MUSIC REVIEW

The Nightwatchman
One Man Revolution

One Man Revolution - Sony Music Group Where are all the protest songs? The songwriter's pen is mightier than the sword and all that. I have been amazed at the wealth of protest songs that are

not filling our airwaves. Are bloggers now filling the shoes once worn by our troubadours? Not if Tom Morello aka The Nightwatchman has anything to say about it. Morello is the Grammy Award-winning guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, and he has rested his electric guitar against his Marshall amp and picked up an acoustic guitar to deliver his message the way Guthrie (Woody, that is) and Dylan did. Morello is a better guitar player than both Bob and Woody, and his voice is filled with authority like Johnny Cash. Unfortunately, the songs leave me cold. Woody Guthrie's songs of protest had humor and a bit of feigned innocence, and Dylan's protest poetry was a bit like Nostradamus in that they were, for the most part, so vague that they could

apply to any event or injustice. On One

Man Revolution Morello's Nightwatchman sounds a little like he is reading bits of his choosing from the newspaper. Though the choir might find it appealing, he won't

win many converts in the pews with One

Man Revolution. So far the loudest voice of protest of our times is still from that little pixie in the Dixie Chicks. Bob Jones is the founder of Silver Platter CDs EST1998 in Fort Myers. For more

info or to suggest music, email recordreviews@comcast.net