Since 2012, PJ Morton has served as one of the keyboardists for pop/rock band Maroon 5. However, he also has a successful solo discography that includes seven solo albums, four live albums, two EP’S, and one mixtape. Morton is currently working hard on his eighth solo album and recently released the first single, “Please Don’t Walk Away.”
A beautiful ballad that harkens back to the sound of seventies soul, opens with beautiful piano sounds before Morton starts to croon. One of Morton’s vocal strengths is that he never over sings his material, choosing instead to stay in his natural register while highlighting his musicianship skills.
“Please Don’t Walk Away” is a song about a man begging his love not to leave, and Morton easily sells the song with honest lyrics such as:
“It’s never gone this far
It’s never been this bad
But I won’t let it erase the memories
Of good times; we’ve had”.
The song’s strength is in Morton’s vocals and something that we can all relate to when things go south in a relationship. I can easily see this song featured in a romantic comedy or dramedy set to a scene where our hero reflects on what he did wrong and attempts to get his lady back. “Please Don’t Walk Away” is Morton at his best and may garner the singer another Grammy award.
Final Grade: A
“Please Don’t Walk Away” is available on all streaming platforms.
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.