Outside the Lines

Cory Morrow | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smith Music Group
• ASIN: B0000C3I21
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,535 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Popular on the Lone Star college circuit and barely known outside it, Cory Morrow is a very fortunate son of Texas. His native state has given him plenty of roadhouse troubadours to emulate, a loyal audience that embraces him as its own, and the pick of Austin-based musicians to add substance to an artistry that might otherwise seem pretty shallow. Co-produced by the ubiquitous Lloyd Maines (Joe Ely, Jerry Jeff Walker, Pat Green), Morrow's music substitutes pleasant and sincere for striking and original. Though he shows more thematic ambition than on previous releases (reaching a little too far on the vaguely spiritual "In Spite of Spite"), his material still tends toward the clichéd ("Take Me Away") and the generic ("Dance by the Rio Grande"). A serviceable cover of the Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil" highlights that song's bluegrass roots, while Morrow's version of Drivin N Cryin's "Straight to Hell" bristles with more conviction than he brings to his own material. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maturing work from Texas troubadour, April 16, 2002

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Outside the Lines (Audio CD)

Cory Morrow writes, records and tours in a Texas-centric universe unaffected by the gravitational pull of Nashville's musical black hole. Across five releases (including an album of covers recorded with fellow Texan, Pat Green) and endless rounds of the Lone Star state's dance halls and college campuses, the Austin-based Morrow has carved out a stardom that is a legacy handed down from the independence of Waylon, Willie and the boys.

This release finds Morrow's songwriting maturing from his earlier booze-soaked works (not entirely missing, mind you) to introspective songs of romance, morality and faith. Celtic-flavored love songs such as "More Than Perfect" and lamentations like "(Love Me) Like You Used To Do," find Morrow probing deeply into the complexities of relationships. Many of the tracks, fleshed out with producer Lloyd Maines, lean on acoustic playing, but Morrow still kicks up some electric two-steppers, including the title tune and "Straight to Hell." The standout "Drinkin' Alone" combines a shuffle rhythm with fiddle and steel to make a danceable tune out of a rather sad tale.

The craft and balance of Morrow's latest situates his music between the singer-songwriter sound of Bruce Robison and the graceful sophistication of Clint Black. It's a mix that would play well outside of Texas, if only Morrow could find the time to tour abroad.

3-1/2 stars, if Amazon.com allowed fractional ratings.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great American Singer/Songwriter, May 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Outside the Lines (Audio CD)

I became interested in Cory Morrow after hearing "Nashville Blues" on the radio in Austin, TX. I picked up that album "The Man That I've Been" and found it to be a collection of catchy, well-written songs that can only be classified as country, but have nothing to do with the schmaltz that comes out of Nashville these days. Since I was so fond of that album, I had high hopes for the follow up. And, after listening to "Outside the Lines" a few times, I am not disappointed. The original songs are a little more mature than those on previous albums. The cover songs, "Friend of the Devil" and "Straight to Hell" are really well done and appropriate to the type of music Cory does. I think the album is fantastic.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Album, March 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Outside the Lines (Audio CD)

This is an excellent album. I live in Maryland and have all of Cory's CD's. I wish I could hear him on the radio. This man deserves to be famous all around the country.