I can already imagine the haters of Blackberry Smoke after the first listen – if they finish it – of this “Be Right Here”. As usual. What if they don’t have the punch of other southern rock bands. What if they are too little greasy? That everything is perfectly in its place. That they are missing songs (sic). This last one is usually the one that surprises me the most, but when you hear it, you hear it. I have also discussed on occasions the character of the band as a group included in the southern. And I don’t care exactly how they rate themselves. I firmly believe that Blackberry Smoke They transcended the genre a long time ago and their proposal is much more open. At times country rock, at times American, at times, also of course, southern… But wanting to constantly compare them with groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Blackfoot seems like a big mistake to me.
That being said, here are Charlie Starr and his band with an album that will delight their fans. Add to its usual presence the presence of Dave Cobb, as musician and producer, and the collaborations of Preston Holcomb on percussion, Benji Shanks on guitar, and the backing vocals of The Black Bettys. They only needed to get the composition right and they had the status of a great album within reach. And boy have they done it.
The groove that they master so well is evident in the first of the ten songs that we are going to listen to, the first single, “Dig A Hole”. With a markedly bluesy aroma, the group already warns: we are not here to surprise anyone but to make a good album, again Capisci? “Hammer And The Nail” starts with Charlie singing over an acoustic. It is another of the topics that we also advanced and it is good. Very good. The piano shines in the sound cushion, and the singer shines in a song in which we can find former Buckcherry Keith Nelson as co-composer. “Like It Was Yestardy” It is Stoneian, or as Stones as a band full of personality like can be. Blackberry Smoke. Instead, “Be So Lucky” It’s more swamp. With a slurred cadence that perfectly suits Starr to talk about someone luckier than him. With “Azalea” the acoustic interval arrives. A beautiful song, very Eagles although with some Appalachian ballads, to show off the singer who here turns to his friend Travis Meadows to help him in the composition.
“Don’t Minf If I Do” is, for now, one of my favorites on the album. “They took away all my sadness,” the lyrics say. And one wants to at least claim not to be left without that. The next to appear in compositional tasks alongside Starr – evidently more than half the group – is Brent Cobb, Dave’s cousin and a true star of current Americana. “Watcha No Good” It is the result and the band shines again at a high level. Don’t worry, it seems that the guy from Atlanta has gotten a taste for writing with someone and in “Other Side Of The Light” It’s Levi Lowrey’s turn. One of those songs about the prodigal son’s return home in which, here, bands like the Allman Brothers may slightly appear to us in their more country side. Gospel by The Black Berttys opens “Little Bit Crazy”, great song in which the guitars shine as much as Brandon Still’s keyboard, although perhaps it appears too low, until it takes center stage towards the end of the song. In any case, here it is. This is southern rock of jack, horse and king. And we like it. And we come to the ballad of the album, “Barefoot Angel”, A beauty, with the keys – how else? – dominating the atmosphere and serving as a perfect closing to another great album by Blackberry Smoke. Y of…