Blackberry Smoke is a band I first heard back at the Machine Shop playing the Redneck Rodeo shows that Whitey Morgan and Dixie Hustler would always be the openers on. They put on a great set and it’s always a good test of a band to hear them live without knowing any of their songs. If they can pull you in when you don’t know the lyrics, then you know you are listening to a great live band. So I hadn’t stumbled on any of their cds until just recently when I saw one of their songs on a “Promo Only Country” cd, so I looked for their newest release and copped it off itunes that morning. What I heard did not disappoint, from the opening single “Good One Comin’ On” to the last track “Freedom Song” I was intrigued enough that I listened to it again immediately after the first run through. The song that stuck the most was “Bottom of this” a great song about wanting to hear about his wife’s problems and help “get to the bottom of that after I get to the bottom of this”. “Like I am”, “Restless” and “Prayer for the little Man” are some other standout tracks. This is the album Bob Ritchie wishes he could make, as they say it’s “Too rock for country and too country for rock” This dilema has them in a spot where radio play is minimal and they have to build their following through word of mouth and their live shows. But something tells me anyone who sees BBS live comes away a fan. This is my favorite album of the last year, if you like Kid Rock, Skynyrd, Kracker, Dirty Americans and the like, you’ll love Black Berry Smoke.

Blackberry Smoke Website

Blackberry Smoke Facebook

“Spit out kid rock’s cum and go make a new album”

I can’t make this kind of shit up, my personal outlook immediately was that the band had spent too much time touring with Uncle Kracker and some of the slow popish music that Kracker uses to pay his mortgage was wearing off on them.  Now I couldn’t be too pissed with Kracker, without him performing “Bartender” back at the Machine Shop in Flint back in like 2001 or 2002, I never would have heard of Rehab and would have missed out on a bunchy of great music.  Fast forward to this past Saturday morning, having listened to the album 2 or 3 times all the way through, I thought I had given it ample time to either grow on me or go away.  I’ve got a personal theory with music that if I listen to an album or song and the first time I think it’s great, I’ll listen to it for 2 weeks and then never listen again.  On the other hand when I hear and album and am just blah about it, when the time comes that I finally do give it a proper listen, I tend to really like the album.  So with that back to Saturday morning, I wake up and all that is going through my head is Danny Boone signing

“All I ever Wanted”

Now I hadn’t listened to “Welcome Home” in at least a week, so it was weird to me that I couldn’t get the chorus to the opening track out of my head, so my Saturday  morning was for house cleaning so I grab the iPod and throw on the album thinking  it’ll clear my head and I can move on with something else after giving “#1″ a listen.  What transpired for the next 45 minutes was me hearing the album for what it really is, gone was the feeling of how slow, bland  and boring the songs were, they had new life and the album I was listening too sounded nothing like my first impressions.  So here’s a track by track breakdown of the new album.

1.  #1:  Love this song, great narrative about an artist hitting New York and wanting to be #1 and “bring home a million bucks” back to Georgia.  Not sure if this is a somewhat true story or just well written version of how it might have been, but great way to start the album.

2.  Oh My:  This song rocks, has a lot of the old Rehab attitude and sound to it, without being the same ole same.

3.  Lightening Bolts:  I can relate to Danny on this one, as we get older these are things we think of.  The song is basically a message to his parents if he “goes before them both” and that he’ll visit them in lightening bolts.  Has some of the old rap vibes in the second verse and shows Danny’s versatility.

4. Decisions:  My favorite song the first time thru, another song that shows a grown man perspective on the world.

5.  Welcome Home:  I prefer the single version without the strings at the beginning, but still a great song and the best song of 2010 in my opinion.

6.  Ole Friends:  Just a good ole drinking with old friend song.

7.  Some People:  Great song that tells the world how most middle class people feel about those in big houses with all the money.

8.  Everybody Everywhere:  This one really gives a new feel to Rehab, with a chorus that probably makes most old school fans want to break the cd in half if they could, but it fits the vibe of the album perfectly.

9.  Talk About:  Great road song.

10.  Ride Out Chick:  The closest they got to the old Rehab sound, but just an ok song to me, doesn;t fit the rest of the vibe and lyrical content.

11.  I won’t Back Down (bonus track):  Really nice sound, almost seems like they went into the studio and were messing around and liked what came out.

