Do pred neki dan nisam imao pojma da Tom Morello ima i odličan solo projekat - The Nightwatchmen.
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Nedavno mu je izašao drugi album The Fabled City (2008) koji me je osvojio već na prvo slušanje. Evo par riječi koje prepisujem i većim dijelom i potpisujem:
"A flame-throwing guitarist's humdrum polemic; maybe he should have called himself the Hall Monitor.
In this summer of self-serious superheroes, Tom Morello wants to make room for one more. Thus the return of The Nightwatchman: by day, the mild-mannered guitar assassin for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave; by night, an earnest protest singer fighting for truth, justice and chord changes we can believe in. On this slightly more spirited second album, Morello—who majored in poli-sci at Harvard (and minored in wa-wa wakka wa-wa)—has admirable intentions, calling out greedy plutocrats and heartless politicians in a burly baritone that drips gravitas. But in his hands, an acoustic guitar is like Kryptonite: The protest ballads plod, and even the song about praying for God to drown the president sounds more weary than pissed. The Nightwatchman is that rare crusader whose secret identity is more exciting than his alter ego. "
(From: http://www.blender.com Reviewed by Josh Eells)
" The news is getting worse on guitar hero's follow-up dispatch.
On his second agit-folk album under the Nightwatchman persona, Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello incorporates electric instrumentation and foregrounds his sonorously ponderous baritone, aspiring to, if not attaining, the gravity of Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, and Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. A dark prophet in Frye boots, Morello spits prickly tunes of creeping dread, as on the cautionary title track, which is as much prayer as call to action. The standout is "Lazarus on Down," a slow death waltz, with Serj Tankian's atonal, disembodied singing adding to the unease -- like a finger of ice rippling down a bony spine."
(From: http://www.spin.com Reviewed by Jaan Uhelszki)
Napomena: Audioslave se raspao prošle godine, a iste godine su se Rage Against the Machine ponovno okupili nakon gotovo 7 godina pauze, zasad samo poradi live nastupa.
I možda i najbolji review out there:
" Much like One Man Revolution, the new album is a collection of protest songs. Unlike most of artists out there today who bash Bush and praise Obama as the second coming, Morello writes about politics because he believes what he says. He's been doing this a long time and isn't mindlessly following some trend.
Musically Morello blends the traditional protest song styles: folk, blues, country, to back his modern-day Woody Guthrie performance. He strikes a good balance as the music never detracts from the message or the strength of the songwriting. And no matter how many times I hear them I can't help but think that Morello's vocals are surprisingly good.
Morello does stray a little bit further afield musically this time around. "The King Of Hell" is a dark piece, with imagery worthy of Nick Cave. "Night Falls" is a methodical piano and string backed composition more complex than anything he's released before. "Saint Isabelle" could be a punk rock fight song if the guitars were more prominent than the harmonica.
Pitching in to help are guest musicians Serj Tankian ("Lazarus On Down") and Shooter Jennings ("The Iron Wheel").
The Fabled City is another strong, authentic release from one of the most thoughtful performers in America today (even if I don't agree with the vast majority of what he sings about)."
(From: http://www.snobsmusic.net Reviewed by T.O. Snob)
Prvi album koji je potpuno akustičan sam tek kasnije poslušao, tako da mi zvuči slabije od ovog drugog. No, i tamo čini se ima dosta toga za istraživanje, tako da će oba još neko vrijeme ostati na mojoj playlisti.
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Post je objavljen 07.10.2008. u 16:29 sati.