New Album Review: Morgan Wallen- I’m the Problem

Morgan Wallen- I’m the Problem

Label: Big Loud

Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett

One of the most curious musical trends of the 2020s has been the dramatic increase in releases of double–and even triple–albums. Now, one could argue that this is in response to the miraculous comeback made by the vinyl record, but in reality it can truly be traced to the rise of streaming as the dominant musical format. Which unfortunately means that it’s mostly a trend of commerce, not artistry. In the classic album era, an extended album would be the result of a uniquely prolific creative streak for an artist, or a central theme or concept that tied together a singular body of work. That’s not to say that there haven’t been rare examples where these modern double/triple/quadruple releases have artistically and creative earned their run-times. But in most cases, these records are not really a bounty of riches but rather an excess vomiting of new songs. And it can be attributed to a record label’s hunger for additional streaming numbers.

Enter Morgan Wallen, who emerges here with his third consecutive looooong-player to surpass thirty songs. In the context of this conversation, it’s both ironic and accurate that this record is titled I’m the Problem, because he’s certainly at the forefront of this trend. But in total fairness, everyone from Taylor Swift and Beyonce to Zach Bryan and Dolly Parton, and many others, have made contributions to this excessive issue of excess. But by going in for round three, Wallen definitely emerges as the most frequent offender. And this third round definitely results in increasingly diminished returns compared to 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album and 2023’s One Thing at A Time. What both of those records offered is the lacking quality that proves to be I’m the Problem‘s biggest problem: variety. There is none of the often-times whiplashing but nevertheless infectious genre-hopping that could be found on the aforementioned predecessors. Overall, all thirty-seven of these songs sonically offer the same pensive, mid-tempo, and often-colorless twangy-rock production. It’s utterly ridiculous to release a record this long with such a monotonous production palette.

What’s unfortunate about this is that hiding behind all of this sonic beige are continual displays of Wallen’s undeniable strengths as both songwriter and lyrical interpreter. I’d argue that gems like “I Got Better”, “Superman”, “Just In Case”, “Smile”, “Love Somebody”, “Jack and Jill”, “I’m A Little Crazy”, and “The Dealer” (with Ernest) rank among his very best moments to date. Is the dude cringey and controversial at times? Certainly. Does his artistic breadth measure out to his massive popularity? Highly debatable. But one should not let those arguments detract from the talents that he does possess, or his ability to utilize his limited vocal range in effective and resonant ways when he so chooses. All of these moments demonstrate these strengths, as well as considerable reflective growth on Wallen’s part. Frankly there are probably more high-points that I’m missing, simply because I just didn’t have the stamina to give the entire album the repeat listens I typically would when reviewing a new project.

But there is a lot of filler littered throughout the record, and high-profile collaborations with artists like Eric Church, Post Malone, and Hardy are let-downs, and nowhere near as memorable as their unions on previous records. Meanwhile, the Tate McRae duet, “What I Want” brings out the absolute worst qualities of each singer’s limited vocal skill-sets. And lets not even unpack the abominable “Miami”, which features an atrocious interpolation of the 1986 Keith Whitley classic co-written by Hall of Fame songwriters, Dean Dillon and Hank Cochran. It’s a desecration to see their distinguished names credited to that track. Consequently, I’m the Problem offers perhaps Wallen’s two lowest moments, in addition to some of his best. That’s what happens when the creative approach to an album disregards the need to edit. The greatest double (or more) albums in music history represent some of the greatest artistic moments of all time. But most commonly, these attempts at prolificacy stand as deliciously scattered at best, and horribly uneven in quality.

Imagine if he and his collaborative team were better editors, and had streamlined the best moments of these past three albums into an assortment of releases with a dozen or so tracks. Morgan Wallen would be boasting a catalog of six extremely strong studio albums, rather than three bloated and scattershot reeaallly-looongg-players. Will any of these issues prevent his rabid fanbase from devouring all of these tracks and making this record one of the year’s unmitigated blockbusters? Absolutely not, and good for them! That’s who he made this music for after all. For the rest of us, I’m the Problem will feel a bit like a chore to muster through. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there are numerous tracks primed for cherry-picking littered throughout this seemingly endless stockpile of songs.

