New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Rob Morsberger Official Website) - Early coverage compares songwriter/composer Rob Morsberger to a 'Tom Petty/Bob Dylan hybrid,' and says his songs have 'musical depth that is rare in pop music.' On his upcoming May 11th release, 'The Chronicle of a Literal Man,' Morsberger takes surreal inspirations and builds a literate rock feast for listeners. Recently praised for his 'highly intellectual and occasionally twisted stories,' Morsberger's esoteric writing is fueled by such diverse source material as Dalton Trumbo's hearings (and subsequent blacklisting) as a writer during the McCarthy era, actor Steve McQueen, Russian Socialist expatriates, murdered civil rights workers, donkeys, Latin novelists and even Burt Bacharach.
Rob Morsberger is 'A Tom Petty/Bob Dylan Hybrid'
'Highly Intellectual and Occasionally Twisted Stories'
'Musical Depth that is Rare in Pop Music'
Soon to Appear Live on The CW Network and on FOX-TV; WFUV Radio Set as Well
Morsberger's Esoteric Rock CD 'The Chronicle of a Literal Man' Out May 11th; U.S. Tour Takes Shape, Including Opening Dates for Crash Test Dummies
A U.S. Tour is in the works, and dates will include headlining performances as well as a series of opening spots for Crash Test Dummies. Morsberger will also perform live on the nationally syndicated The CW Network on May 21st, and on FOX-TV in Birmingham on May 4th.
April 18th Towne Crier Pawling, NY
May 4th Fox6 TV News at Noon Birmingham, AL
May 4th The Bottletree Birmingham, AL
May 5th Ragamuffin Music Hall Atlanta, GA
May 6th The Family Wash Nashville, TN
May 7th Patrick Sullivan's Knoxville, TN
May 8th The White Horse Black Mountain, NC
May 11th World Cafe' Live - Crash Test Dummies Philadelphia, PA
May 14th Iron Horse - Crash Test Dummies Northampton. MA
May 15th City Winery - CTD New York City
May 16th Jammin Java - CTD Vienna, VA
May 21st Majestic - CTD Madison, WI
May 21st The CW NETWORK TV/WGN Chicago, IL (airs nationwide)
May 22nd Marytr's - CTD Chicago, IL
May 23rd WFUV RADIO - John Platt's Sunday Breakfast - New York, NY
May 24th Club Passim Cambridge, MA
Jun 8th On Your Radar, The Living Room, hosted by John Platt New York City
More tour dates will be announced soon.
Though Morsberger has rightfully drawn comparisons to Tom Waits, Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson and Warren Zevon (mixed with a touch of Randy Newman's absurdist wit,) he stands on his own with the deeply satisfying 'The Chronicle of a Literal Man,' and has delivered an album of richly drawn, cinematic tales. In addition to the title track, highlights include the disquieting 'Old Jolly Farm,' the weary imagery of 'Like Eating a Stone,' and the propulsive 'Stroke of Insight'. Morsberger recorded the CD in his upstate NY studio, and co-produced with Stewart Lerman (Dar Williams). The cover art features a classic photo of Dalton Trumbo, writing in his bathtub. The CD booklet will include artwork by Morsberger's renowned father, Philip, and by his oldest son Ben, an art student at Cooper Union.
WILDY'SWORLD - CD REVIEW
Rob Morsberger - The Chronicle Of A Literal Man 2010, Hieroglyph Records
https://wildysworld.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-rob-morsberger-chronicle-of.html
By Wildy Haskell
Rob Morsberger is a classically trained pianist and composer based in New York City who not only scores television shows (NOVAscienceNOW) and session work with artists such as Marshall Crenshaw, Crash Test Dummies, Jules Shear and Loudon Wainwright III, but he also has three distinctive albums to his name. Writing from a musical depth that is rare in pop music, Morsberger crafts highly intellectual and occasionally twisted stories in songs that are never dumbed down and always challenge the listener to think beyond their usual day-to-day considerations. Having found this style of writing works, Morsberger saw no need to change on his upcoming release, The Chronicle Of A Literal Man, due out May 11, 2010.
