JOHN MORGAN - I Know Better - Nighttrain Records/This Is Hit, Inc.

Initially entering our realm as a songwriter with smash hits from country superstar Jason Aldean (“If I Didn’t Love You,” “Trouble With a Heartbreak,” and his current single, “Whiskey Drink”), John Morgan has recently broken through the wall that often separates the writer side from the artist side with his current chart riser, “Friends Like That.”

Catapulted from the writing rooms to the spotlight as one of country music’s must watch artists, he now satisfies his fans demands while continuing to tease his highly anticipated debut album with the release of his latest effort, “I Know Better.”

Written by Morgan, Rocky Block, Lydia Vaughan, and Will Bundy, the flow of the steady melodic drive matches the perspective of John’s voice as he looks back on the different, wild avenues that once gave him a rush during his single days, metaphorically flipping through the photo album of his youth while waxing nostalgic on a Lynchburg buzz providing the best Friday nights, hitting 120 mph on the open road, etc.

However, there’s no hints of regret or wishing he could go back within his tone. Rather, he cleverly uses these fleeting memories to enhance the audible smile that radiates your speakers as he shifts into his here and now; “It's funny looking back on everything I did, thinking that was good as it gets” expertly leading to the most satisfying rush that he now experiences every day of his life… her!

“Cause I know better days
Better nights
A better way of living lost in your eyes
Up on cloud nine feeling things I thought I'd never
There ain't no better smile
Ain't no better kiss
Ain't a memory I've made that compares to this
I thought the best part of my life was in the past forever
But now that I know you
I know better
Ooh baby, I know better”

Using Christian laced symbolism of how she pulled him from the darkness into the light, the second half of the song is an outlined painting of a man transformed by love, redeemed into what matters most through the unconditional high that makes each next moment together the exhilarating memory worth keeping and yearning to experience over and over again.

With each next song that he’s released in the second half of 2024, “Long Ride Home” and “I Know Better,” John Morgan has continued to point the needle toward his artist side while aptly highlighting his willingness to guide a song that crafts each next line as an important aspect to holding the listener into the build of the hook.  

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis/Cover Art Photo by: Matthew Berinato)