Released on UMOD 3rd August 2018

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James Morrison / James Bay / Paolo Nutini / David Gray / Hozier / Sam Smith / Jake Bugg / Ben Howard / JP Cooper
and many more

A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST CONTEMPORARY SONGER SONGWRITERS
AND THE ICONIC STARS WHO INSPIRED THEM

‘The Singer Songwriter’ (3CD / 60 tracks) has been inspired by the growing popularity of the genre and the remarkable artists who bear their hearts and souls for the music.

This collection celebrates the very best – beginning with James Morrison – whose song ‘You Give Me Something’ won him a 2007 BRIT Award for Best Male, when he was still just 21 years old. James’ rendition showcased a voice described by the veteran soul producer Jerry Wexler as ‘once heard, never forgotten’.

Alongside this are other contemporary artists and songs: James Bay ‘Hold Back the River’, Paulo Nutini ‘Better Man’, Ben Howard ‘Only Love’, Newton Faulkner ‘Dream Catch Me’, Sam Smith ‘Stay with Me’, Jake Bugg ‘Lightning Bolt’ and JP Cooper ‘September Song’, which launched JP’s rapidly rising solo career in September 2016.

Also featured are some established song-writing stars: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ‘AKA What a Life’, Paul Weller’s classic ‘Wild Wood’, Sting ‘Fields of Gold’; and female stars such as Alanis Morrissette ‘Ironic’, Tori Amos ‘Cornflake Girl’, Amy Winehouse ‘Back to Black’ and Sheryl Crow ‘If It Makes You Happy’ are featured among many others.

The creative process – the inspiration for a song and the way it is written – has always held a fascination for music fans. Gary Barlow has been described as ‘British modern music’s greatest song-writer’ (by Zane Lowe, no less). There’s a great interview from 2011 where Gary discusses his creative approach – in his particular case – the music and melody invariably comes first, then the lyrics.

For James Morrison, it’s a similar approach: “I don’t normally get the lyric first…. most of the time, I let the melody dictate what it’s going to be about and let my subconscious figure it out.”

Hozier’s method is to treat each song as an individual entity – and not necessarily to apply a formula. “Sometimes a song… you kind of just have to get out of the way of it and let it go in its own direction and trust your instincts.”

David Gray started by writing poems at school and then putting them to music. There’s a really good interview from last year where David talks of his process recording White Ladder – and how he became more aware of his strengths as well as his weaknesses “Letting go of your music is such a big step…and I’d never quite managed to do it… but White Ladder was the first time I’d really opened myself up to the process.”

Sit back then, and listen to the songs on this collection and imagine how they came into being: “the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift…” as Leonard Cohen wrote, and Rufus Wainwright magically sings on the last track. ‘The Singer Songwriter’ brings all this talent together. 3CDs and 60 remarkable songs. Enjoy.

The Singer Songwriter – Track List

CD1
1
James Morrison
You Give Me Something
2
James Bay
Hold Back The River
3
David Gray
Babylon
4
Jack Johnson
Better Together
5
Passenger
Let Her Go
6
Jason Mraz
I’m Yours
7
Jose Gonzalez
Heartbeats
8
Norah Jones
Come Away With Me
9
Amy Winehouse
Back To Black
10
Hozier
Take Me To Church
11
Ben Howard
Only Love
12
JP Cooper
September Song
13
Paolo Nutini
Better Man
14
Badly Drawn Boy
Something To Talk About
15
Newton Faulkner
Dream Catch Me
16
Tom Odell
Another Love
17
KT Tunstall
Suddenly I See
18
Lana Del Ray
Video Games
19
Michael Kiwanuka
Love & Hate
20
Plan B
She Said
CD2
1
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
AKA What A Life
2
Paul Weller
Wild Wood
3
Sting
Fields of Gold
4
Alanis Morrissette
Ironic
5
Tori Amos
Cornflake Girl
6
Sheryl Crow
If It Makes You Happy
7
Amy Mcdonald
This Is The Life
8
Corinne Bailey Rae
Put Your Records On
9
Duffy
Warwick Avenue
10
Birdy
Skinny Love
11
Katie Melua
Closest Thing to Crazy
12
Aimee Mann
I Should’ve Known
13
Grace Carter
Silence
14
Imelda May
Call Me
15
Vance Joy
Riptide
16
Tom Chaplin
Quicksand
17
Rhys Lewis
Be Your Man
18
Nick Mulvey
Fever To The Form
19
Jamie Cullum
These Are the Days
20
Gary Barlow
Let Me Go
CD3
1
John Legend
All Of Me
2
Sam Smith
Stay With Me
3
Alicia Keys
Fallin’
4
Emeli Sande
Read All About It
5
Sia
Breathe Me
6
Jessie Ware
Say You Love Me
7
John Mayer
No Such Thing
8
Jake Bugg
Lightning Bolt
9
James TW
When You Love Someone
10
Amy Winehouse
Love Is A Losing Game
11
Elliott Smith
Between The Bars
12
Frank Turner
Polaroid Picture
13
Lewis Capaldi
Bruises
14
Dermot Kennedy
Young & Free
15
Amos Lee
Sweet Pea
16
Callum Beattie
We Are Stars
17
Isaac Gracie
Terrified
18
Jack Savoretti
Take Me Home
19
Frances
Grow
20
Rufus Wainwright
Hallelujah