When, as a fan, you somehow find yourself back listening to a voice that you immersed yourself in a few years ago but has been crowded out since by new voices the sensation of rediscovery can be a wonderful experience.
Needless to say that was my experience catching Jess Morgan live after a gap of three years. When I saw her live at Leith Folk Club then the honesty of her songs captivated and her music was a regular soundtrack around my house, particularly the albums 'Langa Langa' and 'Edison Gloriette'.
This new encounter with her music sees her presenting a selection of songs through the flow of autobiographical story-telling which was engaging, humorous and poignant. The travails and travels of a creative soul finding her way in the world at times succeeding, other times facing the compromises of others and finding a way through them to a better place with a fuller sense of who she is as a songwriter and a human being.
What struck me is how much Jess's songs have stayed with me over the years and how the newer songs from 'Everything I did last year' a collection of singles from the past year or so had stuck with me. There was not a song that did not affect me or that didn't feel like an old friend.
I love the magic of music. That way that I can't entirely tell why I like a song and singer or the sound they make. Is it the tune, the melody, the construction, the words and how they fit together to tell a story or create an impression, is it the voice and what it sounds like, bringing warmth and meaning to the words, is it the instrumentation and how that adds colour and shading to the poetry? I n a live setting is it also the human being who is sharing their feelings and stories with the audience. In truth it is all of these things.
Thank you Jess for sharing your story with the room at Brig Below. It was a joy to hear you again.
http://www.jessmorgan.co.uk/
