The Fabled City

The Fabled City
Studio album by The Nightwatchman
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
One Man Revolution (2007) The Fabled City (2008) Live at Lime (2009)

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

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	61/100[13]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Blender	[4]
Drowned in Sound	2/10[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	[8]
PopMatters	3/10[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	[11]
Under the Radar	7/10[12]

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.[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tom Morello, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Fabled City"		3:10
2.	"Whatever It Takes"	Morello Anne Preven	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

References

1. Tom Morello Readies New Release
2. The Nightwatchman at MySpace.com
3. Allmusic review
4. Eells, Josh (October 6, 2008). "Tom Morello: The Night Watchmen : The Fabled City Review". Blender. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
5. Perry, Tom (September 30, 2008). "Album Review: The Nightwatchman, Tom Morello - The Fabled City". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
6. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (September 23, 2008). "The Fabled City". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
7. Powers, Ann (September 30, 2008). "Yes, just maybe a folk hero". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
8. Christgau, Robert (July 2009). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved March 8, 2024 – via robertchristgau.com.
9. Savanadasa, Rajith (October 26, 2008). "The Nightwatchman: Fabled City". PopMatters. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
10. Kemp, Mark (October 16, 2008). "The Fabled City : The Nightwatchman : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
11. Uhelszki, Jaan (October 2008). "Reviews: New CDs". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 10. p. 112.
12. Valish, Frank (November 2, 2008). "The Fabled City". Under the Radar. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
13. "The Fabled City (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 11, 2009.