Tag Archives: Southern rock

Reviews

Album Review: Blackberry Smoke–Find a Light

Leave a comment

Rating: 9/10

In my recent discussion on “real country” with Zack of The Musical Divide, he brought up the interesting point that country-oriented sites tend to be more accepting of rock influences infiltrating the country genre than of pop ones. He even cited Blackberry Smoke as being a band embraced by a lot of sites such as ours, and the point is a good one; Blackberry Smoke’s sound is less country than much of what we’d call pop country, yet many of the same people that shun country music infused with pop elements welcome Blackberry Smoke with open arms, a band who, aside from select tracks, arguably doesn’t fit within the genre at all.

It’s a contradiction and an interesting thing to ponder, and I still don’t have a good answer for why strict traditionalists are so averse to pop influences mixing with country, but after one listen to this latest Blackberry Smoke album, I think I can say exactly why these listeners embrace them and their Southern rock sound. It’s that while we’ve all been focused on the dying art form of traditional country, Southern rock has died right along with it. Maybe we don’t notice its absence as much with the prominence of classic rock over classic country on our radio dials–and also because we keep our focus on the country genre–but when you hear this come blasting out of your speakers, it’s suddenly, startlingly apparent that fans of Skynyrd and CCR have become just as forgotten and disenfranchised as fans of Willie and Waylon. Southern rock, like traditional country, represents a place and people whose music is seen as the sound of a backward generation that needs to be brought into the present. It’s no wonder country fans can identify with this. Just like country music, Southern rock needs artists to keep it alive in the modern context, to prove it’s not music of the past and to keep pushing the genre forward.

For all you disenfranchised fans of Southern rock music, I proudly present Atlanta’s Blackberry Smoke, ready to take up that particular torch and carry it with a vengeance.

I’ve talked about the decline of the importance of melody and even great vocals in the “age of the song” we’re living in, but it also has meant the virtual extinction of the guitar riff. We’re all so focused on lyrics and songwriting that we’ve forgotten what unique joy a great guitar riff can bring to our ears. “Run Away From it All” is a swift reminder, calling to mind those great rock bands of the 70’s and just getting perpetually stuck in your head. The same can be said for the piano-infused “Medicate my Mind” and the energetic “Best seat in the House,” both songs which carry the album theme of finding light in the midst of life’s struggles and both of which sound like they could have been recorded by any of your favorite Southern rock bands at the height of that subgenre.

But this band is also uniquely modern, penning songs like “Lord strike me Dead” and “Nobody Gives a Damn” to address the current state of our world, a state with which they seem to be especially disgusted. The former is more self-reflective, seeing lead singer Charlie Starr indicting the thin-skinned and those always looking for someone to blame, wishing God would just strike him dead and remove him from everyone’s bullshit. The latter is more of an address to these people themselves and something we’d all probably like to say to the whole of social media–“you think everyone’s watchin’, but nobody gives a damn.” These two are great testaments for the viability of Southern rock in 2018, for proof that it’s not just the music of times gone by and can still be relatable today.

Still, there’s variety in the sound as well on this record; it’s not all just screaming Southern rock anthems. “I’ve Got This song” is a straight-up, three-chord country number with an ungodly amount of fiddle. This is one of the best songs of the year so far, a simple declaration that whatever happens, the one think that Starr won’t lose is his music. Amanda Shires lends some of her characteristically excellent harmony to another country moment, the heartbreak song “Let me Down Easy.” This one is upbeat despite its sobering lyrics and provides a cool contradiction musically. “Till the Wheels Fall Off” goes for more of the Red Dirt country/rock blend than Southern rock and reminds me sonically of Kody West or early Eli Young Band. The laid-back closer, “Mother Mountain,” features the Wood Brothers and serves to end this high-energy record on more of a subdued, peaceful note, even fading out with the sounds of a running stream to end it all.

And somehow, despite all these standouts and unique moments on this album, I’ve failed to mention the ridiculously exciting “I’ll Keep Ramblin’,” which might just shine above all of them. This one is just a glorious five-minute exhibition of music where essentially all hell breaks loose as they sing about living restless, rambling lives. We have some killer piano, some screaming electric guitar, a gospel choir, and an appearance by pedal steel player Robert Randolph. We’ve seen our fair share of Southern rock and country on this record, and here we have a touch of blues and soul to round it all out.

