One Man Revolution
One Man Revolution is the 2007 debut album by The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello), including many songs with themes of bitterness and revenge that refer to a world in turmoil, and was released on April 24, 2007. It was followed by The Nightwatchman Tour all over the United States.
| One Man Revolution | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 24, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | Buds Garage and Southern Tracks Recording Atlanta, Georgia | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, acoustic rock, anti-folk, protest music | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
| The Nightwatchman chronology | ||||
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| Singles from One Man Revolution | ||||
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Background
The album’s roots go back to 2003, when Morello was quietly playing his house penned songs at California coffee bars. The Bush administration and Bruce Springsteen's early works are considered his primary inspirations for the politically charged album. Bob Dylan was also a chief inspiration for the words Morello crafted in his album. One of the cons for Morello was that he had been a guitarist his entire musical career, so now that he was singing, he had frequent fits of stage fright. By 2004, he was over his stage fright fears and was ready to preach his truth through the “Tell us the Truth Tour”. Not too long later, he was performing in the “Axis of Justice Tour” and the groundwork was set for the writing of his debut solo album.[1] By 2006, he was working with producer, Brendan O’Brien, and the production of his album had begun. Some of the songs he had already written, but a majority of it he had to compose and write during this production time. The album was a culmination of Morello's pent up anger and disdain towards the world and the wrongs he saw America participate in and facilitate. Anger was a vital theme of the album, but so was optimism that these wrongs could soon be corrected with patience and effort. April 2007, finally saw the unveiling of the “One Man Revolution” album.
Politically charged nature of the album
Unlike Morello’s previous ventures with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, his solo album was an acoustic project. The focus was no longer on his fire spitting guitar solos, but rather the words he was preaching throughout each song. This solo project saw Morello shift towards his more folk and singer/songwriter tendencies than his previous electric guitar-manship. His focus was on the soldier, teacher, and the factory worker that had been forgotten about and stepped over by the government and big corporations. His message is meant as a rallying call for the ordinary people that just live their lives and go to work to put food on the table. He doesn’t focus in on terrorism and government corruption, but rather he shifts his view to the bigger picture and how the everyday man and woman is affected by it. His leftist views that helped make Rage Against the Machine an award winning group back in the 90’s, is on full blast in this record. Calls for the oppressed people of the United States to come up and fight back against the “machine” is a common topic he touches upon. His political thoughts and opinions are showcased in this album, but the album is mostly about his opinion on humanity and how people interact with one another.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Tom Morello.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "California's Dark" | 3:59 |
| 2. | "One Man Revolution" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Let Freedom Ring" | 5:19 |
| 4. | "The Road I Must Travel" | 3:50 |
| 5. | "The Garden of Gethsemane" | 4:02 |
| 6. | "House Gone Up in Flames" | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Flesh Shapes the Day" | 3:43 |
| 8. | "Battle Hymns" | 4:35 |
| 9. | "Maximum Firepower" | 4:19 |
| 10. | "Union Song" | 3:15 |
| 11. | "No One Left" | 3:32 |
| 12. | "The Dark Clouds Above" | 2:22 |
| 13. | "Until the End" | 4:23 |
| 14. | "Alone Without You" (iTunes bonus track) | 3:06 |
| 15. | "Branding Iron" (iTunes bonus track) | 3:49 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| In Angel's Headphones |    [2] |
| Allmusic | [3] |
| NME | [4] |
Credits
- All songs performed by Tom Morello, with additional instruments by Brendan O'Brien
- Produced by Brendan O'Brien
- Recorded by Nick Didia at Buds Garage and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, GA
- Assisted by Tom Tapley, and at Henson Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA – assistant Tom Syrowski
References
- One Man Revolution by Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman, 2007-04-24, retrieved 2018-10-25
- In Angel's Headphones - "REVIEW: The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution". Retrieved Jan 9, 2012.
- Allmusic - "One Man Revolution". Retrieved Jan 9, 2012.
- The Nightwatchman - "One Man Revolution". Retrieved Jan 9, 2012.
