"A phenomenal talent whose feel for classic soul music is bone deep...This woman is on fire." -- The New York Times MORGAN JAMES has a voice that needs to be heard, even when she was just a fifth grader belting out standards on a karaoke machine. After her grandmother heard her sing, the matriarch footed the bill for James’ voice lessons, positive that her granddaughter had the mysterious it. And, despite the sometimes treacherous terrain of the music industry, James has never tired in her quest. Whether it’s tussling with unimaginative label executives, covering and owning songs by the likes of the Beatles, or casting a woman as Jesus, James has carved out an enviable career, always on her own terms. James has a particular taste for inserting herself into men’s spaces, twisting hyper-masculine songs to her will and changing their meanings in the process. That feminist lens is brought to the forefront in her most recent project, Soul Remains the Same, which reinterprets tracks from the likes of AC/DC, the Stone Temple Pilots, and Pearl Jam. “Something I’ve always loved, and I’ve done throughout my career, is sing songs that are not just written by men, but especially made for men,” she says. “And make them my own.”