Track Listing:

1. “I’m the Problem” (Morgan Wallen, Ryan Vojtesak, Ernest Keith Smith, Grady Block, Jamie McLaughlin)
2. “I Got Better” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Michael Hardy, Chase McGill, Blake Pendergrass)
3. “Superman” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Pendergrass, James Maddocks, John Byron)
4. “What I Want” featuring Tate McRae (Wallen, Tate McRae, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Vojtesak, Byron Joe Reeves)
5. “Just In Case” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Hindlin, Josh Thompson, Pendergrass, Byron, Troy Matthew, Alex Bak)
6. “Interlude” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Pendergrass, Byron, Rocky Block)
7. “Falling Apart” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Thompson, Pendergrass)
8. “Skoal, Chevy, and Browning” (McGill, Josh Miller, Joe Fox)
9. “Eyes Are Closed” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Pendergrass, Byron)
10. “Kick Myself” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Maddocks, Block)
11. “20 Cigarettes” (Pendergrass, Miller, McGill, Chris LaCorte)
12. “TN” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Ashley Gorley, Tyler Phillips, Geoff Warburton, Byron, McGill)
13. “Missing” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Thompson, Pendergrass, McGill, Luis Witkiewitz)
14. “Where’d That Girl Go” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Pendergrass, Byron, Block,Phillips, Warburton)
15. “Genesis” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Pendergrass, Maddocks, Byron, Block, Jacob Durrett)
16. “Revelation” (Nicolle Galyon, Rodney Clawson, Chris Tompkins, Trannie Anderson)
17. “Number 3 and Number 7” featuring Eric Church (Pendergrass, Block)
18. “Kiss Her In Front of You” (Vojtesak, Gorley, Bryon, Phillips, Jaxson Free)
19. “If You Were Mine” (Tompkins, David Garcia, Jessie Jo Dillon, Warburton)
20. “Don’t We” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Gorley, Pendergrass, Byron, Block)
21. “Come Back as Redneck” featuring Hardy (Wallen, Hardy, Vojtesak, Smith, Maddocks)
22. “Love Somebody” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Hindlin, Gorley, Nicholas Gale, Shaun Frank, Martina Sorbara, Steve Mastroianni, Yaakov Gruzman, Elof Loelv, Byron)
23. “Dark Til Daylight” (Tompkins, Jimmy Robbins, Block)
24. “The Dealer” featuring Ernest (Pendergrass)
25. “Leavin’s the Least I Could Do” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Hardy, Miller)
26. “Jack and Jill” (Ned Cameron, Jared Mullins, Jacob Hackworth, Matthew Carter)
27. “I Ain’t Comin’ Back” featuring Post Malone (Wallen, Austin Post, Louis Bell, Vojtesak, Smith, Hardy)
28. “Nothin’ Left” (Miller, Matt Jenkins, Greylan James)
29. “Drinking Til It Does” (Thompson, Robbins)
30. “Smile” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Byron, Block, Witkiewitz)
31. “Working Man’s Song” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Block, Miller, Pendergrass)
32. “Whiskey In Reverse” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Hardy)
33. “Crazy Eyes” (Tompkins, J. Dillon, Miller, Daniel Ross)
34. “LA Night” (Tompkins, Miller, Travis Wood)
35. “Miami” (Wallen, Vojtesak, Smith, Hardy, Royce Porter, Pendergrass, McGill, Dean Dillon, Hank Cochran)
36. “Lies, Lies, Lies” (Tompkins, J. Dillon, Miller, Ross)
37. “I’m A Little Crazy” (Hardy, Jameson Rodgers, Hunter Phelps, Smith Ahnquist)

• Facebook