Album Notes

First CD:

"SAILIN'" - A dreamy, Latin-flavored getaway.

"SHIVER AND GONE" - Laid back, New Orleans style R&B about hearing a piece of music out of the blue that lifts you right up off the floor.

"VOICES IN THE STREET" - Same theme, but this was a gospel choir on a Times Square streetcorner.

"IF YOU'RE THE ONE" - Acoustic love song.

"WE WAKE UP WHEN THE WORLD SLEEPS" - New York City again. Musicians, actors, writers from all over the place working any job, looking for THE break. Romantic ballad with piano and soprano sax. For late-night workers everywhere!

"LIGHT UP THE ROAD" - Up-tempo, New Orleans-style R&B. They don't make 'em like they used to - accentuate the positive!

"BLUES ON A SLEEPLESS NIGHT" - Mid-tempo R&B with horns - kicking against the modern world again.

"ROMEO AND JULIET" - Acoustic love song.

"LOVERS' HOLIDAY" - Traditional R&B - NYC again.

"THE HOTTEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR" - NYC #4, but tough turf. Slow, moody rock tune with raw sax and girl singers.

"WAITING ON SPRING" - Upbeat country rock - slowly coming out of the long winter blues.

See - Roger Morris “FIRST ALBUM” - originally recorded in London in 1972. Digitally remastered, re-released on Hux Records in 2005 and reviewed by “UNCUT” and “MOJO” magazines (see below). Go to Hux's website at http://www.huxrecords.com/cdsales68.htm: "Rock's rich legacy is littered with buried treasures, none more so than this magnificent country rock nugget by Roger Morris, "First Album". Originally known only to a handful of collectors and experts this record later came to the attention of many fans after being championed by a small group of music critics. In fact, this is a classic album, a work steeped in roots-y bucolic splendour, real 'sons of the pioneers' stuff with more than a hint of The Band. ...First Album was a fine addition to the small but burgeoning British country rock scene that encompassed the likes of Matthews Southern Comfort, Quiver, Help Yourself and Brinsley Schwartz."

UNCUT - (Nov. 2005)
Rated: 4 Stars
“Lost English folk nugget debuts on CD. Greeted with deafening silence on its release in 1972, this obscure debut from an Essex-based songsmith now feels like something of a classic. Clearly in hock to The Band, Morris - like contemporaries Brinsley Schwarz - tapped into backwoods Americana via Civil War yarns and Cherokee laments that sound implausibly authentic. The playing shifts from barrelhouse piano and squeeling steel to loose country strut and parlour fiddles, Morris himself making like an English Levon Helm. Apparently, Leiber & Stoller went mad for this record. It’s easy to see why. - Rob Hughes”

MOJO - The Music Magazine (Dec. 2005)
Rated: 3 Stars
“Essex boy’s pioneering stab at Americana. With the resurgence of interest in The Band and all things upstate NY… this timely reissue - originally released on Regal Zonophone in 1972 - is a fan’s eye interpretation of the Big Pink ethos. Though not quite Danko or Helm in the vocal department, Englishman Morris does challenge you to spot the difference. Co-produced by Keith West and with matchless support from chopmeisters John Weider and Glen ‘Misunderstood’ Campbell, songs like Taken For Granted and Golightly’s Almanac neatly echo the Woodstock vibe, while The Trail Of Tears almost emulates the despair of The Band’s Tears of Rage. Morris later emigrated to the US, took a tip from Jesse Winchester and headed for Woodstock, where Band and Dylan manager Albert Grossman signed him to a songwriting contract. Not bad for a chap from Hornchurch. - Will Smith”