So in the end, It’s a solid album that needs a few listens before you really get it.  Some of the younger Rehab fans won’t ever get the albums content and will continue to hate on it online, but the band is releasing a Fixtape that is said to feature more rapping and old school Rehab, so they can grab that and be satisfied and hopefully the rest of the world gets to hear this album and see how good it really is.

Final Verdict:  8/10  If it had featured a few more songs and had the unreleased song “Burt Reynolds” on it, it would have gotten a 9 or 10, but a solid album from Danny Boone and company and hopefully I get a chance to see these guys live soon.

But in the end there’s only so much time on the radio for songs and the more new ones they add and the more they play Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts, the less time there is for those classic artists we’ve heard for years.  We’re in a weird era right now where the new artists are the ones making good solid records, Justin Moore’s album is 5 times as good as Toby Keith’s latest, Zac Brown’s album has more creativity than a million Rascal Flatts.  In the past it’s always been the “Top Artists” who got all the best songs from the songwriters, but it really seems lately people are digging artists who write their own songs more than ever.  This is a great trend for me as I’ve long preferred an artist who is writing his own songs and pouring some of themselves  into the songs.  I’m a fan of Tim McGraw but it’s very evident on his most recent album which songs he recorded but he likes them or helped write them and which songs the label said need to be on the album for singles.  That being said minus the first single, “Southern Voice” might be his best album to date.

In the end I wonder if artists like Zac Brown and Jamey Johnson are able to keep the same creativity that got them to the top of the charts, or if the labels will dumb them down like they do everyone else?

Punk Bitch Clown Freestyle

Kinda Like a Big Wheel Freestyle

Chub in the Water

Delicate Touch

October on the Beach freestyle

2 Bottles Clacking

Mac had this to say about the last song
Here you guys go! Here is free song #6. I really like this. I wrote the lyrics and made the beat while giving out Twix bars to trick-or-treaters for Halloween. It’s definitely a chilly, Fall song. Enjoy it. I hope it helps soothes any pain or stress. “Two Bottles Clacking” produced, written, recorded, and mixed by Mac Lethal

Hush – Open Book

Free Hush!!!

Just about 3 years ago one of the good guys on the scene seemed to have had the world by the balls. Hush was releasing his album “Bulletproof” on Geffen Records, having his music exposed to the world on National Television, and being given the kind of shine anyone in the biz would love from media outlets nationwide. I remember picking up Maxim Magazine and “Bulletproof” being recognized as Album of the Month. I did not know Hush personally, but as a fan of the Detroit Music Scene, I was proud.

Fast Forward a few Months

I was walking out of a local show when someone handed me a T Shirt. I tucked the T shirt and continued to my car. I got situated in the ride, looked at the T shirt and it said Free Hush! I did not know what was going on, but in support I wore that shirt quite a bit. I have always believed that this scene needs to be united, and to me, wearing that shirt showed some support to a guy that has always supported Detroit.

Fast Forward a few years (Present)

Hush is now free. Free from a contract with Geffen, Free to do what he wants to do, the way he wants to do it. I recently sat down with Hush and just kicked it. This wasn’t some “lets sit down and do an interview shit, I hit Hush up and said Whats up? We got to chatting a bit and I asked him if we could just bullshit a little bit about everything. He shot me over a copy of the new CD “The Open Book” which I immediately threw it in the CD player, and I gotta tell ya, I WAS BLOWN AWAY. It changed my whole perspective on things, it inspired me to write. That takes a lot for me these days, I really worry about the state of Hip Hop. The Production on the record is pretty fuckin dope. Hush is on some personal mission on this album. When we got together, my whole focus kinda changed, it was no longer about getting to the bottom of the Geffen situation, it was more about the new material, and not surprisingly Hush seems to have the same focus. He seems 100% focused, he seems 100% dedicated, he seems 100% passionate. I did not intend to write this, I was also inspired. I asked him the following questions…

1) What inspired the new sound on this record?

