Outside the Lines

by Cory Morrow

Overview

While Cory Morrow's last outing was a pleasant but not particularly compelling all-covers record (Songs We Wish We'd Written) done with fellow Lone Star troubadour Pat Green, he focuses here on his own tunes and the results are far more impressive. Initially he comes off as a good old boy on the honky tonkin' title track, but Morrow's songwriting reveals some rather emotionally complex lyrics. Tunes like "In Spite of Spite" and "Drinkin' Alone" find him wrestling between the wild life and a more responsible one. He also displays a nice musical range, pulling off muscular country-rockers like "Misty Shade of Blue" as well as quieter, more introspective numbers like "All Over Again." Morrow and his co-producer, Lloyd Maines, enhance the heartfelt love song "Take Me Away" by weaving in a jazzy organ line and some interesting percussion work. Although Morrow comes into his own on this disc, that's not to say that hints of other Texas troubadours don't appear here. The terrific troubled youth tale "Straight to Hell" suggests the story-songs of Robert Earl Keen, a musician who Morrow perhaps most closely recalls. The Tex-Mex-flavored "Dance by the Rio Grande" would easily fit in on a Joe Ely record. You can even hear a little of Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly in the Celtic-flavored "More Than Perfect." But the influences never become too distracting. He even takes the overly familiar Grateful Dead tune "Friend of the Devil" and enlivens it with a frisky fiddle and mandolin arrangement. After kicking around the Texas music scene for a while, Morrow proves ready for bigger and better things with Outside the Lines. ~ Michael Berick

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2003
Label:	Smith Entertainment
UPC:	0662582700626

Tracks

1. Outside the Lines
2. (Love Me) Like You Used to Do It
3. In Spite of Spite
4. Friend of the Devil
5. Take Me Away
6. More Than Perfect
7. Straight to Hell
8. Drinkin' Alone
9. Dance by the Rio Grande
10. Misty Shade of Blue
11. All Over Again
12. Better Than Being in Love With You
13. Sunday Drivin'

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Cory Morrow   Primary Artist,Vocals
Rich Brotherton   Guest Artist,Mandolin
David Lee Garza   Guest Artist,Accordion
John Carroll   Guest Artist
Riley Osbourne   Piano,Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Jon Carroll   Guitar,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic)
Glenn Shankle   Dobro,Guitar (Steel)
Jessica Murray   Vocal Harmony
Glenn Fukunaga   Bass (Upright)
Brendon Anthony   Fiddle
Bob Livingston   Vocal Harmony,Harmonica
Paul Pearcy   Percussion
John Owens   Drums
Chris Tondre   Guitar

Technical Credits

Adam Odor   Engineer,Mixing,Mastering
Fred Remmert   Engineer,Mixing,Mastering
Cory Morrow   Composer,Producer
Glenn Shankle   Composer
Lloyd Maines   Musician,Producer,Instrumentation
Jerry Garcia   Composer
Kevn Kinney   Composer
John Dawson   Composer
Blake Olson   Management
Robert Hunter   Composer
Cary Baker   Publicity
John Caroll   Composer
Glen Rose   Photography