Andrew Morris - Needs & Wants (Album)
» Andrew Morris hits Brisbane - June 24, 2009
» Andrew Morris plays the Gentleman's Game. - March 6, 2007
Shaggy rocker look? Check. Appealing title (Needs and Wants)? Check. Artistic presentation of lyrics on insert? Scribbled notes on scrap paper collaged with studio photos; never gets old. Check. Well, if all reviews were written based on the cover, they would be hypocritical and most likely incorrect.
In the case of Brisbane artist Andrew Morris’ fourth solo album it may come pretty close to correct. Needs and Wants ticks all the boxes for 'talented musician showcasing easy listening gentle rock'. Each song is written out as a letter to a lover or a perhaps a friend or partner and each one has a different recipient and writer. Andrew Morris has been around for a few years making a name for himself on the Aussie music scene with three other albums in his arsenal and it seems he continues to push himself and develop his art.
Nothing Lasts Forever has promise of a morbid love song, and delivers. Don’t play this song from a perky place, unless you are after a mood suppressant. Slow and deliberated lyrics crying out “When you are old and your spirit is withered and the time that you’d hoped would stay, has gone away, leaving you staring at windows and walls. Nothing lasts forever”. Do play this song for the moments you stop to ponder.
From Richard to Iris comes a tale of being left Bone Dry, a hauntingly real script attacking a traditionally taboo subject of adultery. Andrew Morris sings it in like Tim and Neil Finn have done before, though musically it is closer attuned to a Whitlams' melody; lyrically it resembles the same tone of Temptation and I’ll Never Know. Lover- Track four- is going to be the first single released from the album. And the question is; do you love a Lover? With a little kick of soul keyboard and slightly country flavoured vocals, I know I do. Well, love is a strong word, though Andrew’s passionate lyrics mirror this strength with lines "I’m here waiting for you, cause your love sticks like glue. A fox caught in the fire, that’s burning down to the wire" and perhaps somewhat ambiguously strong words in "I’ll be the hammer and you be the door"...not 100% sure about that line, but it is sung so well you hardly notice it.
