Ted Morris – A New Beginning (Blonde & Monkey Music) In January 2008, LA native Ted Morris moved to Stockholm, Sweden, put together a local band and started playing gigs around the city. Inspired by his band, the city, though not, by the sounds of it, traditional Swedish music, A New Beginning was recorded, and then sent off to New York to be mixed by Eric ‘Roscoe’ Ambel and Tim Hatfield – and those two names should provide clues to the sort of music Morris is making. Taking inspiration from the New Jersey roots rock of Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams’ urban alt. country rock and any number of Americana artists from Son Volt to Poco, Morris is strictly blue collar in his approach but pulls in out of the hat with a nice turn of phrase and a decent tune or two. Like Springsteen, he’s always in search of something epic and significant, and he comes closest on “Friday Night Runaways”, though it sails dangerously close to its prime inspiration, and we may have to wait a little for Morris to find his own true voice. www.myspace.com/tedmorrismusic Rob F. Next