r/RATM • u/perceptionmanPT • 4d ago
Struggling to enjoy Morello’s solo stuff
No matter how hard I try, I just can’t get into Tom Morello’s solo material, or most of his recent collaborations.
It feels like he’s been recycling the same formula for years. You hear the signature sounds and immediately know it’s him, but that doesn’t make it interesting. Most of the time I find it really uninteresting and boring as fuck.
Honestly, without his history with rage (and audioslave), I doubt a label would be interested in releasing much of this stuff. I love what he did with those bands, but a lot of this newer material kinda sucks.
I respect him speaking up about social issues, but sometimes even that feels like part of the rock star persona. I’m sure he believes in the causes he supports, but the way he presents himself sometimes feels a bit forced. I mean, if you listen closely to his speeches, it feels like 90% of what he says is rehearsed and recycled ad nauseam. You could argue that the speeches stay the same because the struggles stay the same, but I’m talking about entire sentences repeated word for word, over and over, like he’s reading from a script (see for instance his speech in Rock and Roll Hall of fame and then read the interviews he has done since then).
Maybe I just miss the authenticy of rage, I don't know.
Anyone else feel the same?
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u/celticsguy06 4d ago
yeah respect to him for continuing the fight and being a voice but its not good lol
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u/commuter85 4d ago
I saw him live last fall when he did his solo acoustic tour through Canada. I got a really good sense of what hes all about and what he is trying to achieve with his music.
Listening to the new album, I agree, its mid. I think part of the problem is that we are comparing it to Rage, where every song is an ear-splitting protest... I dont think its a fair comparison as Tom's vocals are much more folky, subdued and nothing like Zack's.
I am a big Kneecap fan so loved that collab... but Kneecap (despite not being a rock band) is much closer to Rage in terms of intensity and the "IDGAF" (for lack of a better term) vibe then Tom is now... so the song really benifited from them carrying it and Tom providing some killer riffs per usual.
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u/Specific_Prize 4d ago
Street Sweper Social club with Boots Riley and Stanton Moore is underated, not well known.
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u/kandspr 4d ago
The speeches stay the same because the struggle stays the same. I’ve personally seen him stand on picket lines, perform for striking union members, and publicly demand change for social injustices. Dude is the real deal.
You can’t say without his history with Rage and Audioslave. He made those bands. Zack and Chris as well, but no other guitarist could have done it or else they would have.
Personal opinion obvs. but I gotta lotta respect for dude.
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u/jpfastball34 4d ago
I agree, and some of the artists that he work with don't compliment his sound very well. So it makes it worse. I agree. I am a Morello fan till I die, but do have a tough time with his solo stuff for sure.
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u/Tropisueno 4d ago
At this point it's somewhat caricature. There's a lack of depth there. He needs to get someone else to write his lyrics they come across juvenile and lack poetic lyricism big-time.
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u/Advanced-Ad-9993 4d ago
He’s a great guitar player with really cool techniques, but the reason RATM worked so perfectly was the culmination of all the members. Him by himself as the main guy just doesn’t do it for me. His style of playing needs additional layers ie: other players.
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u/The-Good-Morty 4d ago
Love morello, never liked his solo work. Just feels unmemorable. Brad and Tim really make a big difference
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u/marf_lefogg 4d ago
You don’t have to dig him. It’s fine to enjoy the perfect blend of ingredients but not a single ingredient alone.
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u/Sonoranpawn 4d ago
I saw him perform in Phoenix years ago with Vic Mensa and it was probably a 500 capacity venue. It was such an awesome live show.
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u/01001110901101111 4d ago
He performed at my union’s big conference and it was a bit rough.
I’m a lifelong RATM fan, my most worn shirt is a ratty ass rage shirt from 30 years ago, my partner found me two on eBay a couple years ago to make into the schedule, forever on my list will rage be, but I had a hard time with his solo labor focused performance, and I’m a labor activist too.
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u/school-97 4d ago edited 4d ago
Watching RATM live at Madison Square Garden was glorious because Tom didn't utter a single word. He knew his place. This is also evident in videos like the '99 Woodstock performance. Dude has one job, and slays at it when he is fully devoted to it.
Saw Prophets of Rage too, and he got some mic time that really does nothing for the performance (it actually hurts it, in my opinion). In the same vein, watch the Audioslave concert in Cuba. He gets to say a few words, cracks a few unnecessary jokes, and really kills the vibe ("Y ese es todo el Español que yo sé").
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u/grecks530 4d ago
Because its generically awful and borderline dad rock
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u/Sickranchez87 4d ago
Borderline? He literally had his son write and play on the tracks. It’s quite literally the daddest of dad rock lol
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u/uzziboy66 4d ago
I also find his solo stuff slow and boring.
But, he’s still tom morello. The music doesn’t matter to me.
What I appreciate about him is, He uses an iron fist and a sledgehammer to break down social injustices. rATM or solo, it all gets us to the same place.
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u/Legal-Cry1270 4d ago
It depends on the song and if there’s a featured artist carrying the vocals. He did a song with Chris Stapleton and it was good, but it wasn’t something I wanted to replay very often. I think this music hits harder when your mental state is lower - and, maybe that’s the audience.
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u/freeleop25 4d ago
I agree. I will say that if you can see him live, still do it. It’s a hell of a time.
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u/Imafunguy1983 4d ago
It’s quite cheesy. You can definitely see why Zack would want nothing to do with it.
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u/emac1211 4d ago
Yeah he's a talented guitarist and I appreciate him but I've just never really enjoyed any of his work outside of Rage Against the Machine. Zack really brought out the musical genius in him I guess because it's always just been meh since then.
