THE NIGHTWATCHMAN'S NEW RELEASES

Last month, I wrote about The Nightwatchman's solo(ish) acoustic(ish) concert at City Winery in New York City.  I've been listening to his two latest releases (The Union Town EP and World Wide Rebel Songs), both before that show and since.  I think that Tom Morello is finally coming into his own as a solo artist.

Saying that Tom has "come into his own" does sound a bit weird.  He's one of the most innovative and influential electric guitarists of the past two decades, and Rage Against The Machine was one of the best bands to come out of the amazing '90s Lollapalooza era. He "came into his own" a long time ago. Audioslave may not have quite reached Rage's heights, but had lots of incredible songs over their three album run.  And Street Sweeper Social Club has a lot of potential, and already have a fistful of great jams.

But when he started performing and recording songs as The Nighwatchman, he did so to prevent people from coming to see a "Tom Morello" show. He's more in the lane of artists like Springsteen and Earle than of Rage's peers.

When Tom did his first Nightwatchman album, One Man Revolution, in 2007, lots of the songs were pretty dry.  It reminded me a bit of Springsteen's The Ghost Of Tom Joad, which I know was a big influence on Mr. Morello. Both guys were really influenced by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.  The first few performances I ever saw by any artist were by Pete, and the thing about him is that, as political as he is, he wants you to sing along, and maybe have a good time while thinking about the world. Tom had one great sing-along on his first album, "The Road I Must Travel," but the rest of album wasn't as engaging (although there were definitely some great songs).  I felt like the album would appeal mainly to Tom's existing loyal fans, but I don't think that was his intent.

I think World Wide Rebel Songs actually may help him find a different audience, and may not just have him preaching to the converted.  Don't get me wrong, I don't think a lot of Faux News loyalists will start listening to Tom and have their minds opened.  I'm saying that his two latest release makes him a more credible solo artist, regardless of his prior discography.

My favorite Nightwatchman song ever is probably "Save The Hammer For The Man," a duet and co-write with the great Ben Harper. I'd love to see these guys do more together.  "World Wide Rebel Songs" is a great sing-along.  He gets his Tom Waits on on "Facing Mount Kenya."  And, here is maybe the best compliment  I could give him: when I listen to "Stray Bullets," I can hear the late, great Joe Strummer singing it.

The bonus track on the album is the title track to the EP, released a few months earlier, "Union Town." It's another of his best songs, and the first time he's really combined his Nightwatchman persona with his electric guitar wizardry.  He's said that playing an electric version of "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" on stage with Bruce Springsteen made him realize that he could combine the two.  But he's not always about the electric guitar on this EP: his rollicking version of "Solidarity Forever" is a piano and acoustic guitar driven tune. He takes out the electric for an incredible version of "Which Side Are You On?" and his "This Land Is Your Land" is the most rocking I've ever heard (and of course, includes the "banned" lyrics).    It closes with a solo live version of "Union Song" from One Man Revolution recorded at the Wisconsin protests earlier this year. The original version is pretty great, but this is the definitive one for me.

I imagine the next thing Tom will do will be a new Street Sweeper album, which I'm also looking forward to.  But I also think that The Nightwatchman will get more and more powerful in the years to come.  Given the state of the nation, I don't think Tom's running out of ideas, or great music, any time soon.

THE NIGHTWATCHMAN AT CITY WINERY: A (GLORIOUSLY) IRONY-FREE ZONE

I'd seen the great Tom Morello in concert a number of times - with Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave and Street Sweeper Social Club.  But this was my first real Nightwatchman show (other than a brief appearance at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday concert).  At that show, Tom and Bruce Springsteen did an acoustic duet of "The Ghost Of Tom Joad," a song that Rage surprised people with when they covered it in the '90s.  These days, it makes a lot more sense. Tom's dedication to sticking up for the less fortunate, and his outrage at the evils of society is similar to Bruce's (he's even more "left" than Bruce, I think).  But performing as The Nightwatchman, Tom makes a compelling case as a guy with two different and legit musical personas.  One - the guitar shredder from Rage and Street Sweeper, and, two, The Nightwatchman either solo or backed by a band. The Nightwatchman is something he can always do, whether or not he is with a band. Or whether or not he has electricity.

