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Sam Morrow - On The Ride Here (2024) … roots rock …

#sam morrow #on the ride here #musiconspotify #Spotify

Sam Morrow

Gettin’ By On Gettin’ Down (2020) … grease, grit, and groove …

#SamMorrow

#spotify #sam morrow #gettin' by on gettin' down #musiconspotify

#music #sam morrow #jaime wyatt #americana #country music

Song Review(s): Janiva Magness - “Lodi” (feat. Sam Morrow) and “Don’t You Wish it Was True” (feat. Taj Mahal)

Janiva Magness takes some liberties and finds varying levels of success with her covers of “Lodi” and “Don’t You Wish it Was True.”

The tracks, featuring cameos from Sam Morrow and Taj Mahal, respectively, are out ahead of the Sept. 13 release of Change in the Weather - Janiva Magness Sings John Fogerty.

Magness and Morrow are at a significant disadvantage on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ubiquitous “Lodi” and their reimagining - which swings too much - is the sound of artists trying too hard to change something that maybe didn’t need changing.

Conversely, Mahal puts his stamp on his and Magness’ successful redo of Fogerty’s solo number “Don’t You Wish it Was True” and it could be easily be mistaken for one of his own compositions with its slide guitar and Mahal’s good-natured asides.

But if tomorrow everybody under the sun/was happy just living as one/no borders or battles to be won/but if tomorrow/everybody was your friend/happiness would never end/lord, don't you wish it was true, they sing before the loping blues detours into an ill-advised, double-time bridge.

The track runs 4.5 minutes, so this could be excised for a radio edit and the result would be spectacular. For the folks listening at home - that’s why G-d made fast-forward buttons.

Grade card: Janiva Magness - “Lodi” (feat. Sam Morrow) and “Don’t You Wish it Was True” (feat. Taj Mahal) - C-/B+

8/21/19

#janiva magness #john fogerty #creedence clearwater revival #sam morrow #taj mahal #change in the weather

Maverick: [adj] unorthodox, non-conformist, original.

The first ever Maverick launch party (held in the Bedford’s ornate circular Club Room or, as headliner Sam Morrow joked, “Shakespeare’s Globe”) highlighted the festival’s broad church, with three very different takes on all things Americana.

Despite looking like a music hall comedy duo in dapper turn of the century outfits, the Henry Brothers delivered a fantastic set of old murder and mortality ballads (beloved of early country acts like the Louvin Brothers) on resonator, upright bass and eye-watering bittersweet Old Time vocal harmonies. An interesting insight to the psychology of the popular music fan of yesteryear, but it was hard not to smile at the jolliness of Two Little Rosebuds (a drowned-child public service announcement) and the stark psychopathic matter-of-factness of Knoxville Girl, while their clever rework of I Don’t Like Mondays was a hoot!

Another duo, Broken Islands, took us closer to the “C” word (as festival director Paul Spencer said!) Also suitably attired for their more modern country vibe, Dan Beaulaurier (guitar and vox) and Claire Rabbitt (vox) gave a set of eclectic covers drawing on the late 60s/early 70s country revival: from Gillian Welch’s mesmeric Crosbyish Tennessee with Claire’s sultry low register twinned with simple harmonies from Dan in a stylish minor to major shifting chorus, to the Everlys-via-Gram-and-Emmylou up-close-and-personal Love Hurts. Emmylou was the thread linking sveral songs: another Parsons Nashville renaissance number, Return Of The Grievous Angel with Dan’s mellow drawl partnered by high harmonies; Dylan’s Oh, Sister, where Dan whistled the originals harp/fiddle lines; and her own more recent track Gold, where Claire’s sardonic lead recounted a tale of failing to meet unreasonable expectations. A particular high point was Neil Young’s Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Dan taking the lead on the classic Youngian mix of grungy overdriven (baritone) guitar and fragile vocals, all in a deceptively pretty waltz time.

Although he does have albums of gentle acoustic introspection, Sam Morrow’s set with a full band (Damon Atkins on lead guitar, bass Adam Arcos, and Brit sit-in Ben Gonzalez on drums) was full-fat southern rock with shades of ZZ Top, Skynyrd and Little Feat, particularly in the louche Heartbreak Man: loose-limbed drum-and-bass propelling Sam’s Lowell-cum-Ronnie gravelly drawl and Damon adding chicken-picking, fusiony tones and Collinsesque runs. Another loping Feat beat underpinned Willie Nelson’s Shotgun Willie, with squawking two-guitar interweaving and closing hook, while Quick Fix’s Dixie Chicken-vibe was topped with sinuous stinging slide.

