Morgan James

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Morgan James

Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, June 19, 2016

Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes

Morgan James is the reigning queen of white soul, often referred to as “blue-eyed soul.” When she rips into “Fed Up on You” (James/Doug Wamble) from Hunter, her 2014 CD, you get vintage James – hard-edged R&B with a serious back beat, crystal-clear vocals and strong female perspectives. When she sings “Bring me some water/ I’m spitting you out,” you better not mess with her.

The CD’s title number, by Wamble, straddles the fence between soul and pop. Again, bass and percussion rhythms propel the song with some great organ runs. James’ vocals are sharp, powerful and to the sensual point. It’s all brought together with guitar ace Wamble’s sweet slide and intelligent arrangements.  James shares songwriting duties with him and is in high gear on “Ransom,” a new heartbreak ballad with her signature blend of folk/pop/R&B. It features plenty of opportunities for the singer to stretch out her vocals, which can rip your heart out or take flight with gospel-like spiritualism. The mournful chorus of “I paid, but you killed me anyway” is belted like her idol Aretha Franklin, supported by a mournful organ.

James’ voice is similar in power to the likes of Storm Large, Lady Rizo and Mariah Carey, whose “Fantasy” she covers, adding her own style and quirks to it.  She adds a blues phrasing to her selections, and on Franklin’s hit “Baby I Love You” (Ronnie Shannon), she brings out the funk buoyed by Wamble’s sensational slide work. She highlighted new material from her soon-to-be-recorded CD (“Pity” and “Jenny”) before wrapping up another solid show with a tribute to Prince on his Grammy- winning “Call My Name” and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” which was heavily influenced by ’60s soul.  James seems to have it all: a strong feel for ’70s female songwriters, a love for soul and R&B, an extremely talented band, and an incredible set of pipes to back it all up.

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Steve Murray

Always interested in the arts, Steve was encouraged to begin producing and, in 1998, staged four, one-man vehicles starring San Francisco's most gifted performers. In 1999, he began the Viva Variety series, a live stage show with a threefold mission to highlight, support, and encourage gay and gay-friendly art in all the performance forms, to entertain and document the shows, and to contribute to the community by donating proceeds to local non-profits. The shows utilized the old variety show style popularized by his childhood idol Ed Sullivan. He’s produced over 150 successful shows, including parodies of Bette Davis’s gothic melodramedy Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte and Joan Crawford’s very awful Trog. He joined Cabaret Scenes 2007 and enjoys the writing and relationships he’s built with very talented performers.