I just wanted to do what felt good. I’ve always loved the sound of guitars on Hip-Hop records. Dating back to Boogie Down Productions, to Run DMC, and even just scratched guitar sounds. When Rage Against the Machine came out I thought it was great but my production and sound was never centered around that because I was producing with my ASR-10 and 1200’s and sampling Jazz records, Trip-Hop records, and whatever I could get my hands on at Car City or Record Time but I never thought to include the “Rock” sound. It wasn’t until I incorporated a band that it just felt right. I touched a little bit on the sound with “Bulletproof” but nowhere near where I took it with “The Open Book”. This was 3 years in the making and every record just felt good and felt right. My band and I would sit in rehearsals and just work on a groove or work off of an idea or loop and we would build it from there. This was the first album that I was able to actually go back time and time again, and listen to mixes or change something. I think this sound is here and never left, I just think certain artists left, and since they were so associated with that hybrid sound that fans wrote it off. If you look close though it’s here, every MC is now yelling their a “rock star” mainly because Hip-Hop has the Rock attitude now but also because artists are incorporating guitars on their records, just listen to Slaughterhouse “The One”, or Swollen Members, or La Coka Nostra or even a Travis Barker remix. I just want to be a part of it coming back into the spotlight.

2) You have been through a crazy couple of years, what’s kept you going?

I think just the love of making music. I really love making music. I love performing and I really love performing with this band. I had a lot to say and I had to get it out. I’ve never been one to give up either. No matter what happened with “Bulletproof” you could never count me out and I think people would agree if they know me. I make stuff happen. It’s the “Secret”.

3) Who inspires you musically? Any artists locally?

Instrumental music inspires me. A lot of work by Thomas Newman, or Mark Isham. I am a true Hip-Hop head though, and I have probably the most extensive collection of classic joints that I love to listen and vibe to. Locally, right now Black Milk is definitely in my Top 5 along with Elzhi, Royce, Guilty Simpson, and Marvwon. I hear Black Milk’s beats though and I can’t help but turn that shit up loud. Elzhi’s voice, and cadence are unique but his writing is unlike anyone in the D, it’s amazing. Royce, nuff said. Guilty is a beast, and Marv’s punchlines are bananas, “I’m like a pizza oven homie feed me dough”.

4) What have you learned over the years that you can pass down to others trying to make it in the biz?

Just do you. Don’t listen to your homeboys, wifey, or girlfriend, or anyone else. Do what makes you happy. In the end the only opinion that counts is your own. You obviously have to be smart in what you do and for that I say read, but it’s kind of hard out here to get points across to people coming up because the technology is so user friendly that anyone can rhyme or make beats and to those I would quote Hex and say “QUIT”. But if you want to make it, maintain good relationships with your peers, and network like crazy because you never know what could happen.

5) What more do you look to accomplish in music, where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I’m always going to be involved in music in some way. I’m gonna ride this album as far as I can and see where it takes me. It’s doing great right now so I’m hoping it continues to do well. In 5 years I will probably be producing and working the T.V. angle. I’m working with a Production company now in L.A. on 8 show concepts. I can see myself trying to be involved with city politics as well. Hush for Mayor, what!

In closing, I can say I really love being free, and doing what I want to do and how I want to. It can be a blessing and a curse at the same time because I can only do what I can do without budgets. Having that financial freedom to do what I wanted to do felt great and when your free you have to find ways to make it work and I have to think I’ve been blessed in that certain people have jumped on board and “got it” and understood what I needed to gain a few steps. Other artists don’t always respect the freedom and become “free-dumb”. They never took the time to understand the business or the behind the scenes of making a record work and since the days of Da Ruckus I’ve always made sure I was hands on and an integral part of getting it to the people. I want people to hear “The Open Book” and just know this was 3 years of work with an incredible group backing it musically and just my vision. No A&R’s, no Product Managers, no Creative Marketing team, just us. Hell, if I don’t make it I’m a damn good strategist…

Fast Forward to Friday

Hush returns to St Andrew’s this Friday for his first show there in over 8 years to celebrate the release of “The Open Book” now available on iTunes. Doors are at 9 pm and ages 18 and over are welcome. Tickets are $10 and available at the door. Quest Mcody will be in the house, and I urge anyone and everyone to come down to Drews. After a dozen or so listens, I am excited to see this album performed live. Hush seems a more mature man, destined to making music, and doing things HIS WAY. I never intended to write this piece, I was inspired to write this piece. See ya Friday!!!

www.myspace.com/hush
www.facebook.com/mchush

So here’s a video from back in ‘94 that most people didn’t catch wind of, I think the Curt Cobain line rubbed some people the wrong way and held this record back.

