Kenn Morr - Move On (2008)

Deep/intimate lyrics with instantly hummable melodies are presented through Morr's trademark voice, harmony, piano, guitars, mandolin, bass, drums and percussion.

Kenn Morr- Move On- A Review by Rootstime, Belgium

An enclosed flyer asks the following question: What does Kenn Morr have in common with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Cliff, Carl Perkins & Willy Nelson? Care to take a guess? Well, here is the answer: their records were all produced at one time or another by the legendary sound engineer Bob Johnston. Surprised by this answer? You shouldn’t be, because Bob Johnston pulled together the best of Kenn Morr and put it all together on his 2004 album “New Moon Rising. The originality of the songwriter’s talent, the melodious, easy to pick up flow of the music, and his musical, maniacal insistence on perfection are more than evident in this work. That album was the big break-through for the Connecticut native Kenn Morr, who brought out a new album in 2006 under the title of “Coming Home,” and who has now sent us his most recent CD, “Move On.”

This time, he produced the album himself, and gave it a fuller sound by adding bigger instrumentals, including piano, mandolin, violin, lap steel, harmonica, and the subtle use of percussion. He attempted and achieved strong vocal support in three of the cuts: Rex Fowler sings with him in “Don’t Turn Around”, and the unique voice of Annie Golden is highlighted proudly in “Still Need Your Need” (an absolute high point of this record) and in “Girl With the Auburn Hair”. This little lady will live forever in our memory thanks to the song “Tell Me Your Plans” that she brought onto the hit lists in 1978 with The Shirts, even if that was 30 years ago. That performance resulted in her cameo appearance in “Hair,” both the musical and the movie.
But, we really want to talk about Kenn Morr and his new CD “Move On.” This work contains 12 good songs that he wrote himself, which each in its own right demonstrates his captivating vocal talent. After listening to most of these songs a few times, you can start to hum along with them. The songs have an intimate feel, and contain honest lyrics inspired by actual events. The title track “Move On” is a musical letter to a friend, advising him to forget the sad past, and to optimistically look ahead to the future. The same theme shows up again in the song “Don’t Turn Around.” The song “Blue Morn” is an autobiographical story about how Kenn Morr personally experienced the events of 9/11. On that day, he was near Ground Zero, and uses this song to describe his escape from New York and what his feelings were on that terrible day. Musically, the travels reflected in this CD take many paths. There are hints of reggae (“Get Back”), rock (“Let’s Take Tonight”), country (“River Song”), as well as Celtic influences. Kenn Morr shows us that he is an artist with many talents, and effortlessly holds his own across all those styles.
“Move On” is a very pretty and enjoyable album from a man whose voice reminds me of Elliott Murphy singing ballads. And Murphy certainly is one of the best, isn’t he? Kenn Morr’s final song on the CD is “Everything Will Be Fine.” We are convinced this is true for him.