Published on Dec 1, 1999
R.B. Morris is kind of an enigma to me, even after I’ve listened
to his latest release
Zeke And The Wheel. Is he a folk musician or a pop
songsmith? Is this disc a concept album or a collection of tunes
that just seems to work well together?
I don’t pretend to have the answers to these questions, even
after careful consideraton of
Zeke And The Wheel. But what I do know is that this album is
quite enjoyable, and is a pleasant surprise to listen to.
One minute, Morris kind of reminds me of Tom Waits, only with a
more approachable vocal style, strumming on his guitar. The next
minute, the whole band kicks in and puts a more ominous spin on the
title track. If it weren’t so damned infectious, it might be
confusing.
For every moment that Morris gets introspective with his music,
as on “Maybe The Soul,” “A Winter’s Tale” and “I’ve Been Waiting,”
there’s a more raucous side to his music on “Distillery,” “Long Arm
Of The Law” and “Someone Was Listenin'”. But unlike some artists
who have tried to walk the fence between both styles and failed
miserably, Morris is able to capitalize on both styles and use them
to his advantage. The end result: an album that pleases
everyone.
Make no mistake, Morris doesn’t pretend to fit into any neat
musical niche that people like myself seem to want to cram him
into. I’d be hard-pressed to call his music country, even though
one could argue there are tinges of it that occasionally creep into
the songs.
What Morris instead appears to be is a musical carnival mirror.
It would be easy to assume a song like “You My Love” would be a
gentle love song, and you can’t help but find yourself drawn to it
like a moth to a flame. But Morris instead chooses to go a more
pop/rock-based route to exploit the power a song like this can
have. Thing is, he does it flawlessly. Likewise, Morris chooses to
speak – not sing – his vocal line on “Call Me Zeke” – and it sounds
so natural, that in the end you wonder why you ever had any doubts
about such a concept working.
Maybe what
Zeke And The Wheel is supposed to be is a disc that reminds
listeners that there is more to music than just dining on one
particular flavor. Maybe it’s that Morris sees his job in life as
the spice rack that challenges the listener to expand their musical
palates. And who knows – it’s a concept that just might make some
kid want to try a different form of music because Morris helped to
whet his or her appetite for it.
Zeke And The Wheel is a complex but engaging release that
makes us think “beyond the box” of what a typical CD release should
be. In a road where the musical forks go all different ways, Morris
dares to say, “Why not take all of them?” Why not, indeed.