The Fabled City (2008)

The Rage Against the Machine guitarist's remarkable transformation from purveyor of weapons-grade funk-metal riffs into introspective protest folkie yields even more impressive fruit on his second solo effort The Fabled City. Tom Morello’s touchstones here are as obvious as they were on his 2007 debut: Guthrie for the lyrics celebrating the working-class salt of the earth, Cash for the rich baritone delivery, Ghost of Tom Joad-era Springsteen for the slow-burning acoustic arrangements. This time, though, Morello has sharpened his songwriting — he's inspired by those giants, rather than just imitating them. A–
Download This: Listen to tracks from The Fabled City on the musician's MySpace page