Record Review: Ken Will Morton

by | Jan 10, 2012 | Folk & Singer/Songwriter, Reviews

Ken Will Morton
Contenders
Athens, GA

“Americana/Roots music defined”

Ken Will Morton’s latest, Contenders, is an acoustic musical trip through all the varied genres that fall under the Americana/roots label, including rock, blues, folk, and country (among others).

The album opens with “Broken Windows,” a country toned tale of “watching the world through a broken window.” In “Que Lastima,” the guitar plucking and bongo rhythms complete the Spanish feel of the song. The honky tonk beat of “Rough & Tumble” is the perfect backdrop to lyrics like “Your bread has mold and your shirt has holes / And your floor hasn’t been cleaned up since Katrina.”

“Powder Keg” features terrific harmonica in the forefront, and a great lyric with “Resting on my laurels just makes my ass sore.” The songs “Swan on the River” and “Too Soon” both have a charming, timeworn feel to them, as if the tracks had been created decades earlier and stored away.  The record closes with “Change,” a purposefully cliché riddled song pointing out an appeal for change.

The songs on Contenders effortlessly blend genres, taking a different musical path of exploration and enlightenment through the storytelling tales of a talented songwriter. (Ghost Meat Records)

Recorded and Produced by Russ Hallauer

Mastered by John Keane

www.kenwillmorton.com