Matt Morris Live Versus The Recording
Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to sit in with some UMPG colleagues to listen in a new singer/songwriter by the name of Matt Morris. After playing about five songs, I must say I was blown away. His great storytelling, lyrical depth, vocal control, rhyme, and heavy use of Christian references and imagery all bring to mind what songs should be–relevant over entertainment; character over celebrity.
The first to be signed out of Justin Timberlake’s imprint, Matt is the son of country music star Gary Morris and was part of the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club where he’d met Justin. Per Justin:
“He’s kind of like Ray LaMontagne meets Elton John meets Stevie Wonder meets Rufus Wainwright.”
That pretty much sums up his acoustic set as I sat there watching him lay dominion over vocal chords and complex song structures strummed over his guitar. In a word, he was simply flawless. And never mind that he’s gay, sounds anti-pop and has worked with many top pop acts like Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, and Reba McEntire.
When I’d sat down to listen to his EP given to me after his performance, I have to say I was dissatisfied. It may be that the recording engineering profession had just laid over to the “standard” of how the pop sound ought to be dubbed. But coming from the backing of someone like Justin, one would think they would have found someone that more suitable for the recording. Or perhaps it just comes down to the individual engineer?
Either way the guy is extremely soulful and his recordings just don’t capture that. Hopefully by the time he releases his album he’ll have his sound straightened out.
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