The Chronicle Of A Literal Man is based ostensibly on the life of Dalton, one of the Hollywood Ten who were blacklisted from Hollywood due to their political beliefs in the days of Joe McCarthy and the Red Scare. The album opens with the title track, the unrepentant declaration of someone whose been beaten down, pushed around and generally chastised yet perseveres and perhaps even thrives in spite of it all. It's a great rock tune with an energetic guitar solo and a solid kick-off for the album. 'Stroke Of Insight' will call to mind thoughts of a Tom Petty/Bob Dylan hybrid. The song is highly literate and smart, with an unforgettable melody and solid arrangement to wrap it up tight. 'Independent Movie' finds Morsberger stripping down the sound to acoustic guitar, percussion and voice. The musicianship here is top notch. 'Modestino' has a pensive, perhaps even rueful feel; a classic 1970's singer/songwriter vehicle. 'When Everything Ended' is one of the more artful breakup songs you'll come across. This retrospective on a romance gone bad has a gorgeous melody, and Morsberger crafts the story with a gentle but compelling touch. 'Nebraska In Winter' could be an epilogue; marking how sometimes the escape we seek becomes the loneliness we run from. The story is told in a Springsteen-esque ballad (think The River) that will hold your attention. Morsberger closes out with the solid Americana arrangement of 'You Don't Get It', a safe closer that moves back to the sonic middle of the road.
Rob Morsberger displays a keen but subtle wit on The Chronicle Of A Literal Man; not a humorist per se, but a fine story teller who sprinkles his stories with wit, charm and the occasional deep artistic reference that pretty much only Dennis Miller gets without reading the liner notes or press materials. Morsberger is an outstanding and in-demand side man, and his score work is impressive, but it's in his singer/songwriter mode where Rob Morsberger shines brightest. The Chronicle Of A Literal Man is very much worth spending some time on. Rating: 3.5 Stars
MELODIC Q&A Interview
https://www.melodic.net/interviewsOne.asp?interviewId=293
By Rickard Holmgren
Rob Morsberger will release his latest cd May 11. Melodic.net got the chance to ask him some questions, here is the result.
Hi Rob and welcome to Melodic.net. How are you doing?
Doing great...thanks so much!
Can you tell us about yourself, who is Rob Morsberger?
There is a song on my new record called 'Nebraska in Winter'. Have I ever set foot in Nebraska? It's possible. On a tour, a long time ago? A rest stop maybe? My drummer and friend Robin Gould thinks so. (He was on that tour too. We were backing up Dan Zanes. Did I mention it was a long time ago?) Yet certainly not in winter. But I digress! Anyway, so the guy in the song has gone to Nebraska to disappear from his own life: "In the great plains of Nebraska, winter chills the air as the sun sets on the western border. A long road lies before me. The past is everywhere. The details of my story aren't important.' I like this very much. Which is perhaps as good an answer as any to your question. (That song may have been inspired in part by a Tom Verlaine song called 'The Scientist Writes A Letter'. Same character. Excuse me while I go and listen to that song. Amazing record! And what a guitarist!!) But so...ok...as you insist...I was born in Oxford, Ohio and grew up in Oxford, England. My Dad is a fine artist, pun intended. I lived in Scotland for a long time and studied music at the very, very (at the time) conservative music dept at the U of Edinburgh. Robert Louis Stevenson...the inspiration for another song on this record...described the weather in Edinburgh as "meteorological purgatory". That's looking at it a bit favorably. Got the degree-summa cum laude people, ok?!...I can write fugues and motets, ok??...and moved to NYC, and here I am. Kids. Lovely wife. Life is good. Besides my own gigs and records, I get to work with some notable artists...Jules Shear, Marshall Crenshaw, Crash Test Dummies, miscellaneous Wainwrights and Roches!...and score TV shows.
How would you describe your music?
The music is actually secondary to the idea for me. I want to say something interesting, something layered and nuanced that gives a view of life that is somehow unique to me, or that at least compels me in some way and holds my attention. This is a rather novelistic view and perhaps literature is very important to me and perhaps I view pop music as essentially a form of literature. Not in the sense of literary words like Paul Simon (though I adore Paul Simon) ...but in the sense that very simple words, combined just the right way with the right simple musical building blocks, can yield sophisticated meanings. That is the mind-blowing power of pop music, and that's what I love about it. I'm reading 'Our Mutual Friend' right now. I love Dickens. His genius is almost incomprehensible to me. In Edinburgh I studied with a fine composer, Kenneth Leighton. He told me once (he was drunk) that he would die for Bach. And he would have too. I'm getting there with Dickens. Jane Austen elicited a song on my last record, 'A Periodic Rush Of Waves'. What I'm trying to say is, I love books, and think of my records as being like them somehow.
Who are your main influences?
Musically...pretty much the same as everyone else. The Beatles. Bob Dylan.
