A spiritual message sung in a plaintive tenor,"Zither" sets the tone of the album, which ranges from delicate acoustic finger-picking to storming, effects-laden, electric guitar blow-outs.Beyond playing all the guitars and keyboards heard on the record, Morgan proves himself a supple, earnest vocalist -- evocative of a less melodramatic Jeff Buckley or the younger Sting -- wrapping righteous socio-political convictions in Rundgrenesque Anglo-pop confections such as"Wake Up Freedom,""Falling Down," and"Blood Red."The industrial-strength"Bottom Line" and the shuffling"I Get Around" are both tied into the album's titular concerns."In 'Bottom Line,' the music business is just a metaphor," says Morgan."Our whole society is built on the idea that if you work real hard, you might get a break. But then you realize that it's not how hard you try, it's about how much you can sell yourself."The jazzy, minor-key"Pollution Blues" addresses burning ecological issues with a blazing guitar fade that parallels and echoes the fiery images and fretgrinding exit found in"Falling Down."A gently percussive"Nov 26, 2004" serves as a peaceful refuge from the album's opening salvo."That song is designed to be a palate-cleanser," explains Morgan,"as if it were the last cut on the first side of the album, which -- in the case of the vinyl version of The Ambition Tax -- it is." Underscoring the album's release date, the flamenco-flavored"4th Of July" is -- in Morgan's words --"meant to be celebratory, but narcissism keeps creeping into the picture, leading to the singlemindedness that plagues this country," as evidenced in the National Anthem-quoting vocal refrain that erupts out of the parade drumming-driven"Amerika." The album's closing tracks, the inexorably building"Close" and the pop standard-inspired"In The Heart," are love songs that yearn for a simpler life that remains tantalizingly out of reach ... for now.For further information, go to cameronmorgan.com