There's a bit of a misperception about Tom doing The Nightwatchman.  Because his debut album, 2007's One Man Revolution was a bit sparse and dry, people probably think his shows will be slow and boring.  I think on some level, even Tom realized that he could be playing to bigger audiences by, well, having a bit more fun.  If you listen to "The Iron Wheel" (a duet with Shooter Jennings) from his second album, 2008's The Fabled City, it's a great sing-along tune. Some of Woody Guthrie's songs were fun, I think Tom caught on to that.  I think his earlier tours were like Bruce's first solo acoustic tour for The Ghost Of Tom Joad. I saw that show twice: it was good, but demanding, and it felt like fun was not allowed. You can pull that off if you're, like Leonard Cohen or something. But Woody, Pete Seeger, even Steve Earle, they have fun at their shows.  I think Tom realized this. This tour was more like Bruce's Devils and Dust tour: he realized that it's ok to do serious solo acoustic shows and still have a good time. Everyone walked out of the show with a smile on their face, but also charged up.

So last night's show was a solo acoustic deal, but he was joined by Carl Restivo from his backing band (Carl is also in Street Sweeper Social Club).  It was an incredibly powerful show.  Like Bruce, Tom lets the audience know when to be quiet, and those moments provided some of the most powerful moments of the night. One was "Battle Hymns," which he dedicated to Iraq Veterans Against the War (learn more about them here). He also did a version of Pink Floyd's "When The Tigers Broke Free" from The Wall (about how the main character's father died in the war), updating the lyrics for 2011.  

But those songs had greater weight, because, as Tom put it, he brought the "heavy metal thunder" on many other songs.  "Save The Hammer For The Man" from his new album, World Wide Rebel Songs, was incredible (the original is a duet with the great Ben Harper, Carl did his best to sing Ben's part, and he did so ably).  "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" was mindblowing - Tom switching to an electric in the middle of the song to melt faces.  Maybe the most rockin song was "This Land Is Your Land." Tom added the "censored" lyrics, which make it much more radical (see the lyrics and a historic performance of that song by Seeger and Springsteen here). He had the whole room jumping - explaining that everyone HAD to jump, as his show was "an irony free zone" even though it was in New York City.  You can see a bootleggy video of the performance here.  It's obvious he has taken notes from Springsteen, but he's clearly doing his own thing.  He finished up by inviting the audience on stage for "World Wide Rebel Songs," instructing one woman in the audience to film the show for YouTube, and demanding that the rest of us stop tweeting and filming and live in the moment.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the after-party (and this is a good place to mention that I got complimentary tickets, in the interest of full disclosure).  I met some nice folks from Tom's management team, and even introduced my wife - who took these excellent photos, and who is a public school teacher and a proud union woman - to Tom.  She got to thank him for his support.  It was a great moment.

One moment that I wish he had was "The Iron Wheel," one of The Nightwatchman's greatest songs.  Shooter Jennings was there, I couldn't believe they didn't perform together! Maybe next time.

On a final note, I'll mention that I got to chat with Mr. Morello the day before - I filmed him for SiriusXM's E Street Radio.  We discussed a recent quote of his from Rolling Stone magazine, where he said that he's the last man in America who thinks Bob Dylan sold out by going electric. So, I'm here to say that Tom has at least one stance that I totally disagree with.  "Hurricane" is way better with a band than it would be without, and ditto for "Lovesick." That's just off the top of my head. But anyway, thank you Tom for a great show, hope to see you again soon. (Tom will be on E Street Radio on September 5 and 6, for listings and rebroadcast times, go here).

THIS WEEK ON OUTQ: FUNK AND SOUL

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET (ish) I am a guest contributor to the SIRIUS XM OutQ channel show The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.  Every week I discuss music (surprise!) and this week I'll be talking about some new funky and soulful releases.

I have written about Brad before: the band features Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, along with the great singer Shawn Smith. Smith also sings for Satchel (who Stone has produced), and for the electro music project Pigeonhed (the Lo-Fidelity Allstars remix of their song "Battleflag" is probably Smith's biggest "hit"), and has done solo albums too (as well as some other projects). He is one of the best singers you haven't heard. The band's drummer is Regan Hagar (also of Satchel, he used to be in Malfunkshun with the late Andrew Wood, who went on to form Mother Love Bone with Stone). Jeremy Toback used to be the bass player (he's also done some cool solo albums) but now Mike Berg is the bassist (he's also in Satchel). Enough family tree stuff, Brad is a really soulful band. At first they both benefitted and suffered from the Pearl Jam association: they certainly got more press because of Stone, but they sound nothing like Pearl Jam, they have a much more funky and soul music-based sound. Smith is the star of the band. If you can find the first album, 1993's Shame, check it out. But Best Friends?, their forth album which just came out, is very good too, although it did take me a few listens.

Street Sweeper Social Club just put out their second release, The Ghetto Blaster EP. It rocks! It has a bunch of new songs, a remix of "Promenade" from their debut, a new version of Boots Riley's other group, The Coup's "Everythang," and covers of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out." Plus there's a few new songs. I think Boots is going to do a Coup album next, and I guess Tom Morello will do another Nightwatchman project (and maybe some Rage Against The Machine shows), before the next Street Sweeper full length.

