Rob’s Album of The Week: PJ Morton’s Saturday Night / Sunday Morning

Every artist has multiple sides to their creativity. This can be conveyed via their particular taste, their main influences, or a little bit of both. For the New Orleans soul/R&B artist and Maroon 5 keyboardist PJ Morton, this is echoed through his latest full-length. It’s titled *Saturday Night / Sunday Morning*, and it officially came out June 19 via both his own label at Morton Records and the media production and marketing service SRG-ILS Group. There’s a major sense of duality within the double album due to one end showing off his modern R&B talents while the other pays tribute his upbringing in the gospel church.

Along with this, there’s a substantial cohesiveness that connects both aspects. This is due to Morton’s soulful and charismatic vocal delivery and the instrumentation being consistent in both tone and quality. When it comes to a release that has enough material to consist of multiple records, the level of output can often be watered down. There’s always the risk of songs coming off as nonsensical filler that the listener can do without, but fortunately, this isn’t the case. There’s a journey being undertaken with both the creator and whoever is tuning in as each stop has a noticeable impact on the senses.

It’s the official start of summer, and I ran it in with my first major music festival of the season. While my body is understandably a bit sore and sunburnt, I did have a blast at the Green River Festival in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This is only the start of it with a good amount of the next few weekends consisting of me going out somewhere for a few days to enjoy some sonic bliss with the chance of rainfall and a guarantee of high temperatures. It’s not for everyone, but it’s something that I absolutely cherish and enjoy. I also cherish and enjoy my top tracks off of the Album of The Week, so here they are:

While being adorned with electronic synths and vibrant horns, “Mutual” serves as a stellar introduction while walking a fine line between contemporary pop and modern jazz. “Sell My Soul” has a funkiness that exudes a groove accenting the genuine theme of sticking to your guns and not letting outside forces being a source of corruption. It’s something that a lot of people can relate to in these uncertain times we’re living in. The gospel element is a bit more stripped down, and “Mercy” is an excellent example. It consists of piano, organ, and drums for the instrumentation, but the harmonious singing is what makes it shine.

In support of Saturday Night / Sunday Morning, Morton and his band are going to be embarking on a tour of North America, South America, and Europe starting at Music at the Intersection in St. Louis on July 19. Other notable stops include July 29 at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre in Detroit, August 2 and The Wilbur in Boston, September 11 at Rock in Rio in Rio de Janeiro, September 16 at Teatro Vorterix in Buenos Aires, October 12 at Koko in London, and October 21 at Cabaret Sauvage in Paris. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Morton perform live on stage and I highly suggest doing the same if you have the opportunity to do so. In the meantime, grab a copy of the new album and give it a listen. It honors a talented musician’s background while exhibiting a fantastic amount of versatility.

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