Southern Comfort: Black Stone Cherry And The New Breed
Thursday, 08 May 2014
Written by Simon Ramsay
It's claimed that you can't keep a good man down and the same is also true of musical genres, especially one with the proud heritage of southern rock. As the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Outlaws and friends approach the dusky end of the highway, and the Black Crowes, Gov't Mule and the North Mississippi Allstars assume their venerable mantle, it's time for some feisty young guns to rise up and fly the flag for the coming decades.
Where the Allmans – credited by many as the first southern rock act – always travelled a bluesy path while incorporating jazz, rock jams and gospel, Skynyrd were the supreme boogie brawlers, who could also spin a gentle country lament. .38 Special, meanwhile, crowned their juke joint numbers with radio-friendly AOR melodies.
Regardless of the approach, the fundamental principles remain the same – booty-shaking grooves, down-home soul, extended jams, prolonged guitar breaks and misty eyed meditations on living and loving in working class towns.
It's a blueprint that still endures, and while not as commercially recognised as during its 1970s heyday, there's still an array of quality acts who play the music and live the life. With Black Stone Cherry’s return in mind, we’ve compiled the bands taking cues from southern rock’s forefathers.
Black Stone Cherry
Since their self-titled debut album arrived in 2006, the career trajectory of this talented four piece has been nothing short of astonishing. That a band from a small city in Kentucky, playing a brand of southern rock that incorporates bludgeoning metal riffs, heartfelt storytelling and beautiful ballads, has been so warmly embraced by fans and critics the world over is a success story for rock fans to celebrate.
In Chris Robertson, Black Stone Cherry possess a stirring vocalist who oozes raw power and tender soul from a whiskey-soaked larynx, while the rest of the gang bring a formidable combination of stomping rhythms, swampy grooves and meteor-sized hooks. With 'Magic Mountain' getting rave reviews and an arena tour of the UK lined up for later this year, if any band can propel the genre back to the attention of the masses it's these guys.
Blackberry Smoke
If we had a pound for every band dubbed the 'new LynyrdSkynyrd' we'd be living it up on a cattle ranch with a large posse. That said, this lot are as close to embodying that tag as anyone, effortlessly channelling Ronnie Van Zant and co's blue collar sensibilities and take-no-shit-attitude with authenticity and conviction.
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Blackberry Smoke decorate their rock ‘n' roll and country campfire moments with top notch musicality, wondrous harmonies and unflinching honesty. Widely lauded as one of the best live acts on the scene, their 2009 album ‘Little Piece Of Dixie' is one of the finest southern rock albums for decades.
Whiskey Myers
Equally comfortable moving between sassy Aerosmith-style riffs and countrified acoustic thoughtfulness – as on the appropriately titled Ballad Of A Southern Man – these Texans deliver everything you'd want from an act of their ilk, and then some.
Although tearing it up with scorching solos, bar-room rattling rhythms and contagious harmonies, they retain a melodic panache that makes them hugely accessible, while singer Cody Cannon often sounds like the reincarnation of Skynyrd's Van Zant. Their third album – 2014’s 'Early Morning Shakes' – may be their best to date.
Preacher Stone
Let's not mince words. These guys play some of the finest southern rock known to man, woman or beast. Formed in 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina, they're a confident bunch whose three albums feature pounding hard rock, tumbling Skynyrd picking and soaring Eagles vocals.
“Seeing Preacher Stone is like driving 200 miles per hour in the rain,” claims impressively grizzled singer Ronnie Riddle. If you want hearty vocals, gnarly dobro, shark-like slide work and sincere spirit, this is your new favourite band.
The Cadillac Three
Since being cast aside by the fickle music industry when previously known as American Bang – they released an album that was produced by Bob Rock on Reprise in 2010 before splitting – this three piece wear their southern upbringing as a huge badge of honour, even if they don’t like the southern rock label all that much.
Without any concessions to fashion, they expel a rip-roaring racket propelled by coruscating slide work, explosive power and unashamed hillbilly vocals. Their 2013 debut album has received ample support from Classic Rock magazine while a recent appearance on hit US drama Nashville could easily elevate them to the big leagues.
Shooter Jennings
Son of the great Waylon Jennings, the apple has clearly fallen from the tree and been magnetically attracted back to the trunk. With his base firmly rooted in country music – unsurprising considering his father's work and the fact he grew up around Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson – Shooter previously fronted southern rock act Stargun pursuing a solo career.
Wonderfully eclectic and stretching the elasticity of the southern rock tag, Shooter is wilfully stubborn and unafraid to flick two fingers at convention, incorporating jazz, psychedelic passages and ambient soundscapes into his impressive oeuvre. Not for purists, but open minded guys and gals will love him.
Fifth On The Floor
Like Black Stone Cherry, Fifth On The Floor hail from Kentucky and with song titles like Whiskey, Shotgun, Georgia and Drinkin' Friends it's pretty obvious they aren't a rave band from Manchester. Great lyrical slide work from Ryan Clackner perfectly complements the scorched vocals of Justin Wells as they bash out darkly inflected country songs with a rockin' rollin' heartbeat while weaving in bluesy themes, shuffling rhythms, banjos and fiddles.
The band's Facebook page describes the success of their latest record - produced by Jennings - thus: “Their recent album Ashes & Angels made its way onto the Billboard Country charts, a rarity for a record without Auto-Tune or a truck song(s).”
Powder Mill
Straight out of Missouri and with a vintage 1970s flavour, Powder Mill manfully walk the line between sandpaper-edged hard rock and Charlie Daniels country twang, spinning stories about the trials of the modern world with time honoured Nashville sensibilities.
Whether cranking out banging guitar romps or Dixie hoe-down rhythms, the winning combo of Jesse Charles Hammock II's rough-as-a-badgers’-backside growl and Jeff Chapman's tonally sumptuous solos are their secret weapon as they carry the genre forward in style.
Reluctant Saints
You certainly can't knock this Georgia quintet and their sense of ambition. When forming a band they knew exactly what they wanted to incorporate “Songwriting? Tom Petty. Musicianship? Allman Brothers. Vocals? The Eagles. Let's take all the best parts of these bands and put one together that has all of it!"
Featuring four vocalists and an award-winning slide guitarist, their commercial pop-country boasts smooth melodies and heavenly harmonies, making them the most polished act on this list. Don't let that put you off as they've some lovely driving-on-the-open-road rhythms, impressive dual lead guitars, infectious hooks and a sparkling feel good factor that will leave you yearning for a simpler life away from the big city.
Lucero
Having formed in 1998, these lads from Tennessee released their first album at the turn of the millennium and, eight records later, have established a predictably unpredictable style that veers from classic boogie grooves to country punk and, more recently, bouncing Memphis soul.
In singer Ben Nichols they've a front man with a weathered but tuneful rasp, making him the perfect mouthpiece for their working class poetry. With a fondness for throwing in horns, honky tonk piano and a whole cornucopia of wonderfully layered instruments, in an ideal world every bar would have Lucero as the house band. Check out 'Women & Work' for proof of their calibre.
Black Stone Cherry Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 23 2014 - DUBLIN Academy
Fri October 24 2014 - BELFAST Mandela Hall
Sun October 26 2014 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Mon October 27 2014 - SHEFFIELD Motorpoint Arena
Tue October 28 2014 - CARDIFF Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
Thu October 30 2014 - BIRMINGHAM LG Arena
Fri October 31 2014 - MANCHESTER Phones 4u Arena
Sat November 01 2014 - LONDON Wembley Arena
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