If you haven’t figured it out, this is an excellent album. At thirteen tracks and especially fifty-three minutes, it could have done with having a couple songs trimmed, particularly near the front of the record. There’s nothing here I’d skip, but most of this material is so strong that even a marginally weaker track sticks out like filler. If they’d trimmed it a little, it would have been an absolutely ridiculous ten- or eleven-song project, one that would have earned a perfect rating here–and let me say, that would have only been the ninth album to achieve this status since this site was founded in June 2015…yet it would have been Blackberry Smoke’s second, something no artist has done to date. It falls just short of achieving that, but it quickly replaces Lindi Ortega’s Liberty, which held the title for a glorious week, as the strongest album to grace our presence in 2018, and we’ll be talking about this album again when those endless lists come around in December.

Buy the Album

Some Southern Rock

Some Country

Some Good Music

Random Reflections

Reflecting on: Travis Tritt–It’s All About to Change

3 Comments

Well, from the day we started doing these, I always knew I would cover Travis Tritt on here, and now seems like the perfect time since I am going to see him Friday. I went back and forth for an inordinate amount of time on which album to cover, considering his originals and various compilations. Over the years, I’ve worn out the album The Very Best of Travis Tritt, so ultimately I decided to cover an album not as familiar to me. I chose the album that has my two favorite Tritt songs, It’s All About to Change, but really any place is okay to start with Travis and his music.

Release Date: 1991
Style: traditional country infused with Southern rock
People Who Might Like This Album: those who like their country mixed with rock and grit
Standout Tracks: “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone who Cares),” “Anymore,” “Bible Belt,” “Nothing Short of Dying,” “If Hell Had a Jukebox,” “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin'”
Reflections: Travis Tritt said in one of the songs on his debut album that he vowed “I’d mix Southern rock and country, and that’s just what I did.” That’s really the best explanation of Tritt and his sound. He takes the best of both traditional country and Southern rock and blends them into a sound all his own, respecting country’s roots while being very modern and forward-thinking. Those that think country is boring, try saying that after “The Whiskey Ain’t Workin” or “Bible Belt.” Incidentally, the former features Marty Stuart which just adds to its overall coolness.

I mentioned this has my two favorite Travis Tritt songs. The first is “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares),” another country rock song where he tells his cheating ex who wants to come back home that she can call one of her “sordid affairs.” As the song says, he’s kind enough even to offer her a quarter. This song is probably the one he’s most known for, and it even made Saving Country Music’s Greatest songs of All Time which can’t be taken lightly. Incidentally,, it’s very much responsible for my current relationship too; it was a conversation about this song and Travis Tritt in general that started all of it. My other favorite is “Anymore,” where he’s telling a woman that even after much time has passed, he still loves her and he can’t keep pretending otherwise. It’s the first song of his I ever heard and one of the best examples of Travis doing more traditional country. It’s the marrying of country and rock that is his signature sound, but ballads like this and “Nothing Short of Dying” shouldn’t be overlooked either because he does these types of songs just as well. Actually, the video for “Anymore” was the first in a series of three about one character, and all three were ballads.

Like I say, there really isn’t a bad place to start with Travis Tritt, and he’s definitely an artist that you should know. From the more rock-leaning stuff to the traditional ballads, there’s something here for everyone, and this album is a good showcase of his variety in sound. So start here, and hopefully, this will make you a fan, and you will seek out more of his music.

Buy the Album

Reviews

Collaborative Review: The Steel Woods–Straw in the Wind

8 Comments

Well, you all really seemed to enjoy our collaborative review style on Chris Stapleton’s album, and several of you suggested we keep doing it. We enjoyed it as well, so we’re back with a conversation about the debut album from Southern rock band The steel woods, Straw in the Wind. This one’s a little different in style and will reflect the style of most of these if we continue; Stapleton’s was track-by-track simply because it was so short–and also because we didn’t really know how well we could pull off such a thing. Any feedback on our style would be appreciated, as we’re still perfecting it, but we’re having fun with it, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. With all of that said, let’s get to Straw in the Wind.

