Southern double shot
Blackberry Smoke - The Whippoorwill; Leave a Scar - Live in North Carolina
Blackberry Smoke - The Whippoorwill; Leave a Scar - Live in North Carolina
FabricationsHQ makes no excuse for reviewing Blackberry Smoke’s third studio album in 2014, some two years after its initial release.
But then no excuse is needed.
The Whippoorwill (named after the American nightjar bird) first saw the light of musical day in August 2012 but that was Stateside; the official UK release was February 2014 when the album (complete with bonus tracks including the southern funk of 'Country Side of Life') reached the UK Top 30.
And so strong and suited to performance are The Whippoorwill tracks that they soon dominated the Atlanta based band’s live set; together with the live album Leave a Scar they act as a signpost on the Dixie Highway that points towards Blackberry Smoke becoming a household name in country-rooted southern rock.
Not that any prior success has been handed on a plate to the band or manifested itself through constant airplay for their earlier releases. Far from it.
The band’s first two albums, Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime and Little Piece of Dixie were excellent slices of country and blues-tinged southern rock (and roll), but the independent releases were never destined to bother the charts.
But constant touring and a collective working the asses off from Charlie Starrs (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), Brandon Still (keyboards) and brothers Richard (bass, vocals) and Britt Turner (drums) is finally paying off – The Whippoorwill made both the Billboard Top 40 and the US Country Top 10, a major success for a southern rock band not called Lynyrd Skynyrd with no previous chart history.
But then The Whippoorwill is nothing less than one of the strongest rock releases of 2014 (or 2012), with a broader Blackberry Smoke palette that includes influences of honky tonk rock and roll ('Six Ways to Sunday'), hard-pop country ('Pretty Little Lie') and gospel-tinged piano-led southern balladeering ('Up the Road').
And with songs such as the poignant title track, the Springsteen-esque 'One Horse Town,' the barroom band styled fun of 'Ain’t Got the Blues' and the southern country-rock blues of 'Ain’t Much Left of Me' ("I’ve been rained on, rode hard and put up wet... danced with the devil till I’m in debt" sings Charlie Starrs; it doesn’t get more countrified blues than that) Blackberry Smoke have done nothing less than re-invent country influenced southern rock – and in some style.
But then no excuse is needed.
The Whippoorwill (named after the American nightjar bird) first saw the light of musical day in August 2012 but that was Stateside; the official UK release was February 2014 when the album (complete with bonus tracks including the southern funk of 'Country Side of Life') reached the UK Top 30.
And so strong and suited to performance are The Whippoorwill tracks that they soon dominated the Atlanta based band’s live set; together with the live album Leave a Scar they act as a signpost on the Dixie Highway that points towards Blackberry Smoke becoming a household name in country-rooted southern rock.
Not that any prior success has been handed on a plate to the band or manifested itself through constant airplay for their earlier releases. Far from it.
The band’s first two albums, Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime and Little Piece of Dixie were excellent slices of country and blues-tinged southern rock (and roll), but the independent releases were never destined to bother the charts.
But constant touring and a collective working the asses off from Charlie Starrs (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), Brandon Still (keyboards) and brothers Richard (bass, vocals) and Britt Turner (drums) is finally paying off – The Whippoorwill made both the Billboard Top 40 and the US Country Top 10, a major success for a southern rock band not called Lynyrd Skynyrd with no previous chart history.
But then The Whippoorwill is nothing less than one of the strongest rock releases of 2014 (or 2012), with a broader Blackberry Smoke palette that includes influences of honky tonk rock and roll ('Six Ways to Sunday'), hard-pop country ('Pretty Little Lie') and gospel-tinged piano-led southern balladeering ('Up the Road').
And with songs such as the poignant title track, the Springsteen-esque 'One Horse Town,' the barroom band styled fun of 'Ain’t Got the Blues' and the southern country-rock blues of 'Ain’t Much Left of Me' ("I’ve been rained on, rode hard and put up wet... danced with the devil till I’m in debt" sings Charlie Starrs; it doesn’t get more countrified blues than that) Blackberry Smoke have done nothing less than re-invent country influenced southern rock – and in some style.
With such a strong studio offering it’s perhaps no surprise that all thirteen tracks from The Whippoorwill feature on Leave a Scar - Live in North Carolina.
