The Awakening
by James Morrison
  • Record Label: Republic
  • Release Date: Oct 11, 2011
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
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  1. Consequence
    Nov 2, 2011
    60
    James Morrison drizzles his velvety-as-butter voice all over each of the 12 songs on The Awakening, his most recent foray into contemporary soul, where the balance between the cheerful and the cheesy works more often than not.
  2. No Ripcord
    Oct 26, 2011
    60
    It's an in-the-moment album that's best when it's in the moment.
  3. Mojo
    Oct 25, 2011
    60
    Amy Winehouse it ain't, but we can take a certain pleasure in a man who at least possesses the sort of grainy Sam Cooke mellifluousness that, down the ages, has redeemed blue-eyed-soul boys the world over. [Oct 2011, p.94]
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  5. Uncut
    Oct 18, 2011
    60
    There's little evidence [of reinvention] on a collection of soul-pop ballad s that sound like Jay Kay singing the James Blunt songbook. [Oct 2011, p.93]
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  6. AllMusic
    Oct 13, 2011
    60
    Until Morrison manages to infuse some of this raw honesty and emotion into his sound, he's always going to struggle to create that one great record that his impassioned and soulful voice deserves.
  7. BBC Music
    Oct 13, 2011
    50
    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.
  8. Q Magazine
    Nov 8, 2011
    40
    The third album from James Morrison isn't the musical enlightenment that its title suggests, but rather another sturdy, if predictable, collection of soul-tinged, Radio-2 friendly pop tunes. [Nov. 2011, p. 139]
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  9. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 13, 2011
    40
    Strings and expensive-sounding gloss are applied by producer Bernard Butler but unfortunately it's Duffy-era Butler, rather than the sweeping soul of his mid-90s David McAlmont collaborations.
  10. The Independent (UK)
    Oct 13, 2011
    20
    The songs are mostly just nondescript airwave fodder, clogging up the aether for months to come.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Most Shared Album of 2011

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