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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Cory Morrow
Full Exposure\r\n(Write On Records)
By Ken Shimamoto
The Texas country movement of the 1970s was the mass-marketed version of an organic scene that started out with a bunch of songwriters passing a guitar around at Threadgill’s Tavern in Austin, where they’d entertain a mixed audience of cowboys, frat boys, and longhairs. Artists like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Jerry Jeff Walker journeyed from Nashville and even Noo Yawk City to immerse themselves in Austin’s communal spirit. The various Flatlanders, Robert Earl Keen, and Lyle Lovett continued the tradition through the ’80s and ’90s, while young upstarts Pat Green and Cory Morrow picked up the torch as we entered the new millennium.
This generous package brings Morrow’s fans three new, studio-recorded songs produced by neo-trad ace Ray Kennedy; a 12-song live set featuring a guest shot by Morrow’s buddy Green; and a two-hour DVD.
Houstonian Morrow is the least introspective of singer-songwriters. His lyrics are larded with more clichés than, uh, you could shake a stick at, and they deal with topics like gettin’ drunk and raisin’ hell, without ever delving too deeply into the inner worlds of the beer-drinkers and hell-raisers depicted. Morrow even plants a plug for Anheuser Busch on the record during the extended faux-reggae coda to “Beer.”
One of the most interesting items here is the GI’s lament “GTMO Blues,” which surprisingly contains no references to the al Qaeda suspects detained at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. (If he gave a shit, Morrow could’ve called on Steve Earle to add that soupçon of relevance that rock crits crave.) Another is the Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ cover “Straight to Hell.” But, really, it’s all so much generica, like the music from a pickup truck commercial.
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