲'Person I Should Have Been'；渴望過世的父親走入自己的夢裡，感情超強烈的心痛告解'In My Dreams'。專輯中也有出人意表的作品，像是與2011年全英音樂獎評審團特別獎得獎女歌手Jessie J搭檔合唱，描述與酗酒父親之間糾結情感問題的'Up'。
現在，26歲的詹姆斯墨里森，以更成熟的歌手、創作人、音樂人的面貌重新出發，他對於情感的自由收放和掌握，造就了這張完成度超高的精彩作品。正如他所說：「前兩張專輯我還在摸索，現在我終於畢業了，這張專輯對我而言就像是我真正的第一張專輯。」
Released three years to the day after his previous LP, the chart-topping (in Ireland, at least) Songs for You, Truths for Me, The Awakening returns James Morrison to the business of bothering the middle-of-the-road with his Rod Stewart-meets-Ben Ottewell tones. There are countless worse noises in pop - but there's nothing in his voice, fine though it is, that conveys the emotional weight he should perhaps be carrying after such childhood hardship (school-days loneliness, and he nearly died as an infant). It's a television talent show beast, a chimera of sorts, halfway between the soul singers he loved growing up and the grit of an indie frontman. It just exists, peculiarly passionless, when it should grab hold of the listener and demand that they pay it their utmost attention.
But, again, it's not an off-putting sound - and there are moments on The Awakening where its audience does indeed sit up and take notice. One such number is Up: remarkable not for Morrison's measured performance, but that of guest vocalist Jessie J. The BBC Sound of 2011 poll-topper has never sounded as good as she does here, delivering a remarkably understated turn that's miles away from the horrible hyperactivity of her own album. Their lines entwine excellently, and there's a warmth to the song rare amongst Artist A featuring Artist B offerings. Person I Should Have Been shares compositional DNA with Sting's much-covered/sampled Shape of My Heart, but Morrison never edges too close to pastiche (which would be easy to do, given the track's skeletal form); and the title-track is the slow-rising centrepiece to this record, where a light acoustic introduction gives way to a far-fuller song almost evocative of Stevie Wonder. One Life, which should be a rallying call to embrace the moment, is oddly stillborn on delivery - but it's a rare blip in consistency.
Yet, as The Awakening unwinds, one can't shift the feeling that we should be touched deeper. Morrison's surpassed the likes of James Blunt and Paolo Nutini as a British solo artist able to meld modern pop sensibilities with echoes of his own influences without the collision sounding forced. Compared to those artists, his vocals cut through with a far greater sense of sincerity. But The Awakening is lacking the grandstanding moment it needs to elevate it above reserved recommendation - it's a safe, steady affair, but about as revelatory as a Chris de Burgh best-of. Morrison has a truly great album in him - he's the emotional baggage to craft it, should he let locked-away demons loose - but for the third time in a row, this isn't it.
--Mike Diver
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