House of Pain – Legend

Uncle Kracker’s first cd in almost 5 years hits stores tomorrow (09/15), and all reports have had the record turned in a couple years ago, rehashed, turned in again and now finally seeing the light of day.  It looks like rumored tracks with Leo Sayer (Happy Hour) and Boyz 2 Men (The One That Got Away)  didn’t make the cut on the retail version I’m reviewing.  I have however heard a 5 song sampler that found it’s way to me last year, that featured Happy Hour, The One That Got Away, Vegas Baby (Should have been in the Hangover) and my favorite track “That’s What’s Happenin” with the great line “I make pop hits, cuz pop checks are bigger”  Gotta love honesty in music artists.  So here’s a track by track review of the retail CD available in stores tomorrow.  The Amazon download version features 3 bonus cuts “Celebrate”, “Josephine” and “Let me Love You”

Overall:  8/10  Very refreshing to hear an artist make an album about being happy and loving their life, too many of today’s artist can only write good songs after they are dumped or something bad happens in their life.  The majority of us don’t need music to make things seem worse, music should enlighten us and make our days brighter and more fun.  Kracker does a great job capturing a fun, feel good vibe on virtually every track on the album.

1.  Smile:  The first single from Happy Hour is one of the few traditional ballads included, and makes for a good first single.

2.  Another Love Song:  Very clever song which disguises itself as a tongue in cheek question about whether the world needs another love song, and in turn really is another love song.  Great song.

3.  My Girlfriend:  If this were a country album, this would be the “Novelty Track” but in pop circles, it could very well be one of the next singles from the album.  Starts out as a song about a broken hearted man, and when we hear “the person she’s meeting isn’t a he” we then get the very poppy upbeat chorus of “My girlfriend’s got a girlfriend now”  and then the typical male response of  “It was cool for a minute, now it’s bringing me down”  Very good song, reminds me of Lit, Blink 182 late 90’s type music.

4.  Living the Dream:  This track takes the chorus from the Tawny Kitean…I mean Whitesnack song “Her I go Again” and gives it an Uncle Kracker touch, making it a song that you can’t help but sing along too.

5.  Corner Bar:  This track amazes me at it’s ability to fit the “happy, fun” vibe of the album.  A song about “Detroit/Michigan’s woes” that still manages to have an “I’m still ok” vibe to it.  “You can take my house, take my car, but you can’t take my seat at the corner bar”

6.  Me Again:  This song is pretty much a country ballad, featuring country singer Jesse Lee dueting with Kracker wishing that the next time an ex falls in love it’s with “me again”

7.   Good To Be Me:  The song that describes the vibe of the album, no real good reason that he feels it, but it’s just good to be Uncle Kracker

8.  I Hate California:  This song is another novelty type pop song, about a girl who leaves and goes to California causing UK to hate Cali.  This song  features some punchlines like “I wish she’s meet Phil Specter and he asks her to come home” Pretty harsh, but funny.  And the line “She’s selling scientology with John, Tommy and Katie, man I bet she’s really got it made”

9.   Hot Mess:  The only song on the album that falls flat, I really like the music that backs it, but the lyrics and chorus seem forced to try to add an element of “Hip-Hop” to the album.

10- Hey Hey Hey:  UK’s second song with the same naming strategy, one of his first singles was “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” back in 2001.  It’s another great sing along that “the sun is shining on my face and everything will be ok”

11- I’m Not Leaving:  The only track from the 2008 sampler to make the final cut, it’s another good love song in the mold of “Memphis Soul Song” “Rescue” and “Writing It Down”  The kind of song Kracker can release and the AC crowd will eat up and gain him a few hundred k more sales.

12- Main Street:  Originally featured on side 2 of Bob Seger’s classic “Night Moves” UK covers it the way Seger should be covered, without trying to alter the formula much and just singing a great song.  It’s nice to hear a true cover these days, ever since Limp Bizkit’s “Faith” cover, it seems everyone wants to make a song “theirs” rather than just cover a great song and let it stand on it’s own.

In the end, I love the album and haven’t stopped listening to it all weekend, I really wish “Vegas Baby” and “That’s What’s Happening” made the album, but maybe Atlantic has a different strategy for them (Hangover 2?).  After 72 and Sunny and the last time I saw Kracker live, I had almost written him off as being an artist whose music I was into.  I’ve always dug UK as a person and love the realism you feel when he interviews, just started disliking the Ballad filled music he was creating.  With this release Kracker has gotten a fan back and I hope to hear many more album coming from “The Clem” with a fun and happy vibe to them that people can listen to and feel good about their day.