Michael Franti has had such an interesting career. In the late '80s, he was in this angry industrial/hip-hop group The Beatnigs. After that, he had a very Public Enemy influenced hip-hop group called The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopricy (I saw them open for U2 at Shea Stadium, pretty bizarre). In 1994, he started Spearhead, which combined hip-hop with live music, soul, R&B and reggae, and he's been doing it for years without too much commercial success - but the band gets lots of respect in the jam band community. All of the sudden, last year, they had a hit with the very poppy "Say Hey (I Love You)," which is a classic hit single. A wonderful song. Franti's new Spearhead album, The Sound Of Sunshine, comes out September 21, and it sounds like it has a simlilar vibe to "Say Hey."

A couple of other things I'll be bringing: new songs by Cee-Lo Green (his viral hit "F*** You," and another new song "Georgia"), some Robert Randolph & The Family Band (featuring Ben Harper) and a preview of the John Legend/Roots album.

STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB - HOW IS IT?

The other day, I was working out to the Street Sweeper Social Club album, and realized that I hadn't really written about it much yet. For those who don't know, it is a new band featuring guitarist Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave) aka The Nightwatchman, and a great MC, Boots Riley of The Coup.

I know that Boots has tweeted that they are not the "new Rage Against The Machine, we're the new Sly & The Family Stone. With a plan." I don't know that they're quite Sly & The Family Stone, but they are more funky than Rage, and a bit more fun. They're just as "politcal," but Rage's Zach de la Rocha just never lightens up, and Boots clearly enjoys the fact that he is a great frontman. He knows you can dance to revolutionary music, and idea that Zach probably isn't super into. I think half the album is great, the other half is good, and I am definitely looking forward to their next album. I don't know if Tom is going to do another Nightwatchman album and if Boots will work with The Coup before doing another Street Sweeper record.

TOM MORELLO: EXOTIC DANCER?

Tom Morello has done a lot in his career: he is a member of Street Sweeper Social Club, a sometimes member of Rage Against The Machine, and a former member of Audioslave and Lock Up. He records solo albums as The Nightwatchman, and has collaborated with Primus, Maynard James Keenan, Layne Staley, The Crystal Method, Johnny Cash, The Prodigy, Anti-Flag and Macy Gray, and he's jammed with Chuck D and Bruce Springsteen. As an actor, he's appeared in Star Trek: Voyager and Iron Man. He's an activist, a Harvard graduate and he used to work for California Senator Alan Cranston. But did you know he had a stint as an exotic dancer? It's true: he talks about it in an article he wrote for the NME, "What Rock and Roll Taught Me." After graduating Harvard, he moved to L.A. to pursue rock stardom, and was a dancer to make ends meet. He says that he worked at a few bachelorette parties, and is grateful that YouTube wasn't around back then! Read the whole thing here.

THE HARD RHYMERS DOMINATE VH1 HONORS

Public Enemy Public Enemy Video The Roots Hip Hop

I didn't catch VH1's Hip-Hop Honors (honoring Def Jam Records) because of work, but I caught the best part at VH1.com - Public Enemy performing "Rebel Without A Pause" backed by The Roots and Street Sweeper Social Club. It may have been a bit too many people on stage at once, but still powerful as ALL HELL. I know people were bummed that Jay-Z wasn't there, but I don't think he could compare. Another cool performance was Eminem and The Roots with DJ Jazzy Jeff performing LL Cool J's "Rock The Bells" (LL wasn't there - I don't think he's digging Def Jam these days).

Rollling Stone had a neat feature about eight great Def Jam records that people slept on, including 3rd Bass dude MC Serch's solo album (which featured the second appearance of "Nasty Nas," now just known as Nas), which I remember liking. I would also add Method Man & Redman's first duo album, Blackout. It did yield one huge hit, "Da Rockwilder," which they performed at the show, but the rest of the album didn't get any love, and it should have. Also, I've said it before and I'll say it again, EPMD don't get their due respect dammit!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: RANCID, STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB, DEAD WEATHER AND MORE

I had a great vacation, and now I'm glad to be back. I'll be on OutQ tomorrow talking about Rancid's Let The Dominoes Fall, my second favorite rock album of the year (after The Cocktail Slippers' Saint Valentine Day's Massacre), Street Sweeper Social Club's debut and The Dead Weather's debut, Horehound. If time permits, I'll also talk about Tinted Windows - a new band featuring former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Adam Schleshinger of Fountains Of Wayne, Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick and Taylor Hanson of Hanson. Also, Cheap Trick's new album The Latest - available now on mp3, CD and 8-track! Also, two new b-sides from Green Day's new album and a band that is new to me, The Dolly Rocker Movement.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ

