Morrison-Williams

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Morrison-Williams

Shayne Morrison and Clint Williams knew they were a perfect musical match when they began collaborating six years ago after being introduced by a record shop owner in Tyler, Texas.

Back then, they channeled their efforts toward writing songs for bassist Morrison’s band, Perfect Stranger. Those songs never made it onto a Perfect Stranger disc, though Williams eventually joined the band as its lead singer.

The pair kept writing together sporadically, and submitted a song for the soundtrack to the 2004 film, The Alamo. When producers chose to use an all-instrumental score instead, Morrison and Williams decided it was time to record those tunes on their own.

The result is Morrison-Williams’ self-titled debut on Palo Duro Records. The disc of easy country rockers and soulful ballads could catapult them beyond the level of fame Perfect Stranger earned with its indie hits, the Vince Gill-penned “Ridin’ the Rodeo,” and “You Have the Right to Remain Silent,” which became the title of the band’s 1995 Curb Records release. That album reached No. 4 and stayed on Billboard’s country chart for 40-some weeks.

Williams confesses, “I can only write about things I’ve sort of experienced. So if there’s anything on the record that I’ve got anything to do with, I’ve probably seen it or been through it.”

Morrison, a native of Carthage, Texas (population: 5,000), got his first paying music gig at age 14.

“I haven’t stopped since,” he says. “They were sneaking me into the VFW and American Legion. I played with all the old dudes. When you’re 14, and someone hands you a lot of money to play for one night, you think ‘Ooh, that’s it. I’m doing this for the rest of my life.’”

As for how they’d describe their decidedly non-redneck music, Morrison, who now lives in Palestine, admits, “I know we’re supposed to say country. But I don’t know what kind of country to call it.”

It could wear a progressive country tag, if strong, radio-friendly melodies featuring the occasional guitar reference to the Allman Brothers and other southern rockers, augmented by mandolin, fiddle, dobro and the singers’ tight harmonies, can be considered progressive.