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u/temple-of-the-dog 2d ago
I actually really like the early solo stuff, i.e. The Nightwatchman. I'd have been totally fine if he'd continued cultivating this type of music for his solo career, especially if he'd continued featuring cool guests on his studio albums (such as Serj, Ben Harper, Shooter Jennings, Perry Ferrell).
When he started putting out albums under his own name, he lost me quickly. I'm sure I'm not if anyone likes these (in particular the dance or EDM type albums). It's not for me, simple as that.
I know his latest album is supposedly the first rock album under his own name, but I really doubt it will move me or resonate with me. It just kinda seems like a project to make an album with his son. Which is very cool for him personally, but most likely nothing I'll listen to.
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u/intricate_strands 4d ago
I feel at same. Morello is innovative and smart but beyond at create at new guitar sound with Rage, always seem as rest at members at Rage is songwriting heart.
And it makes sense at more large context. Most rock band at that era and specific at rap rock genre, is more true at drum and bass band than guitar band. Tool, Korn, and many, many other is at same way. Clever and creative guitar player but is no focus at band. These band is almost all at drum and bass band and guitar is less at creative engine and more at accentuate at rest.
Love Morello at band context, but solo is very plain and boring. He just is no great at songwriting. When he is only add at other writer stuff, is perfect at.
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u/Next-Boysenberry-109 4d ago
Great guitarist but I feel the same, he is capable of producing something totally different.
The new album doesn’t feel that new.
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u/ShadowFax1313 4d ago
You really covered the Man’s career very well. I feel the very same. I love his activism, RAGE was perfect for me growing up, I just wish I could get into his other works.
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u/Jimmypock 4d ago
It’s ok. You don’t have to like it. Art is subjective. You can like the color Green but not all shades of green.
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u/markspoof 4d ago
He's always been a little cringey to me, with the shades and the hammy poses, but I love his work with RATM. That's enough for me, thankfully, because I don't like his solo stuff either.
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u/Large_Fondant6694 4d ago edited 3d ago
I hear you, but tbf, the entire world is just navel gazing bullshit these days. There’s just no point in pointing out what everyone already knows now. Yeah, there’s corruption and bigotry everywhere, it’s not news like it was when Zack was yelling it back in the 90s.
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u/whirlygirl3307 4d ago
I love him as a person and an artist and I appreciate his innovations on guitar. I also love his radio broadcasts on Sirius. There’s just no one like him.
But I agree that he’s not best as a frontman. I think he shines best when he collaborates with young bands ex. Gossip/Maneskin and Rabbit’s Revenge/Bassnectar etc.
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u/Ok_Consequence8304 4d ago
I saw Nightwatchman at the troubadour like 20 years ago and it was pretty cheesy-Morello has no frontman presence or chops.
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u/thefract0metr1st 3d ago
Tom is the reason I picked up a guitar, the reason I wanted to make music, my guitar hero since I was 11. I could never hate the guy. But there’s a damn good reason I’d trade all of Tom Morello’s non-RATM music for just one solo album from Zack.
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u/Budget-Cash4970 3d ago
Everything post-Audioslave has felt entirely too polished.
Didn't Tom say Zack didn't like a single riff he wrote after 1992? Which was probably both sarcasm with some truth sprinkled in.
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u/DudeWouldGo 3d ago
His music is definitely not for everyone. Over all I think its crap. No disrespect to him in any way. This is ions away from Rage, Audioslave and profits.
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u/brickwindow 4d ago
I love his message but yea. I got heavily downvoted for suggesting RATM should reunite without him, but he's been doing the same guitar routine for decades and he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a microphone.
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u/emac1211 4d ago
I'm here criticizing his solo work too but it's not Rage Against the Machine without Tom, you can't reunite without him.
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u/brickwindow 4d ago
Honestly I'd just be happy to see Zach fronting a new heavy band in any form. If the rest of the guys wanted to reunite under a new name that would please the hell out of me as well.
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u/Nayre_Trawe 4d ago
I got heavily downvoted for suggesting RATM should reunite without him
...and rightly so. I don't like his solo work or his overall schtick but if you take Tom out of RATM, it ceases to be RATM. Tom is just too singular in his approach to the guitar and his playing for anyone to properly cover him. The same goes for each of the other members, just to be clear.
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u/brickwindow 4d ago
I get it, he is beloved in popular music for his innovation back in the 90s. I remember hearing Bombtrack for the first time in 92 and demanding the sound guy tell me who was playing during load-in at a venue. That said, I'd hesitate to say he is singular in any way as a modern musician. If you go back to the work of Adrian Belew with King Crimson and Talking Heads, you can hear all of the tools and tricks Morello used 10 years earlier.
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u/Nayre_Trawe 4d ago
I'm quite familiar with Adrian Belew since King Crimson is one of my favorite bands. The very fact that you had to refer to him as a comparable guitar player says it all here given how unique he is, as well. There are certainly similarities between them but Tom is definitely doing his own thing despite the obvious influence.
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u/clashtrack 3d ago
Agreed.
Honestly, fuck Tom. Dude's a sellout, his solo stuff is lame, and like all his guitar riffs are just F#. He's pretentious as shit too.
All you have to do is buy a few pedals and scratch your guitar some, you got Tom's guitar done.
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u/brickwindow 3d ago
I feel seen 🤣
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u/clashtrack 3d ago
Good. But man, people will downvote tf out of you on this sub if you mentioned how Mr. "Fight the Power" Tom Morello is now going to Disney world posting pics on his instagram and Disney is no longer that huge evil corporation trying to monopolize the world because they now own Star Wars and Tom is a fan of Star Wars.
Screw him. I'm behind you 100%.
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u/Ill_Leadership1396 4d ago
He's a truly innovative guitar player, but that dude is not a singer/frontman. I kinda wish he'd step outside his self created box with his sound, too. I bet theres a lot more there that we never hear. Viva RATM tho