I hear echoes, here and there-some deliberate, some inadvertant... of Queen, The Beach Boys, The Blue Nile, XTC, Peter Gabriel, Burt Bacharach...always coming back, again and again, to The Beatles. Mott The Hoople. Procul Harum. I was digging on their album 'Grand Hotel' when I was working on this one. That's when I discovered that Gary Brooker is one of the great singers in rock and roll history. My Dad Philip Morsberger is a huge influence. He taught me a lot of important lessons about integrity, the dangers of selling out, the value and meaning of art, the lifelong commitment of it...what it is and what it isn't. What success is, what it isn't. Little things like that. Have you heard the great Graham Parker song, 'Success'? Suck-cess, suck-cess. Greatness. But I digress. Again. (When I was a kid I read 'The Seven Story Mountain' by Thomas Merton and he talks about wanting to be a saint, and how that aspiration, unseemly as it might sound...was entirely appropriate to the spirtual path he was on. Well, in this creative life, that's what we should all be trying for, right? Greatness?) My band has been a huge influence on my writing, especially in the early days. By the second record, 'Relativity Blues', I had really found and defined my zone as a writer and from that point on I was walking along my own wayward path...but their musical taste, and how they played, how they reacted to my songs...was huge. As was their belief in what I was doing. Incredible.
What can you tell us about your latest album, The Chronicle of a Literal Man?
Quite a lot, actually! What do you want to know? Ha ha... The title track started off innocently enough as a reference to the final scene in the movie 'Papillons', when Steve McQueen shouts.."I'm still here you bastards!" That appealed to me, as it was both funny and rueful. How could I go wrong? Somehow this quickly morphed into a surreal trip through McCarthy-era American history, with screenwriter Dalton Trumbo-who wrote Papillons (but not that line!)- as guide. (Trivia question...for a big prize...who did write that memorable line-and can you prove it?) 'Old Jolly Farm' was inspired by paintings and drawings my Dad made back in the 60s, having to do with the murders of civil rights workers Schwerner, Goodman and Cheney. This song gives me chills, which tells me that somehow I captured something of their greatness, and of the greatness of their sacrifice. It was kind of incredible to be working on it just as America was on the verge of electing Barack Obama president. Their deaths marked a turning point in our history and lead directly to that moment. 'Where Is The Song' is about Alexander Herzen, the nineteenth century exiled Russian socialist recently brought back to life in Tom Stoppard's Russian Trilogy, 'The Coast Of Utopia' (which regretfully I have not seen.) But really, the song is about the same guy who has gone to Nebraska to disappear. Or who discovers 'The End of Physics' in the title track of my first record. Or who reappears as Charles Darwin in 'The Music of Time' (on 'Periodic Rush of Waves'.) The same guy keeps popping up...solitary and passionate, seeking the truth of things. The same guy who writes his girlfriend Julia a letter in the Tom Verlaine song!! I made this record with Stewart Lerman, a great producer and musician and also my good friend. Stewart and I work together on lots of things...he's amazing.
How do you write songs? What does the creation process look like?
I don't really have a process but it's always starting with a phrase or idea that seems strong to me. That is the hardest thing. The rest is just craft. Finding the interesting idea is the trick. I don't often write autobiographically. I'm much more interested in looking out at the world. I think one is revealed most tellingly by what one chooses to write about and how. I get a lot of ideas from books, or from reading about books. I steal the titles. I'm in the thieving and borrowing phase of a songwriter's life!
What music do you listen to yourself?
I rarely listen to music and have never been a big listener. Having said that I recognize that somehow I do know a lot of music and have very wide ranging taste and points of reference. But lately I've enjoyed Randy Newman's album 'Harps and Angels' and Eddie Reader's record of Robert Burns poems...I really liked 'Lookaftering' by Vashti Bunyan, which my composer pal Max Richter lovingly produced a while ago. Have you heard the song 'A Salty Dog' recently? Phew.
Name one album that everyone should own.
Besides 'The Chronicle of A Literal Man' you mean? I don't know. I'm really not that kind of listener...I don't really obsess over records or collect them....but right now I'll
go with the new Crash Test Dummies record, 'Ooh La La'...which I had the honor of working on. And so I got to hear some songs in their early, unfinished state and my jaw hit the floor with slack-jawed admiration. Quirky as hell, funny, tender and smart. Everything I look for was there. It's a great, great record...coming out in the US in May. If you can't wait til then...just go ahead and buy Abbey Road!
Who is the best artist/band you have ever shared a stage with?
That would have to be my own band. We've played together since 95, maybe 94.
