James Morrison, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - review - Music - Arts

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He may have the well-honed surface bonhomie of an unassuming pop star ("I'm not an alpha male," he insisted, "I'm a beta male"), he may have presumptuously high-fived almost the entire front row before singing a note but few pop stars quip about not being especially well-endowed and there was edge in chatting about his recently deceased father and his current relationship.

And while on the heartfelt but bland Person I Should Have Been, Morrison was more pedestrian than a zebra crossing and I Won't Let You Go spoke to the inner housewife in us all, he often soared.

Against all rational expectations, Jessie J's video duet appearance on Up was haunting rather than naff and Broken Strings, once a widescreen duet with Nelly Furtado, was stripped down to his voice only, plus guitar and piano, all to beautiful effect. Slave to the Music packed a funky punch, while One Life, Wonderful World and Under the Influence showed that at the core of all Morrison does is a voice that's always believable, allied to effective and affecting songwriting. He never did explain the on-stage carpets, though...