Finlay Morton: Harvest the Wind
Finlay Morton – Harvest The Wind – Stoneroom Recordings
Scotland’s Finlay Morton is definitely a man on a mission. That mission may be either a political activist with a guitar or an aging rocker trying to recapture his youth: which one isn’t quite clear. Harvest The Wind, his third release, gives us both sides of his story. Morton is a rootsy singer songwriter whose influences from JJ Cale, Dylan and hints of Roger Waters come through in his breathy delivery and Americana song structure. Along with the call to arms title track, Morton gives two other campy editorials on America in Chasing The American Dream, and Don’t Cry For Corporate America.It is easy to forgive the retread guitar riffs and dated production on these numbers because the lyrics deliver a poignant message.
The remainder of the CD finds Morton trying too hard to act the super star rock god, with lyrics like “I took a deep breath and we made love real hard,” from In At The Deep End, and the tear in my beer ballad Babe, You Can’t have My Guitar, which may have worked in the 80’s but are a bit laughable now. If Morton would stick to the straight up cynicism he’d be much more believable.
Originaly Appeared in Innocent Words April 2011
Finlay Morton:Harvest The Wind