The Fabled City

The Nightwatchman

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2008)
• Original Release Date: September 30, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Red Int / Red Ink
• ASIN: B001EKNYSA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,586 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2008 solo release from the guitarist best known for his work with Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave. While Morello is best known for his bracing mix of Hard Rock fury with Hip Hop accents, as the Nightwatchman he performs as a solo acoustic singer and songwriter, playing self-penned songs which reflect his Leftist political beliefs. 11 tracks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do You Feel Safe?, October 9, 2008

By	Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Far too derivative and depressing to rate higher than 4 stars, Tom Morello's Nightwatchman side-gig releases a second album of politically based folk rock. "The Fabled City" is a richer sounding album than One Man Revolution and maybe even more of a downer. Embittered immigrants (the title track) share space with frustrated soldiers ("The Lights Are On In Spidertown") and doomed workers ("Night Falls") in a series of minor key rumblings.

Each song on "The Fabled City" is delivered in Morello's somewhat tuneless growl or a barked out shout. He is channeling a lot of influences (Springsteen on the title cut, Johnny Cash on "King of Hell," Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger Union Songs on "Night Falls."), what is missing is any sense of optimism. Even a rabble rouser like Steve Earle knows to throw in one sing-along per CD, and "Saint Isabelle" comes closest here. It doesn't make the songs any less affecting, but it does make "The Fabled City" a tough disc to sit all the way through.

What you do need to wait for, however, is Morello's take on Post-Katrina New Orleans. "Midnight In The City Of Destruction" sounds deeply personal and direct, and hurls this epithet:

"I lost my guitar, my home and my good fortune.
I lost my Grandfather, two neighbors and a friend.
I pray that God himself will come and drown the President
if the levees break again."

"The Fabled City" is a big old lefty diatribe, and if you can live with that, you'll enjoy the darkly intense folk-protests Morello spits out. Just be prepared for the fact that this is one angry fellow folkie and Tom's making it clear that he is not going to go quietly.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good follow-up to the first Nightwatchman album!, October 3, 2008

By	M. Carlson "Red Fox" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Being a big fan of the first Nightwatchman album, I was pleasantly surprised by this release. Tom Morello adds more instruments and better guitar work, some interesting backing vocals, and further develops his signature brand of in-touch political folk-rock.

Let me say that I've always been a huge fan of Rage Against the Machine, specifically, because of the power of their political message. I was not a huge fan of Audioslave since it was somewhat lacking on this level. But recently, I've been really blown away by both of the new efforts put out by Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha. Tom Morello especially seems to be at a creative high-point in his career, and this album proves his ability to work with a variety of musical styles.

This album will certainly not appeal to everyone. However, I feel there is more a need than ever to have music that speaks to the conditions people are facing all over the world. High points on the album like "Whatever it takes", "The Lights Are On in Spidertown", "Saint Isabelle", "The Iron Wheel", and "Rise to Power" will hopefully provide fuel to the oppressed and those active in movement work.

Keep 'em coming, Tom! We need more musicians like you!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent follow up and improvement over One Man Revolution, October 6, 2008

By	ManOnTheEdge - See all my reviews

Being a fan of Tom Morello's previous work, I checked out his first Nightwatchman solo album, "One Man Revolution", knowing he compared it to old Springsteen and Dylan. With that in mind I initially wasn't a big fan of the album after I heard it, but it didn't take long for it to grow on me, and it's actually one of the albums I listen to the most the last year or so.

So, about a year later, he releases his second solo album, "The Fabled City". I had heard "Whatever It Takes" on his website, and actually got excited about this second album.

I'm not gonna go off and make dramatic claims like "he's matured" or "he can only play one style of music for so long" ... this is a very talented musician who wanted to try something new. On this new album I believe he's learned from his first effort ( which was good, but a bit inconsistant ). On "The Fabled City", there is more of a "band" sound to it. There are songs in the veign of his first album, but they sound more polished and energetic on this album.

Songs to check out if you haven't heard The Nightwatchman or if you just want a sample from this album...

"The Fabled City" -- "folky" sounding, but with more energy and just a better song than a typical track on the first album

"Whatever It Takes" -- one of the better songs on the album, you can hear it on his website

"The Lights Are On In Spidertown" -- very catchy song, with a very cool solo

"Lazerus On Down" -- just a really good song, features Serj Tankian, who sings background vocals ... his vocals are haunting

...these aren't my favorite songs, these are the songs I think will appeal to more people.

If you haven't heard this album, it's different, it's very good, I highly recommend giving it a listen ... at least checking out a couple of songs.