Morgan Wade will this week release the deluxe version of her album – Reckless – originally released last year. Pre-save/pre-order the album here.
Following the critical acclaim for her debut album Reckless, including a spotlight as one of Rolling Stone’s Albums of 2021, Morgan Wade will release the deluxe version of the record this Friday, adding six new tracks onto the already stellar project. Over these six new tracks, Wade reveals a softer side to herself and her own artistry, revealing yet more vulnerable areas of her own psyche. Indeed, even her image is lighter – the album artwork is in colour – and this hopeful feel continues in these tracks that round out the project.
The outlaw though remains on the deluxe tracks on Reckless, though it is released in a quietly free way. ‘When The Dirt Settles’ is a classic outlaw, free-wheelin’ lovesong with the refrain, ‘Ooh-ooh, like June and Johnny / Ooh-ooh, like Clyde and Bonnie / We run like rebels through the dust of the devil / But it’s you and me baby / When the dirt all settles.’ The intro is light touch – with notes reminding of an Americana-infused ‘Ice Ice Baby.’ It’s a thrumming, more joyful side than we have yet heard from Wade, though the haunted side of her persona is quickly returned to on ‘Run.’ Similarly, the outlaw side returns on ‘Carry Me Home’ – though the content of the track is dark, as Wade sings about becoming a different person and straying far from the person she wanted or used to be, there is a certain lightness to the track that was not always present on the main body of Reckless. The track feels nostalgic, imbued with the feel of The Eagles and 90s rock bands, replete with a searing guitar solo. ‘Carry me home / I’ve gone too far since I started to roam / Carry me home / I don’t want to spend another Virginia night alone.’ The track brims with regret and nostalgia, yet doesn’t feel as dark as the original part of Reckless. ‘Run’ follows a similar direction, as Wade sings about wanting to drown herself into a temporary distraction. ‘I was looking for the fire escape / You showed up without a second to waste / What if we run? What if we get away? / There ain’t a single reason for us to stay.’ It’s a more quietly sentimental track than we have heard in the darker edges of Reckless, though that haunted feel so present in Wade’s music remains, it tinges the edges rather than falling dead centre. ‘Run’ is one of her lighter, fresher sounds on Reckless – Deluxe, though retaining the poignancy of her delivery and her unique lyrical voice.
An undeniable highlight of these six tracks is’The Night’ – one of the most important tracks Wade has released to date, as she sings about the twists and turns of mental health. ‘Well I’d love to get to sleep but I can’t get too deep / Though I am doing the best that I can / My mind wants to talk about everything I’m not / Even worse, everything I am / I tell my friends and they tell me that time will only do me well / But I won’t shut my mouth, is it a rule down in the south / That you can’t talk about your mental health.’ It’s a raw and vulnerable track that lays out her demons in a way that feels like a salvation for many, delivered in a fresh and lyrical voice that is staggering in its maturity and authenticity. This lies beside ‘Through Your Eyes’ – a gorgeous track about seeing the world through an innocence of a child’s eyes and yearning for that outlook on the world. ‘Oh the innocence of a child / Never afraid to let their thoughts run wild / I wish I could be that kind / I wish I could see the world through your eyes.’ Even under the thick and meaty instrumentation, there is a tender softness to Wade’s vocal that is compellingly rich.
A stunning and surprising cover of Elvis Presley’s ‘Suspicious Minds’ rounds out the record. It’s quite a feat to turn such an intimately known song into something utterly fresh and novel, but Wade has accomplished just like that. It’s masterstroke and sums up the slight pivot of these six songs. Although the content is as important and haunting as it ever was on Reckless, Wade has infused a lighter touch into some of these six songs that feels a more sustainable approach for a longer-term career, adding fire into her sets for live shows. More than anything, these six songs demonstrate that Wade has staying power and can continue to carry on delivering stellar quality and important music that stands apart from the current Nashville sonic landscape. As much as Reckless was acclaimed, it is clear that this is only the start for Wade.
