Blackberry Smoke
The Whippoorwill

The Whippoorwill is a nocturnal bird from North America, known for its distinctive song and incredible camouflage abilities, so much so that many in those parts can perfectly recognize its call, while very few could describe its appearance: they have literally never seen it!
Blackberry Smoke, on the other hand, is a quintet from Georgia that plays Southern rock. Many in the United States now know them well since they have been performing for more than ten years, doing a lot of concerts, maybe along with Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZTop, and the like. Here in Europe, we are only now starting to move towards them, mainly thanks to the release of this splendid third career album (2012). I find it exciting that, in these difficult times, such beautiful American classic rock records are still being released.

This "The Whippoorwill" sounds divine: it has that exquisitely American approach, full of country, gospel, rhythm & blues, rock'n'roll moods, cooked in such balanced and skillful doses, but above all with such a relaxed and sly attitude that if you vibrate with this music, you truly enjoy: it erupts a sensation of freshness, love, and rightness for these songs that invent absolutely nothing, yet they travel smoothly, free from any attempt at exhibitionism or calculation, simply brimming with the pleasure of playing, putting into practice the lessons learned from the great inspirations (which are, I don't know, Allman Brothers, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Jonny Cash, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Ray Charles, Marshall Tucker Band, Willie Nelson, and who knows which others).

I enormously like musicians like the frontman of this group, named Charlie Starr: he sings and plays with the utmost naturalness, caressing the guitar and pulling out the notes that are needed, never overdoing it, each note with the right touch and perfect communicativeness. The only flaw I find in him is... a couple of unwatchable giant sideburns! The invaluable Orange amplifiers return that sensational crunchy and warm tone to him and the other guitarist Paul Jackson, so dynamic and charming in its moderate but enriching distortion. The magnificent sound of the group is greatly contributed by keyboardist Brandon Still, sometimes on the organ but more preferably on the honky tonk piano. The lineup is completed by the two Turner brothers, Richard and Brit, on bass and drums. What guys!: all five ultra-long-haired, preferably bearded, always with jeans and shirts in the American Rag style and the look of a shower every three days and not more, truly teleported here from the seventies... but what sound, what cohesion, what mix of instruments, what a beautiful way to play together!
In my opinion, the best tracks are first of all the semi-blues which gives the album its title, then the great ballad "One Horse Town," introduced by the harmonium and with a typical autobiographical text in the style of "one day I'll leave this crappy town without the slightest prospect" and again the sensational, flavorful, turgid, extremely dynamic "Ain't Much Left Of Me" (enjoy Starr's truly exquisite slide solo). Also noteworthy is the final "Up The Road," which begins as a piano ballad but then recycles into rock blues, with the leader indulging for once by stringing together a highly admirable and unusually long and tight guitar solo.

The future evolution of rock music is certainly not in the hands of these Blackberry Smoke, as out-of-date as can be, but who cares!: this is a hell of an album, played with the heart in the right place by people who love their work and the songs they make, and moreover, they have all the energy and drive to carry them forward as it used to be, that is, blasting them to the audience with two hundred and fifty concerts a year. Therefore, their following is growing, primarily because of the people who go to see them play and then the relative word-of-mouth, in short, the healthiest and most genuine way to succeed.
Hurrah for them, and best wishes for a very long career.