BAND – BLACK STONE CHERRY
REVIEWED BY JOHN ERIGO
ALBUM – FAMILY TREE
LABEL – MASCOT RECORDS
RELEASED – 4/20/18
MEMBERS –

• Chris Robertson – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar
• Ben Wells – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jon Lawhon – bass guitar, backing vocals
• John Fred Young – drums, percussion, piano, backing vocals
  BLACK STONE CHERRY – OFFICIAL WEB SITE
  BLACK STONE CHERRY – OFFICIAL TWITTER
  BLACK STONE CHERRY – OFFICIAL FACEBOOK 
  BLACK STONE CHERRY – OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM
  BLACK STONE CHERRY ON MASCOT RECORDS

   

  BLACK STONE CHERRY is the kind of band that made me want to do this web site. A younger band that kind of defies a specific label or genre but rock hard enough for headbangers and fans of hard rock to sink their teeth into. First off, we need to thank MASCOT RECORDS for supplying us with our first advanced album for a review! I personally have been a big BSC fan for years now and was really excited for this release. Their last album titled KENTUCKY was probably their best to date, and they followed that up with a really solid EP called BLACK TO BLUES. I’ve seen these guys in concert, and have actually met them a few times over the years – great band and really humble, down to Earth guys that rock with the best of them, so let’s dig in!

  So, the new album is called FAMILY TREE – which is a cool idea/concept in these days of bands just being thrown together. BLACK STONE CHERRY have been at it for over 15 years now, grinding away. Their amazing blend of soulful, bluesy and at times, sledge hammer, rock n roll is a huge breath of fresh air in a time where internet streaming services are turning more sheeple(meaning people are like sheep, blindly following a “leader”) into music listening drones. This new album is right up there with their best work. BLACK STONE CHERRY could be considered a 21st century Lynryd Skynyrd or Molly Hatchet. Combining that good old Southern Blues and Soul with AC/DC and Aerosmith-ish rock n roll. This is all made possible by the bands main man Chris Robertson but it is clear this is a band effort, always has been and always will be. Chris has a lot of soul in his guitar playing and singing but there is an undeniable sense of rock n roll and grit in there too

  OK, on to the music at hand – the album FAMILY TREE. I get a really warm feeling from this album, it feels like I know these guys and hang out with them on any given  SOUTHERN FRIED FRIDAY NIGHT! LOL! The grooves are great, the mix of rock n blues with elements of Southern Soul sprinkled in are just perfect! The opening 3 tracks are really great mid tempo rockers – BAD HABIT, BURNIN’ and NEW KINDA FEELIN’. The hooks are there to hold you in, great guitar work from Chris and Ben Wells. Bass player Jonathan Lawhon and drummer John Fred Young are a really busy players but not over doing it and lay an immense solid back bone to the bands sound. I wonder if anyone else hears a little of KISS’ 1977 song CHRISTINE 16 in the piano parts of NEW KINDA FELLIN’ too? is it just me? LOL! But it’s songs like CARRY ME ON DOWN THE ROAD that bring it all back to their Southern roots. There are parts of the song MY LAST BREATH have almost a Gospel type of feel with the use of female background vocals.

   

  The album also has a guest star on the song DANCIN’ IN THE RAIN —  WARREN HAYES who is basically Southern Rock royalty – Mister Hayes was a member of THE ALLMAN BROTHERS and also the founding member of the jam band GOV’T MULE. His voice just cuts through the track and paired with Chris Robertson, it’s a great moment and almost feels like a passing of the torch. The back n forth guitar solos are SO good, a nice moment to have on the album for sure. Another song that caught my ear was AIN’T NOBODY because the intro sounded like 1970’s AC/DC with a slide guitar over it! A masterful mix of hard rock and Southern blues!!!!

  Overall this album is packed with great chorus/hooks that will have you singing along, lots and lots guitars for you to air guitar too, and plenty of rhythm to keep your feet tapin’ along. This is another great album by a group of young men who have a long and brilliant future ahead of them. They do have a lot of tour dates lined up, both as a headliner and a some opening for the aforementioned Gov’t Mule. So check these guys out when they roll into town and do yourself a favor and buy this album, you can thank me afterwards! LOL!!!!