But the 2CD and DVD live package isn’t just a showcase for the
band’s third album plus a 'Best Of' their other songs – it also
provides recorded proof of just how good this band are live.
The quintet are high-energy, airtight and produce vocals that match
the studio recordings, whether that be the Georgia voiced leads of Charlie Starrs or the three-part harmonies from Starrs, Paul Jackson and Richard Turner.
Six songs from the first two albums make an appearance including, from Bad Luck Ain't No Crime, 'Sanctified Woman' (originally known as 'Sanctified' and re-recorded for Little Piece of Dixie) and 'Testify.'
The songs’ solid one-two rock punch follows a vibrant version of set opener 'Shakin’ Hands with the Holy Ghost' from The Whippoorwill.
'Good One Comin’ On,' 'Up in Smoke,' 'Restless' and 'Shake Your Magnolia' from Little Piece of Dixie get an airing; all four work well (especially the punchy 'Up in Smoke' and the raunchy roll of 'Shake Your Magnolia') but the most interesting non-Whippoorwill songs are two tracks from the band’s New Honky Tonk Bootlegs E.P. and an outing for a brand new number.
The honky-tonk country fun of 'Son of the Bourbon' and the country blues of 'Lesson in a Bottle' are the double shot pours from the E.P. while the watch-your-back lyric and mid-tempo rock of 'Payback’s a Bitch' will feature on the band’s fourth studio album Holding all the Roses, scheduled for a February 2015 release.
Criticisms are limited to personal track listing or set-list choices.
Four tracks from Little Piece of Dixie provide a flavour of the band’s sophomore album but there should have been a place for their mini-epic 'Freedom Song' (proving you don’t need to write a ten minute number to produce a southern rock classic).
And a couple more tracks from Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss, if only to help re-promote an album that deserved much more attention when first released.
Song selection quandaries aside, Leave a Scar (which takes its name from the full throttle Whippoorwill number and its "I may not change the world but I’m gonna leave a scar!" Dixie yell chorus) highlights the quality of one of the best rock – southern or otherwise – bands currently performing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
But the 2CD and DVD live package isn’t just a showcase for the
band’s third album plus a 'Best Of' their other songs – it also
provides recorded proof of just how good this band are live.
The quintet are high-energy, airtight and produce vocals that match
the studio recordings, whether that be the Georgia voiced leads of Charlie Starrs or the three-part harmonies from Starrs, Paul Jackson and Richard Turner.
Six songs from the first two albums make an appearance including, from Bad Luck Ain't No Crime, 'Sanctified Woman' (originally known as 'Sanctified' and re-recorded for Little Piece of Dixie) and 'Testify.'
The songs’ solid one-two rock punch follows a vibrant version of set opener 'Shakin’ Hands with the Holy Ghost' from The Whippoorwill.
'Good One Comin’ On,' 'Up in Smoke,' 'Restless' and 'Shake Your Magnolia' from Little Piece of Dixie get an airing; all four work well (especially the punchy 'Up in Smoke' and the raunchy roll of 'Shake Your Magnolia') but the most interesting non-Whippoorwill songs are two tracks from the band’s New Honky Tonk Bootlegs E.P. and an outing for a brand new number.
The honky-tonk country fun of 'Son of the Bourbon' and the country blues of 'Lesson in a Bottle' are the double shot pours from the E.P. while the watch-your-back lyric and mid-tempo rock of 'Payback’s a Bitch' will feature on the band’s fourth studio album Holding all the Roses, scheduled for a February 2015 release.
Criticisms are limited to personal track listing or set-list choices.
Four tracks from Little Piece of Dixie provide a flavour of the band’s sophomore album but there should have been a place for their mini-epic 'Freedom Song' (proving you don’t need to write a ten minute number to produce a southern rock classic).
And a couple more tracks from Bad Luck Ain’t No Crime certainly wouldn’t have gone amiss, if only to help re-promote an album that deserved much more attention when first released.
Song selection quandaries aside, Leave a Scar (which takes its name from the full throttle Whippoorwill number and its "I may not change the world but I’m gonna leave a scar!" Dixie yell chorus) highlights the quality of one of the best rock – southern or otherwise – bands currently performing.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
The audio tracks are presented to accompany the above review and promote the work of the artist.
No infringement of copyright is intended.
No infringement of copyright is intended.