| The Fabled City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 30, 2008[1] | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, acoustic rock, anti-folk, protest music | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
| The Nightwatchman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Fabled City is the second studio album by The Nightwatchman, the alter ego of Tom Morello. It was released on September 30, 2008.[1]
The album was released under the Nightwatchman's new full title: Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman.
Serj Tankian (of System of a Down), Shooter Jennings, and Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction) are featured guests on the album, which was produced by Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave).[1]
On August 8, 2008, the track 'Whatever It Takes' was released on The Nightwatchman's MySpace.[2] On October 25, the bonus track "Shake My Shit" (featuring Perry Farrell) was released on Morello's Myspace page.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| Rocklouder | [5] |
| Stereo Subversion | [6] |
Media reception to The Fabled City was generally favorable; aggregating website Metacritic reported a rating of 61% in December 2009 based on 11 critical reviews.[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Fabled City" | 3:10 |
| 2. | "Whatever It Takes" | 4:11 |
| 3. | "The King of Hell" | 3:14 |
| 4. | "Night Falls" | 3:48 |
| 5. | "The Lights Are On in Spidertown" | 3:21 |
| 6. | "Midnight in the City of Destruction" | 4:53 |
| 7. | "Saint Isabelle" | 3:31 |
| 8. | "Lazarus On Down" (featuring Serj Tankian) | 3:34 |
| 9. | "Gone Like Rain" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "The Iron Wheel" (featuring Shooter Jennings) | 2:40 |
| 11. | "Rise to Power" | 3:57 |
| 12. | "Facing Mount Kenya" (iTunes Bonus Track) | 4:08 |
| 13. | "Shake My Shit" (featuring Perry Farrell) (iTunes Bonus Track) | 3:46 |
Bonus Disc Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shadow of the Cannon" | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Fighting Song" (written by Outernational; performed by Outernational and Tom Morello) | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Stars of Orion" | 2:41 |
Personnel
- The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) - vocals, guitar
- Serj Tankian - additional vocals on "Lazarus on Down"
- Shooter Jennings - additional vocals on "The Iron Wheel"
- Perry Farrell - additional vocals on "Shake My Shit"
- Daniel Laufer - cello on "Night Falls" and "Lazarus on Down"
- Brendan O'Brien - various instruments