Conversation

Megan: One of the highest points on this whole record for me was the instrumentation. That’s what drew me in right away on the opener, “Axe.” On that song, it’s a nice mix of country and rock. You get hints of country, bluegrass, Southern rock, and blues throughout the album, but it’s always just fantastic.
Brianna: I completely agree on the instrumentation. They blend all these different genres seemingly without effort.
Megan: If you had to put this into one genre, what would you call it? I keep seeing them labeled Southern rock, but I’m not sure that explains all of it.
Brianna: I honestly don’t know if that’s possible to do. I mean, I do agree that Southern rock is the main thing. But they just take so many different styles and mix them up.
Megan: Yeah, and they do it so well, like you say, without effort. I think sonically, lots of people could find something to love about this album. What songs stood out most lyrically?
Brianna: Oh, “Straw in the Wind” is my favorite song here. It tells a dark story, and that was the one that hooked me on this album. Aside from that, I like the lyrics of “Better in the Fall,” which I took to be about a man loving the act of falling in love but being unable to keep the relationship alive after that. The imagery here was great. I also liked “Della Jane’s Heart,” although that one really reminded me of Turnpike Troubadours’ “Doreen.” I loved “Uncle Lloyd,” and how it talked about finding family to whom you aren’t related by blood. I also quite liked “If we Never Go.” It was a really simple song about two young people in a relationship needing to roam and be on their own away from family.
Megan: I completely agree on “Straw in the Wind,” which tells the story of a small town where travelers aren’t welcome, and what a line this is: “strangers ’round here disappear like straw in the wind.” also agree on “Della Jane’s Heart,” and that stylistically reminds me of Turnpike Troubadours as well–actually, it’s like bluegrass meets Red dirt. I think these two together make the strongest moment of the record. I’d also add “The Secret,” which has grown on me after a couple listens. It tells the secret that Satan was really a woman and not the serpent. The imagery here of a man, I presume Adam, “staring at a half-eaten apple” is on the cover, which adds to the darkness of this whole thing.
Brianna: That line from “Straw in the Wind” just sticks out above all the other lyrics on this album. I like the idea behind “The Secret” more than I do the actual song.
Megan: That’s true for me on quite a few of these songs, although not “The Secret.” There’s a vagueness in a lot of them, especially on the back half, that starts to drag the album down a little.
Brianna: Yes, and that’s the thing that really brings this album down for me. I like a song to be able to be whatever the listener makes of it, but when there are multiple instances of this, it grows tiresome. I believe the song “Whatever it Means to You” could have been a little nudge to say to the listener that the songs could mean whatever you think they do. Granted, I could be completely wrong about this, but putting in a song where you say “all that means is whatever it means to you” on a pretty vague album does tend to send that message.
Megan: Glad you mentioned that because that song really gets on my nerves. Basically, it lists a bunch of superstitions as well as signs of faith and says they mean nothing except what people make of them, and then says “all these songs” also mean only what you make of them. Lowest point on the album for me, along with “Hole in the Sky” and “Wild and Blue,” which are just forgettable filler. It doesn’t help that these three are right in a row either. actually, the song you mentioned, “If we Never Go,” is by far the best moment on the back half.
Brianna: Same for me, although I do have to mention the really cool harmonica play on “Wild and Blue.” It’s a classic song, but their version just didn’t stand out for me beyond the instrumentation. But yes, I definitely think “If we Never Go” was the best moment on that part of the album.
Megan: I didn’t know “Wild and Blue” was a cover, and I’ve literally just looked up the original, which is by John Anderson…difference: I actually like this song. You’re right, their version doesn’t stand out at all.
Brianna: Alan Jackson has a pretty good version on his bluegrass record, and that’s where I first heard the song. Compared to that, the version on this album is disappointing except in the instrumentation. That’s pretty much the way I feel about the remainder of the album too–disappointing and sometimes vague subject matter, but stellar instrumentation and good vocals.
Megan: Yep, I’d agree. NO other standouts besides the ones we’ve mentioned, but the vocals are incredible, glad you brought that up. Wes Bayliss is a fine vocalist. Instrumentation is very strong throughout. Some really great lyrical moments in here too, sprinkled among the vagueness. Overall, some filler on a 13-song album, but a really strong, promising debut from The steel woods. Nice, solid 8 from me.
Brianna: I would give this album an 8 as well. It has some filler moments as we’ve said, but also quite a few amazing ones. I can’t get the title track or “If we Never Go” out of my head. I am extremely impressed with the caliber of talent this band possesses, and despite the vagueness in some of these songs, I can’t give this album any less.

Collective Rating: 8/10

Listen to Album

Reviews

Song Review: “Cumberland Gap” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Leave a comment

Rating: 9/10

I took some time with the second song from Isbell’s upcoming album before commenting on it here because “Hope the High Road” grew more and more forgettable as I listened to it. Brianna reviewed that, and she was quite impressed; so was I at first, but as I say, it started to get more generic. So I gave “Cumberland Gap” several listens, and I’m happy to say it’s having exactly the opposite effect, getting better each time.

