PREACHER STONE - review added 27th November 2009
Album Review: Preacher Stone (self-titled) (2009)
For fans of: Southern Rock 'n' Roll... and very cool lyrics
I have to say, North Carolina rockers Preacher Stone have really taken me by surprise with this album. Judging from the uninteresting album cover, and the fact the band have only existed for a year, I wasn't expecting anything from this eponymous debut. How wrong I was!
The band - Ronnie Riddle on vocals, Marty Hill and Benny Huntton on guitar, Josh Sanders on bass, and Brent Enman on drums - was formed by former members of Phantom Park and Riddle. They play (in their own words) a collection of foot-stompin', guitar-slingin', tellin'-it-like-it-is songs about real life.
One of the first things that hits you is just how good the lyrics are. These guys have either lived every last second of everything they sing about, or they've got bloody vivid imaginations. There's a brutal honesty to the words, and a real sense of campfire intrigue to the stories. Although the musicianship and performances are excellent, they almost don't matter. It's the details that come from the man's mouth that carries this album along. It's like listening to your favourite book in a style that makes it even more enthralling.
The sound is a cool take on Southern U.S. rock 'n' roll with the usual slide guitar and harmonica. Think along the lines of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company mixed more modern acts like Black Stone Cherry and Nickelback and you'll have the right idea. Although, as said, the lyrics are the big selling point of this album, there's no doubt these boys can play!
Opening track 'Not Today' eases the album in without much drama. It ticks along with panache, although I really hope this is one of the stories that comes from the mind and not the real world... 'Livin` Proof' is an excellent song with an instant classic vibe. If you love American rock from 30 years ago this is about as good as it gets these days.
Then, 'Old Fashioned Ass Whoopin' Sum Bitch' comes along and makes it look staid. It's a bona fide shivers-down-the-spine monster of a song that deserves to be put on every karaoke machine across the entire world. If a song with better lyrics has been released this year I either haven't heard it or have already forgotten it exists. 'That's Just the Whiskey Talkin'' is a groovy number with another massive sing along chorus. Man, I want to see these guys live, it would be a riot!
'Brother's Keeper' is a decent harder rocking track - maybe not up to the standard of the album's best but not a country mile behind. 'Blood From a Stone' is a slower track, again a few rungs below the top end. It's another song with that beautiful retro vibe - modern production - but a complete and understandable disregard for contemporary song construction techniques.
'Tractor Pull' is very silly, in a good way. The start sounds momentarily like Slippery When Wet era Bon Jovi, and the main body of the track has numerous 1980's influences. It's a hard rocker with suspiciously naughty lyrics, and it's the sort of thing Motley Crue may have played if they'd come from the Mississippi Delta. 'Homegrown Hoedown' is, as the title suggests, built purely for parties in barns full of straw and paint-stripping homebrew. It's practically illegal to hear the track without a pint of something alcoholic in your hands. As the man says, "What happens on the farm stays on the farm."
'Southern Hospitality' is pleasant chilled track with a strong Nickelback feel propping up Ronnie's singing. Final track 'Mother to Bed' goes all heavy again with a subtle nod to Van Halen. It closes the album on a real high.
There you go: cr*p album cover, brilliant contents. I suspect not everyone is going to dig this style of music, and it did take me a few listens to really appreciate it...but it's worth the effort. Preacher Stone have come from nowhere. If they keep pumping out music like this they certainly won't need to go back there. Consider me converted!
Check out... All of it.
Track List:
1. Not Today
2. Livin' Proof
3. Old Fashioned Ass Whoopin' Sum Bitch
4. That's Just the Whiskey Talkin'
5. Brother's Keeper
6. Blood From a Stone
7. Tractor Pull
8. Homegrown Hoedown
9. Southern Hospitality
10. Mother to Bed
Artist's website(s): Preacher Stone , MySpace
