Black Stone Cherry - Black To Blues (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

In April 2016, Black Stone Cherry released “Kentucky”, to great critical and commercial success. Kentucky reached new chart peaks for the band worldwide, and was followed by massive touring through the United States, Europe and Australia. In the midst of this all, the band found the time and dedication to record “Black to Blues”. The EP „Black To Blues“ features six blues-classics originally written and/or performed by legendary musicians like Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Booker T. Jones, Albert King and Freddy King. On “Black to Blues”, these traditional songs get wildly Black Stone Cherry-fied, while also paying homage to the original on the other hand.

“I know it’s crazy for four rock n’ roll dudes to make a blues EP, but it’s us sharing with everyone the music that’s been our DNA from day one,” Black Stone Cherry vocalist and guitarist Chris Robertson says. “Blues is the music we listen to when we sit around on the bus with a bottle of bourbon.”

Black To Blues’ pays homage to the fertile 1960s era of electric blues where the masters pushed boundaries with experimentation and volume. The EP includes covers by Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and Albert King. The album was recorded in a burst of fevered inspiration this past spring at David Barrick’s Barrick Recording, the same studio where BSC recorded its recent album ‘Kentucky.’ Self produced, tracked the music in two days, and favored a raw, in-the-moment production aesthetic to capture the inspired sessions. Chris adds: “Our approach was to do these songs as we’ve written them, with attitude and heavy guitar.”

„Black To Blues“ opens with the Howlin’ Wolf classic ‘Built For Comfort.’ Here, they harnesses the song’s dark energy with foot-stomping burly riffage, impassioned whiskey and honey vocals, and a peaks and valleys arrangement that features virtuosic bursts of bluesy guitar brilliance, smoky quiet passages, and mountains crashing down climaxes. Throughout the EP, the imaginative arrangements, soulful vocals, and subtle band interplay evoke the halcyon days of heavy blues acts such as Free and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. On ‘Champagne & Reefer’ they mesmerize with deft slide guitar playing and powerful contrasting haunting and hefty dynamics. Other standouts include a raucous version of Muddy Waters’ ‘I Want To Be Loved,’ complete with jaw-dropping blues-rock guitar solos, and a clever rendition of Freddie King’s ‘Palace Of King”, there they “moved one note to make it more dark,” Chris reveals. The blues is always a sage teacher, and making the ‘Black To Blues’ EP was a transformative experience for Black Stone Cherry. Chris says: “It was humbling and freeing at the same time. It reignited our passion for this music, and it will definitely have an effect on our next album.”

Tracklist:

01. Built For Comfort
02. Champagne & Reefer
03. Palace Of The King
04. Hoochie Coochie Man
05. Born Under A Bad Sign
06. I Want To Be Loved

Personnel:

Chris Robertson - vocals, guitar
Ben Wells - guitar, vocals
Jonathan Lawhon - bass, vocals
John Fred Young - drums, harmonica, vocals



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