Sam Morrow On The Ride Here (CD)

(Blue Elan Records) 11 tracks, digipack

Five albums into an acclaimed career, Sam Morrow has created a sound that exists somewhere outside of genre and geography. It's his own version of modern American roots music: a blend of roadhouse rock'n'roll, bluesy R&B and country-tinged funky-tonk, driven by groove, grease and guitars.

On The Ride Here" marks the latest stage of this journey. Morrow takes us along for the ride, singing in a laid-back Texas drawl about highway spots ("Thunderbird Motel"), peyote trips in the Mojave Desert ("Searching For Paradise") and the glamor and drudgery of the open road ("Hired Gun"). Morrow's focus these days is not just on the journey, but on the destination, and a number of these songs are about the hard lessons and new perspectives that come from rest, reflection and time spent at home.