“Cumberland Gap” speaks directly to the life and hardship in that region, but even if you’re not from that little stretch of a Appalachia running through Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, you can relate to a town with little else besides “churches, bars, and grocery stores” if you come from any little town in America or across the world. It’s that universality that makes the lyrics of the song stand out and will help many understand the pain the narrator feels as he tries to avoid facing the window at the local bar so he can imagine himself in any other town. It’s remarkable how these lyrics can still speak even with this heavy production–because let me tell you, this is not country or folk or singer/songwriter, this is rock, or perhaps more accurately southern rock. This is what Jason Isbell promised ahead of The Nashville Sound, and it’s certainly present on this song. That production works here, as it adds an edge and an anger to the darkness of these lyrics.
The one criticism I have against “Cumberland Gap” is sometimes the lyrics can be lost in the recording, and I wish I could hear them more clearly. It took several listens to make out some of them, and once I could, the song got even better. overall, though, this made me look forward to the album much more than “hope the High road.” But definitely be prepared for the rock production because if these two tracks are any indication, this will not be another Something More Than Free. Take that as you will; so far, I’m on board.

Written by: Jason Isbell

Reviews

Album Review: Blackberry Smoke–Holding all the Roses

1 Comment

Rating: 10/10

Blackberry Smoke had the distinction of having the first No. 1 country album by an independent artist earlier this year. Country Exclusive didn’t exist when it came out in February, but it deserves to be reviewed. While I say that this album is a rock album first and a country album second, it does something that few pop country albums and rock country albums do well. It doesn’t seek to blend the styles all the time. In other words, rock songs are rock, and country songs are country. When the styles actually are blended, it is done flawlessly. This album was my first introduction to Blackberry Smoke, and I am now a fan.

The rock song “Let me Help You (Find the Door”) opens the album. These lines were my first meeting with Blackberry Smoke

Why’s it got to be the same damn thing,
The same damn song that everybody wants to sing
Same sons of bitches still rigging the game
They sell the same old faces with a brand-new name

I love that they chose to open with this; it shows that what you see is what you get. I also like the rock protest element of the song blended with the lyrics protesting the state of country. Next is “Holding All the Roses,” in which they blend acoustic guitars and fiddles with electric guitars to create the closest thing to country metal I’ve ever heard. Lyrically, it’s great too, with lines about coming out of hard times and “Holding all the roses on the other side.” This is probably my favorite song on the album, but it’s really hard to pick.

Next is “Living in the Song,” a song about living out the words to a heartbreak song. It’s got rock music and country lyrics…that’s all I can say. Following this is the fun rock song aptly titled “Rock and Roll Again.” It feels like I just stepped back into the 70’s here with this. If there were more of these songs on the album, it would bring it down, but one is just right and feels more like an experiment that worked rather than a completely different sound. Next is the blended track, “Woman in the Moon.” This is a slower song which describes living life “a little off-kilter.” I paid more attention here to the instrumentation, which features haunting fiddles and electric guitars. It’s a song that’s hard to explain and one you need to hear for yourself to really appreciate. “Too High” is the first completely country song and is something I could picture on an Alabama album. “That mountain is too high for me to climb, that river is too deep and it’s too wide,” the group sings. This feeling seems to be temporary though, and this feels like a laidback, less angry version of “Holding all the Roses.”

“Wish in One Hand” goes back to rock. It’s a song about someone who is wishing to be rich, liked by everyone, etc. They illustrate that this will never be reality with the brilliant line, “Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up first for you, brother.” The instrumental “Randolph Country Farewell” is a nice acoustic country interlude before “Payback’s a Bitch.” This rock song is about a man telling a woman just that. I love the line, “If I were you, I’d sleep with one eye open.” I also love how much thought the group seems to put into their lyrics, even on rock songs. It makes you want to listen to the words as much as the music. Their lyrical focus comes from their country leanings.

Blackberry Smoke ventures back to country for the next two songs. “Lay it All on Me” is a fun song that paints an amusing picture of our dirty little secrets. The narrator falls in love with a girl with a complicated past and is now on the run from her and her brother after being caught cheating. “No Way Back to Eden” argues that the world is so full of sin and evil that it is beyond help. It’s another one that you really need to hear to appreciate. The album closes much as it began–with an angry rock song. “Fire in the Hole” feels more personal, like an attack on a record label or executive. Lines like “I can’t see why you are the one who holds the key” point to this, but I could be wrong.

Holding all the Roses is an excellent album. It’s more rock than country, but it succeeds at both. If you want to hear nothing but steel guitar and stripped-down country, this is not the album for you. If you love rock and country, and would like to see what would happen if AC/DC and Charlie Daniels produced a musical child, buy this album. It’s one of the best albums of the year by far.

Listen to Album