A good many people have gone through the sea of life without learning or attaining any tangible thing. Likewise, there are many lyricists dishing out popular tunes without a clue as to the import of whatever they’re penning down. Reviewing the younger P.J. Morton’s newly released CD titled Walk Alone certainly proves he isn’t one with such cluelessness.
P.J. is a Grammy award winning musician/songwriter. Growing up in a Christian family under the good influence of his father, a singer/minister himself, the tenor of his musical style is apparent. Added to this is the quality of producers and musicians he works with: Jermaine Dupri, Fred Hammond, Mary Mary, Warryn Campbell, and India Arie, etcetera.
With no particular genre in mind, P.J experimented with a cool mix of jazzy-blues, some reggae, R&B groovy rhythms, and even a rap track. All these with the beautiful coordination of the strings, wind, and percussions instruments helped stir alive the Soul in the music.
Walk Alone comes across as P.J’s attempt to tell his life story so far. It is an allegory of the inevitable lessons to be learned at different stages and the future learning curves that lie ahead. He opens in a mellow mood, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, with the album’s title track "Walk Alone." There he talks about how solitary it is as we walk through life’s rough terrain trying to find out our purpose and learning from our errors with the hope of making it through somehow. This clearly brings to mind the quest of Jason Bourne [The Bourne Identity]. From then on, he goes about sharing the bittersweet memories involved with relationships.
"Girlfriend" is about when a supposed old flame suddenly comes running back because of a change in the direction of life’s dice. Followed smoothly by, "The One" telling of the anxiety of choosing a new partner. When he finally falls head over heels in love [I believe this is a tribute to his wife], with a groovy-jive beat, he owns up with "I Need Your Love." Wishing to further stress his commitment to the relationship, the mood switches into reggae beats, featuring the ever melodious voice of Tweet (the singer) he performs "Love You More."
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