Guitarist Jon Herington...my good bud...has been guitarist for Steely Dan for the last ten years or so, but he also has a deep love of, for example, the guitar stylings of Neil Young and knows what that is. He's a total Beatles/Tom Petty freak...just an incredible musician. Jon is unique amongst my musical acquaintances as someone who, at any given time, might have a latter-day Stravinksy score-from the serial phase- lying around in his studio when you pay him a visit. (I am another such person, as it happens!...so we are kindred spirits. Jon and I also have a book thing going...we both love to read.) Bassist Paul Ossola...who has worked with Levon Helm and just about everybody else...is an utterly unique player and really shines so beautifully on this new record...as does Robin Gould on drums...a true artist with his brushes, sticks and blastics. These guys are all my friends.. they are soulful, smart people and we played with a special chemistry from day one. How else do you keep a band like that together for so long? I've said..and it's absolutely true...that this band is one of my greatest accomplishments in life. Show me a better one. Go on.
Who would be a dream artist/band to share a stage with?
Paul McCartney. I bow before his greatness. He still sings his ass off. He kills on bass, he's slamming on electric AND acoustic guitar....plays piano great...drums....AND MY GOD- THE SONGS. What more can I say? Paul...are you out there? Failing that...I'll settle for Tom Verlaine! (Has anyone noticed that, the older Paul gets, the harder he rocks? Forgot about sweet, fluffy, pop music Paul. That guy rocks, hard.
So, what does the future hold for you?
I guess Hank Williams said it best...I'll never get out of this world alive. Right on, Hank!
We're doing some touring in May behind the record, and going to radio here in the US.
We'll see how that evolves. I have a TV series to score for PBS. I'll continue toiling in the fields of professional music-making, paying the bills, keeping food on the table and a roof over our heads. I'm lucky to part of the NYC professional music community. I honor my colleagues. It is not an easy path, this music business. God bless them all...what courage and talent is out there! My youngest son was born with half a heart and he's had his share of adventures and I reckon there will be some more of those down the road. He's a hero and an angel and a rascal! Beyond all that...so many of my dreams have come true already...but if some of your readers were to check out the new record and fall in love with the music...this would make me very, very happy.
Thanks for answering my questions. Do you have any final words for our readers?
Final words? OK. Farewell, be well, and do good.
Morsberger and his beloved band of 15 years, guitarist Jon Herington (Steely Dan, Madeleine Peyroux), bassist Paul Ossola (Levon Helm) and drummer Robin Gould (GE Smith) continue their free, monthly Residency at Banjo Jim's in New York. The band features Morsberger on piano and vocals.
Last year, Rob Morsberger released a remastered version of his CD 'A Periodic Rush of Waves'. The album was the third in a trilogy of albums he has written which explore the oddly interconnected themes of love, science and literature (in fact, one of the songs on the new CD was sung in the imagined character of naturalist Charles Darwin, with lyrics shaped by some of Darwin's actual writings.) The CD featured guest appearances by Marshall Crenshaw and Jules Shear, and was produced by Stewart Lerman. 'I Want To Be The One,' with Marshall Crenshaw, has remained on the AAA charts for months. Morsberger's Trio of CDs 'The End of Physics,' 'Relativity Blues' and 'A Periodic Rush of Waves' are available now via iTunes as well as via https://www.robmorsberger.com/ . Samples may be heard on the website, or on https://www.myspace.com/robmorsberger .
Now based in NYC, Rob Morsberger's keyboard and arranging skills have led to sideman work with Crash Test Dummies, Marshall Crenshaw, Jules Shear, Loudon Wainwright III, Dan Zanes, Willie Nile and many more. He will appear on forthcoming new releases from Crash Test Dummies and Lucy Wainwright Roche, and he co-wrote songs on the upcoming CD from Greta's Bakery (Decca Records). A classically-trained pianist and composer, he also scores the acclaimed PBS series NOVAscienceNOW, with host Neil deGrasse Tyson. The program is currently in production for its fifth season. Morsberger recently composed music for a two-hour NOVA TV special about Charles Darwin ('What Darwin Never Knew').
THE NEW YORK TIMES took a look at Morsberger's unique career in a feature article, here: At Last, a Space for Creativity (and Loud Music) to Flow https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07EFD71530F931A35757C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
Reprint of NY TIMES article referenced above: https://www.robmorsberger.com/media/robNYTimes.pdf
https://www.robmorsberger.com/
https://www.myspace.com/robmorsberger
