Review Summary: After "Folklore and Superstition", Black Stone Cherry really disappoint with their latest effort. Less Melody, less lyrical content, less power...
It’s summertime. And what music does fit summertime best? Southern Rock! Black Stone Cherry has emerged as one of the best southern rock artist of the last decade. Their first album sounded like it could’ve been recorded during the late 70’s. Their second album moved them more towards the mainstream, which wasn’t a bad thing after all. Basically, a glass of whiskey should be with each of their records so far. Let’s check out if the third one manages to meet those high standards of this band again.
The album opener “White Trash Millionaire” is just what you’ve been looking for: Full Power, Southern Feeling and a sing-along chorus. If you don’t want to drive your car while listening to this song, there is definitely something wrong with you. Good news for you: There are a lot of track with a similar atmosphere (“Killing Floor”, “Such A Shame”, “Change”). Another notable thing is: This song could easily have been on their debut
Musically speaking, the album consists of more or less 3 categories: Southern Rock, Radio Rock and Ballads. Sadly, most Ballads and Radio Rock songs are all just average. They even sound like a “Southern Nickelback” at some point, which is really sad. But what do I expect? Should they re-invent the wheel of contemporary rock? Nevertheless, the songs from their second album “Folklore and Superstition” were all more detailed, melodic and probably even more extraordinary. Their mix of contemporary and southern rock got replaced by a mix of mainstream rock and somewhat southern. Also worth mentioning: In the song “Killing Floor”, Black Stone Cherry uses vocal effects, although they don’t really seem to fit in my opinion. So what about the lyrics? Did they manage to write good lyrics again like they did on their second album? Again, the answer is no, although there are some exceptions. Most lyrics deal with the life of an average man; some of them are even decent storytellers (“Such a Shame”, “Like I Roll”). Between all those reflective “average-Joe” lyrics, you can even find really trivial lyrics (“Let me see you shake”, “Blame it on the Boom Boom”), which remind more of a teenager party than of a good rock album. Overall there is more contrast than on their previous records, but due to the lower quality of most songs, it feels like this effort is less diverse than their previous one. As for the rest of the songs, the quality of the lyrics is mediocre.
The ballads and Radio Rock songs are pretty much what you would expect when you think of some other examples. Simple Structure, mediocre melodies, laidback feeling and a few details - and that’s it. For some reason, not a single song of those two categories leaves a lasting impression, or at least a positive one. However, they aren’t bad either, but they are just “average”.
Last and probably least - the album’s final track “All I’m Dreaming Of”. Okay. I have to admit the lyrics are good, although they are quite simple. So let’s talk about the music: the melody does neither sound catchy nor would it grow on me as I listen to it more often. In fact, this song lacks change, details and interludes. This track may result into a false impression of the album, causing to make it appear worse than it actually is.
All in all, I have to admit that I’m a bit disappointed by this record. The Southern Rock Songs are all still pretty solid, but the rest of the album simply became worse in comparison to their previous one. Lyrics, Music and Singing are all just below average now. However, I would recommend everyone who likes Black Stone Cherry in general to give it a try.
2.5/5
Best Tracks: “Such A Shame” “White Trash Millionaire” “Like I Roll”
Note: This review has been edited, Ive changed the rating to 2 instead of 2.5.
