For his second solo album as the Nightwatchman, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello reteamed with producer Brendan O'Brien, who helped him achieve a darkly folky Ghost of Tom Joad vibe on the first disc. But although the acoustic Springsteen influence is audible on The Fabled City, Morello and O'Brien amped the new disc with some serious guitar power. "I felt a lot more comfortable doing some good old rocking, along with the mysterious folk," says Morello. On the brooding jam "Whatever It Takes," Morello runs a nylon-string acoustic through electric-guitar effects, while the hard-charging jam "The Iron Wheel," with Shooter Jennings, rocks like the Pogues.

Perhaps the album's most powerful track, the Irish-style rocker "Saint Isabelle," finds the guitarist's surprisingly strong vocals soaring over driving harmonica, guitar and drums. "I've expanded my range as a singer doing the One Man Revolution tour," he says, referring to his eight-month trek behind the first disc. Morello — who made stops at both of the national political conventions — doesn't hesitate from speaking truth to power: The title track rails against U.S. border-control policies, and "Midnight in the City of Destruction" is about post-Katrina New Orleans. Says Morello, "The themes of hope, sorrow and revenge are strewn throughout the album."

"Whatever It Takes"

Listen to "Whatever It Takes" in full

Check out all of the albums in the 2008 Fall Music Preview