Since the emergence of the Allman Brothers Band there has been a steady line of long-haired, Southern rockers preaching the good word of southern music. Southern rock now covers a wide spectrum of music and encapsulates hundreds of bands – everything from the Drive-By Truckers to Kings of Leon. In this part of the country we’re especially saturated by the Southern rock and jam band scene, both of which have a very large and very strong cult following.
Needless to say, the genre has got a lot of crap out there. There are a lot of bands out that pick up a Les Paul, grow shoulder length hair along with scraggly beards, get some cheap flannel print shirts and call it Southern rock. Also, since imitation is the highest form of flattery there are way too many Black Crowes and Allman Brothers clones out there.
Hence, out of the years of mediocrity, bands like Drive-By Truckers, Kings of Leon and our own North Mississippi All-Stars have made their mark by furthering the genre of southern rock rather than closely emulating it’s forefathers.
A newcomer to the scene, Zach Williams and The Reformation, is doing its level best to stand out from the rest of the pentatonic, Gibson playing crowd. The band’s debut album Electric Revival is this bunch of Arkansians’ proverbial tossing of the trucker hat into the southern rock ring. Recorded where rock began, Memphis, this 10-track album has its fair share of highs and lows. At first listen, I heard a band trying to walk a fine line between originality and veneration.
Still, the musicianship within this Northern Arkansas five piece is not only evident, but tactile in their live performance. A recent tour stop in Starkville gave me the chance to see if the bands’ studio performance was the result of some crafty recording engineer, or the product of veteran players who knew what they were doing. The verdict is the latter, and to be honest, playing live is what these guys do and do well. Also, Zach and his boys have the chops, songs, and if they’re careful, the chance to have their own chapter in the book of Southern Rock.
Electric Revival opens with “Are You Free,” a slower moving diddy with a holiness church feel. There’s definitely some dirty delta soil in the DNA of this song. Williams’ vocals are strong, and even better, he sounds like his own man. One thing I took issue with in this band is Williams’ tendency to channel a little too much Chris Robinson (lead singer for the Black Crowes) and ignore his own sound. The Black Crowes rightly so deserve homage, but in my opinion, do that when you’re doing a compilation album and not your debut.
On deck behind “Are You Free” is the ballad “Fools Gold.” Gold is the operative term in this song. It has the familiarity of some great Southern rock ballads without going overboard, but it stands well on its own two feet and lyrically avoids any hackneyed themes in Southern rock. “Fools Gold” is a well thought out introspective with a strong piano melody and Williams definitely settles down into his own voice in this one.
The third track on the album, “Can You Feel Me” flirts too heavily with the Crowes both vocally and musically. It’s understandable that a newcomer on the scene would want to show that it has some similarities that a crowd would recognize, but I hear this song and I forget about Zach Williams and The Reformation and start thinking about my trip to see the Black Crowes in concert next month.
I was always taught to stick criticism between two compliments and this is still a rocking tune and musically it’s a solid song. For the more mainstream listener they would enjoy the song I’m sure, but for me if I have a craving for something I go to the source. If Zach Williams and The Reformation try to be the Black Crowes, they’re obviously going to get beaten every time.
Track four, “Empty Dreams,” is another great ballad – simple, showcases Williams’ voice amazingly and is one of the gems on this album. I definitely can hear this one getting piped through my car speakers on rock radio. “Empty Dreams” is a track worth checking out. It’s on iTunes, the bands’ MySpace and Web site, fire up the “ol’ Internets” and definitely check this one out.
“Stronger,” track five, could be used during a motivation/training montage in an after-school special movie or a Habitat for Humanity commercial. We’ve all heard this song before. Since the demise of records and the emergence of cassettes and CDs and their larger track capacity this is what we get now on some albums – filler. Sorry guys, but that’s what this one is.
“Angel With A Broken Wing,” although bad title irony, is how you should pay homage to your influences. The track includes Mississippi great, North Mississippi All-Star frontman and Black Crowes guitarist Luther Dickinson sitting in on guitar. It’s a fun jam, and a solid song and is it’s own song, but the nuances of other bands and songs are heard in there in a good way. The band did well on this one and for those of you into the jam band/Southern rock scene will definitely like this.
On the downhill side of this album we find “Two More Days.” A nice contrast offered by an acoustic guitar intro tearing into the full band gives this song some good variance and it stands out to your ear after so many guitars turned up to eleven. Mr. Williams the songwriter is bearing more of his soul on this one and a pattern begins to emerge. The songs on this album that stand out seem to be the ones speaking from Williams’ heart and his personal stories, not lyrics to back up a cool guitar riff.
“Without You” has a good B3 organ sound and it gives the song a swinging Stevie Wonder feel, ala “Superstitious.” Again, heart equals gold on this track. It’s a definite deep cut for the band’s catalog.
“Take Me Home” is a tender, slow-moving ballad again with a good gospel feel. A stout, soulful backup singer, acoustic guitar, piano and organ accompany Williams on this one. The song sounds so bare and raw, this was an excellent way to begin to wind the album down. I’d also give this a nod as one of the better songs on the album. It’s Southern rock at its’ best.
To me, Zach Williams and The Reformation may have committed a little bit of heresy during their Electric Revival with the closing track. It’s called “Midnite Ride.” To those of you that are unfamiliar with Southern rock, one of the Allman Brothers’ most famous songs is “Midnight Rider.” Naming your song something that so closely resembles one of the crown jewels of a genre just makes you look bad. This is a good song, though, and the band is showing their style on the closer. Just bad title choice, gents.
The verdict: Electric Revival should satisfy the most hardcore jam band fiend live and if you’re a more mainstream listener this is a fairly easy pill to swallow. If you’re on the fence, go listen to the band for free on their MySpace page and let them convince you as to whether or not you’d want to own this album. After all, that’s what playing music is all about.