Jim Moray - Jim Moray

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 28 / 3 / 2006

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Jim Moray was the support act on former Strangelove frontman Patrick Duff's recent tour. Live, he completely blew me away, and proved himself as good a singer/songwriter as say Jeff Buckley. This, his eponymous second album, however, loses some of its magic, and sounds a tad bit too much like a coffee table album recorded for yuppies. It sadly follows on from him winning the BBC Folk Album of the Year Award with his 2003 album 'Sweet England'. Jim is a 24 year old with a huge talent, but this album, which sometimes becomes bogged down in studio gadgetery, however, doesn't do justice to his live talent. The cover looks very new romantic, but the album, a second folk record, definitely is not. 'Prelude' opens the album as it did his live show, while the second track, 'Lord Willoughby', a tale of a soldier, is full of battle cries, drama and adventure. 'Dog and Gun' is melancholic in tone and has a mellow and commanding vocal. 'Barbara Allen'is pleasant enough and acoustic foot tapping stuff, but still much better than a lot of folk music.'Night Visiting' has a timeless 70's feel, a gentle vocal and is haunting and beautiful. Perfectly arranged, it is strong as anything arranged by Beatles producer George Martin. 'My Sweet Rose' is very gentle and calming, and has an easy-on-the-ear groove to it, while 'Fair and Tender Lovers' mentions "My Sweet Rose" a lot more than the actual track so maybe the titling is wrong. Who knows ? This latter track is synthesiser based, which has a massive and romantic sound, but it is sad as well. It works well. 'Flow My Tears' is slow and recalls a delicate Aztec Camera with its soft piano and bass break. 'Gilderoy' is a slow and classy ballad and recollects the young Elton John. It has a lovely flute solo too. 'Who's the Fool ?'is classy singer/songwriter material, while 'Magic When You're Near' closes the album, and is reminiscent of early Paul McCartney at around the time he released his first two solo post Beatles album. It is an album of many fine moments, but it all works so much better live.

Track Listing:-

1 Prelude
2 Lord Willoughby
3 Dog + Gun
4 Barbara Allen
5 Nightvisiting
6 Fair And Tender Lovers
7 My Sweet Rose
8 Flow My Tears
9 Gilderoy
10 Who's The Fool?
11 Magic When You're Near

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