Guitar hero Tom Morello says he’s been inspired by his recent touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and now “want(s) to make the craziest guitar record that anyone’s ever heard” for his new solo album.
Though the six string samurai is well-known for his innovative riffage and fiery fretwork in Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, the 49-year-old’s solo ventures have thus far steered away from his more popular bands.
Aside from the short-lived Street Sweeper Social Club sideproject (with Boots Riley of The Coup), Morello has released four politically-themed acoustic albums as The Nightwatchman, but in a recent interview with Billboard, Morello reveals he’s in “the midst of making my first solo big rock record,”
A shift directly inspired by his tenure with The Boss on his Wrecking Ball world tour, including his $25 million-dollar grossing Australian leg last Easter, where Morello first filled in for absent E Street Band stalwart Steven Van Zandt. “Until then I’d kept my folk singing career and my electric guitar shredding career completely separate,” he tells Billboard.
“The first time I ever sang with an electric guitar in my hands was ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ (with Springsteen) at the Anaheim Pond in 2008,” he continues. “I realized there might be a way to combine all the things I do as a songwriter and a guitar player, and this record is going to be that.”
“I want to make the craziest guitar record that anyone’s ever heard,” says Morello. “The idea is that this is the Hendrix of now.” “I want to make the craziest guitar record that anyone’s ever heard…”
The six string virtuoso says there’s already “a big batch of songs written” to accommodate the new full-blown rock album, which he plans to record after finishing tour commitments with the Boss in March – including the Australian tour next month.
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Morello, who will be returning Down Under alongside Steven Van Zandt, Springsteen, and the rest of the E Street Band this February, will no doubt once again provide the (one of many) set highlights in lending his signature solo style to a new electrified version of ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’, a song that had Frontier Touring promoter Michael Gudinski remarking was “one of the greatest guitar solos I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“I’m a big Bruce Springsteen fan, and playing ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ onstage in 2008 [for the first time] was a real highlight for me, and the fact that that musical and personal relationship has developed over the years, I’m really honored,” says Morello.
The re-worked tune also appears on Springsteen’s 18th studio album, High Hopes, along with seven other of the collection of covers, orginals, and reworked tracks that feature Tom Morello.
The Rage Against The Machine member says he recorded most of his parts without knowing what Springsteen intended them for, with a session at Sydney’s 301 studio during the 2012 Springsteen tour producing the album’s title track, a cover of 90s LA band Havalinas, and a tribute to seminal Aussie punks The Saints and their song ‘Just Like Fire Would’.
“I’ve always looked at it as we are allies and comrades in arms,” says Morello of his current position in the Boss’s musical troupe. “The E Street Band has a long, storied history. I’m a big fan of the E Street Band, and when asked to play I consider it a great honor,” he continues.
“As I’ve told Bruce, my principle concern is to do no harm. It’s been one of the best live bands on the planet without me, so don’t fuck it up is job one – and then, when called upon, to play my heart out.”
Bruce Springsteen Australian Tour 2014
Pre-sale tickets available via www.frontiertouring.com/brucespringsteen
Monday 23 September to Tuesday 24 September
Perth – 2pm local | Adelaide – 2.30pm local | Hunter Valley – 12 noon local (or ends earlier if pre-sale allocation is exhausted)
General public on sale from Thursday 26 September (staggered times, refer below)
Wed 5 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – NEW SHOW!Fri 7 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – SOLD OUTSat 8 Feb – Perth | Perth Arena (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Tue 11 Feb – Adelaide | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Wed 12 Feb – Adelaide | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – NEW SHOW!
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 15 Feb – Melbourne | AAMI Park (All Ages) – SELLING FAST
Sun 16 Feb – Melbourne | AAMI Park (All Ages) – SELLING FAST
with special guests Hunters & Collectors and Dan Sultan
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Wed 19 Feb – Sydney | Allphones Arena(All Ages) – SELLING FAST
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 22 Feb – Hunter Valley | Hope Estate (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Sun 23 Feb – Hunter Valley | Hope Estate (All Ages) – NEW SHOW!`
with special guests The Rubens and Dan Sultan
Ticketmaster.com.au | Ph: 136 100
Wed 26 Feb – Brisbane | Entertainment Centre (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Ticketek.com.au | Ph: 132 849
Sat 1 Mar – Auckland | Mt Smart Stadium (All Ages) – SOLD OUT
Sun 2 Mar – Auckland | Mt Smart Stadium (All Ages)
with special guest Jimmy Barnes
Ticketmaster.co.nz | Ph: 0800 111 999
Frontier Members pre-sale via www.frontiertouring.com/brucespringsteen
2pm NZST Thursday 5 September – 2pm NZST Friday 6 September
(or until pre-sale allocation is exhausted). Visit the website for more details
General public on sale from 9am NZST Monday 9th September