Sam displayed a very Rev Billy G timbre in a cover of the Top’s Sharp Dressed Man, as well as an aggressive guitar break to complement Damon’s muscle car acceleration slide, and the supertight drum and bass continued into the metronomic discotastic strut of Cigarettes, with Sam’s sleazy vox-and-guitar unison lines and a squealing Rossington/Collins run from Damon. That vibe recurred in Girls, a punchy mix of soul and barroom boogie, and the Skynyrd-do-Boy-Named-Sue muscular country of Barely Holding On: rapid-fire vocal and shitkicking beat turning rockier with an impressive a cappella scream and acerbic guitar.

San Fernando Sunshine (named for Houston-born Sam’s adopted home) was something special: a minimalist kick-and-snare waltz (with an off-kilter twist in sevens) drove the twangsome late-Cash riff, with an anthemic gritty-growl-and-powerchord chorus and slide filigree accents. A barrelling soul middle eight led back to the stadium rock chorus and a surprise discursive solo from Sam building to jambandesque twin-guitar harmony plinking.

More overtly country-proper were the Cale-meets-Cash frantic chug of Good Ole Days, a dig at the Make America Great Again brigade; the mellow two-step of Coming Home with its emotional Nashville vibrato, sweet harmonies and melodic picking; and the slow Lowell Georgeish See Crooked, Talk Straight (a new number) with its slinky bottom-end hook. A cover of Steve Earle’s Feel Alright, an expansive jangling anthemic progression with a touch of Lou Reed, saw another twangsome hook expand into a two-guitar harmony version culminating in a blizzard-of-cymbal big rock ending.

The final two songs of the set showed off a bit more of the band’s jamming sensibilities: the bustling Outlaws-y southern rocker The Deaf Conductor featured excellent country-style picking and meaty chords, masterful drumming and a taut rocking vocal before Adam’s bass led out a Mountain Jam-like exquisite twin guitar passage with fine to-you-to-me interplay; finally a tight disco-beat-driven Paid By The Mile (think Things Goin’ On with added mirrorball) saw rich vocals, staccato picking and slick two-guitar unison lines leading to a funky jamming breakdown, segueing via Tulsa Time (including a subtle change in rhythm) and back before speeding to a hectic finish.

A brilliant pick-n-mix of the kind of thing you can expect over the three days of this year’s Maverick Festival, roll on July 5th!

Maverick Festival will take place on 5th, 6th and 7th July 2019 at Easton Farm Park, Easton, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 0EQ

Tickets available here: https://maverickfestival.co.uk/tickets/

#sam morrow #Maverick Festival #broken islands #the henry brothers #americana #Southern Rock #Country Music

Sam Morrrow

Concrete And Mud (2018) … a strong statement …

#SamMorrow

#spotify #sam morrow #concrete and mud #music on spotify

New Artist Spotlight: Sam Morrow

Sam Morrow popped up as a country artist in Los Angeles. Originally from Houston, Morrow was not originally interested in country music. “I hated country. I just didn’t identify,” Morrow said in an interview with LA Weekly.

During his recovery from a drug addiction, Morrow turned to more vulnerable and honest songwriting, thus finding his country voice. Morrow made the move to LA to avoid Nashville's over-saturated country market and now stands out as a country artist to watch.

Big thanks to @rollingstone for putting “Heartbreak Man” on their “10 Best Country/Americana Songs of the Week”. Humbled to be on a list with so many I look up to.

A post shared by Sam Morrow (@mamsorrow) on Feb 23, 2018 at 10:11am PST

Morrow's newest album, Concrete and Mud, fuses together country, rock and funk. If you enjoy Sturgill Simpson's funkier songs, Morrow is definitely an artist you should keep an eye on. The album's name was inspired by Morrow's hardships. Morrow explains to Rolling Stone, "I’ve been through concrete and I have been through mud but all these experiences make me what I am."

Big thanks to @americansongwritermagazine for premiering my first single today. So proud of this one. “Quick Fix” Link in Bio. "The slinky rocker features a greasy guitar groove and some of Morrow’s most soulful vocals to date, a sound he attributes to his reverence for Southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Little Feat."

A post shared by Sam Morrow (@mamsorrow) on Jan 17, 2018 at 9:39am PST

One of the album's stand out tracks, "Quick Fix," has a groovy bass-line, driven by a solid beat. Morrow's vocals and his stellar band will evoke memories of southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and their greatest hits. The lyrics feature Morrow reminiscing on having a vice. In an interview with American Songwriter, Morrow says, “This song is a nod to my addictive behaviors and my lack of patience. It’s a good change from anything else I’ve ever done because it embraces my addictive behaviors and looks at them in a bit of a naïve, playful light." Listen to it below!