No real theme this week, just a bunch of albums that I thought might be of interest. Regina Spektor's Far (if Larry doesn't like Tori Amos, I'm not sure how he'll feel about Regina, but I'm a bigger Tori fan anyway). Todd Snider's The Excitement Plan, which features a cougariffic duet with Loretta Lynn, and a song about Doc Ellis' legendary no-hitter on acid. Wilco 's Wilco (The Album), which, inevitably, includes "Wilco (The Song.)" They may be too clever for their own good, but it's a pretty good song. They are one of the bands that the indie folk adore that I also like. Mos Def's The Ecstatic, which may be his best album since Black On Both Sides (although I feel like most of his albums don't live up to his potential). Street Sweeper Social Club's debut album, which I like a lot. And Pete Yorn's latest, Back & Fourth, which was produced by indie-darling Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes. I like the songs that I've heard so far, although I don't think he's ever lived up to the promise of Music For The Morning After.

STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB: THE NEW RAGE?

Someone asked Boots Riley if Street Sweeper Social Club is "the new Rage Against The Machine." Here's what he said, via Twitter: "No-StreetSweeperSocialClub isn't the new RATM.We're the new Sly&TheFamilyStone.With a plan." Let's hope.

STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB IN CONCERT

For those who don't know, Street Sweeper Social Club is a new band that features Tom Morello, aka The Nightwatchman (member of Rage Against The Machine and formerly of Audioslave) and Boots Riley of hip-hop group The Coup. Their self-titled debut came out today, and I got to go to their record release party at NYC's Grammercy Theater.

It was actually my third time seeing them: I saw them do a brief set at the Road Recovery benefit, and then again with Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails two weeks ago.

It's weird seeing a band before you know their music - and in Tom and Boots' case, there's definitely expectations for this band. Especially for Morello: doing a political band with a MC instead of a singer makes comparisons with Rage irresistible.

SSSC is a lot more loose and more fun than Rage, and Boots Riley has a much better time onstage than RATM's Zach de la Rocha, who never lightens up. I daresay Zach could learn a thing or two from Boots, who has fun with being a frontman. There were a lot of great songs, although I don't know if their debut is a classic. It was a really tight show, I give it a B, I'm definitely going to pick up their album, and I'd definitely be into seeing them again.

NINJA '09 TOUR HITS PNC

Last night
I went to one of the best shows I've ever seen: NINJA '09: Nine Inch Nails, Jane's Addiction and Street Sweeper Social Club. 

SSSC was great - some people will obviously compare them to Rage Against The Machine because it is a Tom Morello-led band with a hip-hop MC. But Boots Reilly is different than Zach de la Rocha (and Chris Cornell) in that he enjoys being onstage. He's as politically informed as Zach, but he's more fun. I don't know if this band will be a great as Rage, but I'm looking forward to finding out when their debut album comes out in a week and a half. 

NIN were mind-blowing. Even when Trent Reznor was having substance issues (he recently tweeted that he's now eight years sober, congratulations), you never doubted him onstage. Sober, he's unstoppable. NIN had four guys - they used to always have five, but the keyboardist left, and I guess Trent didn't want to get a new guy in the band right as he's about to hang it up. So he and the other guys in the band played the keyboards, and it didn't seem lacking at all. Trent seemed to have an extra intensity -- he doesn't seem sure that he'll ever tour as Nine Inch Nails again. I can understand that: he's in his 40s, he's getting married, and screaming "Terrible Lie" may not feel honest to him anymore. I think he can move on the way Bowie moved on from his early glam persona. Anyway, Trent also resisted the urge to make the show a greatest hits goodbye, and the the show was more powerful for it. He drew from his more recent albums like The Slip and Year Zero, as well as the earlier stuff -- it was basically a thank you to fans (in my mind). It wasn't about the songs that radio/MTV choose to play, it was about the hardcore fans who have been with them for the entire ride. A greatest radio hits show would not have been appropriate. It was definitely appreciated. 

Jane's was also incredible. I've seen them twice before: once with Flea on bass, and the other time with Chris Chaney. Both shows were great, but seeing them with original bassist Eric Avery was a totally different deal.  There's just something about the chemistry of the original four guys, it was unbelievably powerful. It's interesting that the last time Jane's and NIN toured together it was the original Lollapalooza in 1991 - 18 years ago.  Back then, it was JA's swan song and it kind of launched NIN's career. This tour, hopefully is the opposite: as Trent shuts down NIN for the time being, maybe this tour will relaunch Jane's.  It's hard to imagine that they'll be able to make records anywhere near as good as their first three. But even if they didn't - and this ends up being a the final chapter in the Jane's story, it was a good way to end, with the four originals rocking together again.