Even though Blackberry Smoke is a relatively large band, it is clear that it is important for them to showcase all of their members. Be Right Here, the band’s newest album, does so throughout this release to create a sound that is undeniably their own. Be Right Here belongs on a beach playlist, or better yet concert.
The second track on the album “Hammer And The Nail” is asking to be performed live. It is amazing to hear the excitement coursing through every member playing and singing as if they are on stage while in the studio. The keyboards, played by Brandon Still, help take them from country to rock country. Leading into the third song “Like It Was Yesterday” the band continues with the theme that it should be played and listened to live. You can hear more of a country undertone in this song. There is a guitar solo in the middle that starts out strong and gets even stronger when the guitars layer together for a perfect harmony.
“Yeah we ain’t gonna live forever, only one time around it’s true” is a line that could be construed as negative from “Don’t Mind If I Do” yet, they turned it into an uplifting song about appreciating life and encompassing the meaning of carpe diem.
The seventh track “Whatchu Know Good” is a classic alternative-country number keeping a smooth sound throughout the whole song. Starting at the very beginning, drawing listeners in, is the captivating expressive way that they incorporate guitar. It is played in a way that it very well could branch off into its own song of just instrumental guitars.
A cappella can be hard to do, but Blackberry Smoke makes it sound so easy, as heard at the beginning of “Little Bit Crazy” with a seamless blend of their voices. Some of the best music comes from messing around in the studio, and that is what the introduction to “Little Bit Crazy” sounds like. This song is about a messy relationship, acknowledging the craziness but not giving it up and not wanting to.
Blackberry Smoke does not slight with the amount of albums they put out. They also do not just rest on quantity over quality. It seems as if they have music spilling out of them, and it definitely is both high quality and in quantity just like their members.
Leave a Comment