For Maren Morris, who has garnered so much applause in recent months for her influential singles “Girl” and “The Middle,” “Common” is both a poorly written song and a boring music video. “Girl” carried a sense of emotional catharsis and factored in a painfully relatable aspect as well. “Common” tries to achieve that same impact, but fails miserably.
The song itself is long, overly simple, and repetitive. It features Brandi Carlile, one of country music’s newer vocal powerhouses, but she is not enough to carry the weight of the song. In the second verse, her smooth vocals make the song a pleasant listening experience. Yet they don’t overcome the overall feel of the track. The lyrics really seem to be trying too hard to be deep, with lines like, “But we got way too much in common / So what’s the point in fighting? / We got way too many problems if I’m being honest / I don’t know what God is.” It has good intentions but doesn’t even rhyme.
The video itself doesn’t add anything to the song. It starts off with a sweet sentiment, as it candidly shows Carlile on the phone with Morris after recording the song together. But after that, nothing else really happens. The video alternates between clips of Morris in the recording studio and the two of them onstage performing (strangely, the live clips were all shot from the back, which really adds to the low-quality feel of the video). There are a couple clips that display the strings section and background singers recording, which was somewhat interesting but not really all that exciting in the grand scheme of things.
“Common” tries to be another impressive song like “Girl” but doesn’t quite cut it. The song and the video both appear as if they were made in a rush. Morris has been one of country music’s more prolific artists in recent years, but “Common” is one of the first songs that seems to compromise her natural talent.
Featured Image by Sony Music Nashville
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