Black Stone Cherry - Kentucky
Being a fan of progressive music, it’s often nice to take a break from the crazed world of odd meters and 20 minute epic tracks, and return to the tried and tested method of a 4/4 groove and a massive riff. None do this much better than Black Stone Cherry, a favourite of mine ever since I was first introduced into the world of heavier music. What I love about this group so much is their homegrown nature. Lots of modern rock bands can churn out stadium worthy anthems, but these guys do it with a passion and soul that you’ll be hard pressed to find in any other band in this genre. Whilst still decent albums, the last two (’Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea’, and ‘Magic Mountain’)have been sleepers for me in comparison to their freshman and sophomore efforts, with some memorable tracks laced in-between some very run of the mill songs desperately aiming for radio acclaim. With this latest record, ‘Kentucky’, I feel that the band have returned to the heights of their first two albums, and have produced a heartfelt disc that will at once please fans new and old.
The songwriting on this album is a massive step up from ‘Magic Mountain’. Tracks don’t always follow the strict verse chorus format that damned many tracks on the previous disc to a lack of standout moments. Many verses are developed upon a return after the chorus, and the band express a freedom in their playing that wasn’t presented before, as if they were constrained to writing 3 minute songs because ‘that’s what people want to hear’. This newfound freedom is matched with arrangements as well. With ‘Soul Machine’ standing out in particular complete with a brass section and incredible female backing vocals that really make the song stand out as one of the best in their entire catalogue.
This track is followed by ‘Long Ride’, which tones things down after four high energy songs prior to this. Following along the lines of songs such as ‘In My Blood’ and ‘You’, with a massive vocal melody and some really emotional guitar lines. And next comes what I consider the best moment on this album, period. This slower, emotional ballad leads into a snare roll, introducing a cover of ‘War’ by Edwin Starr. After countless listens, these three tracks in succession still slap a huge smile across my face. This epitomises all that Black Stone Cherry are: Absolute fun, but always with an emotional connection that makes their music extremely relatable and applicable, and it’s all tied up in a bow with a belting guitar solo.
After this portion is concluded, it was always gonna be tough to follow, and BSC continue the flow of the disc with two more generic tracks, ‘Hangman’ and ‘Cheaper To Drink Alone’. For me, they serve no great purpose than to just keep the ball rolling, and offer nothing that hasn’t already been presented. The rest of the tracks are typical Black Stone Cherry territory, but are presented to the listener with a sense of intent that gives them a serious weight. I’m always drawn to the track ‘Feeling Fuzzy’, one of the shorter songs on the album, extremely heavy but with a soaring melody on both guitar and vocals to top it off. The production is really highlighted on this one. The guitars are meaty and dense, the drums are massive, and the bass is pounding.
The second major highlight of ‘Kentucky’ comes in the last track. Black Stone Cherry have done ballads before, and they do them well, but ‘The Rambler’ has to be one of the best songs ever featured on one of their records. A heartbreaking tune complete with one of Chris Robertson’s most emotional, incredible vocal performances to date. This one is gonna be in the live set for a long time to come.
More riffs. More fills. More everything. Black Stone Cherry have 100% delivered with this release, providing us with a healthy dose of balls to the wall rock music with a soul that shows us that they haven’t forgotten where they’ve come from.
Top Track(s): Soul Machine, The Rambler
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhjpk338qsZ9ZIqicYhJzmFCeHPQtTP7A
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