Matthew Morrison - Matthew Morrison

In an effort to not just be known as "that guy from Glee," that guy from Glee released his debut solo album about a month ago. Back in April when I heard about it, I was downright anticipatory, a feeling I don't think I've ever had about an album (mainly because my experience with music is more reactive than proactive). Nonetheless, I then forgot about the whole thing until today, when I listened to Matthew Morrison's Matthew Morrison.

I think I understand where the desire to create this album came from. Spending years honing a craft on the stage, Morrison has paid a bizarre amount of dues for somebody as recognizable as he is now. He's got a laundry list of one-off guest roles in mediocre shows and recent film credits like "Department Store Salesman #2." Now that millions of people watch his show every week, Morrison is probably struggling with the fact that, while successful, he is now singularly associated with a single screen role, leaving any stage accomplishments obscured behind the shadow of Will Schuester's butt chin. The song "My Chin" is a microcosm of this railing against his immediate, incessant, identification with a single character. This album, and that song, in particular, are a cry for attention to be brought to the further accomplishments and talents of the man behind them.

The fact that the album isn't very great alters, but doesn't entirely devalue its own creation. While I hope I'm wrong, from what I have seen of Morrison in media other than Glee, Will Schuester may be the peak of his fame. Granted, one does not have much of a chance to shine when playing bit parts in movies like Music & Lyrics but even on Glee, Morrison seems limited in his on-screen skills. He's a great singer and a great dancer (by the standards of the kind of folk who watch Glee but without the opportunity to demonstrate those skills, Morrison is some guy. So, when the Glee well runs dry, familiarity may keep roles coming for a little while but there just aren't that many mainstream media breaks for the likes of Morrison.

So it doesn't matter if the album doesn't sell well. It doesn't matter if it's unremarkable. What matters is that Morrison has taken the time to make it, to do something other than perpetuate the role that is going to overshadow the rest of his life. He's doing it so that he can be happy, and I can't fault anyone for that.

Then again, none of this is any of my business.

Notable Tracks:

"Still Got Tonight": An infectious song with near-perfect escalation into the chorus.

Rating: 3.1 stars