Produced by the band with Matt Mangino and Zac Brown Band's Clay Cook & Zac Brown,The Whippoorwill features a baker's dozen of strong southern rock tunes in the tradition of 38 Special, Marshall Tucker Band and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd. There's not a 'clunker' to be found on the record and while very few songs could be classified as country music in a traditional or even pop sense, it feels downright traditional when compared to Brantley Gilbert.
Rockers like "Six Ways To Sunday," "Leave A Scar" and "Crinsom Moon" are juxtaposed with outright outstanding ballads like "One Horse Town," "Up The Road" and "The Whippoorwill." The latter song has minor keys, bluesy harmonies and cries of steel guitar moaning in the mix behind Charlie Starr's mournful vocal and guitar. "One Horse Town" is the kind of song that should do well with country radio, particularly since it fits the theme of small towns and feeling trapped without the ability to really spread your wings like every kid in a small town dreams of doing. "Up The Road" is the kind of classic ballad that recalls Paul McCartney's classic late-Beatles tracks along with some Classic Joe Cocker bluesy ballads.
The mentioned rockers show a jovial and spirited band while other highlights like "Shaking Hands With The Holy Ghost" recalls the southern charm of ZZ Top musically with a little of AC/DC swagger to to the whole mix. Blackberry Smoke (Charlie Starr Vocals/guitar, Richard Turner on Bass, Brit Turner on drums, Paul Jackson on the second lead guitar, and Brandon Still on Organ/Piano) play every song on the well-written, played and produced album and it continues Southern Ground Artists's winning trend of releasing quality music with distinctly southern grooves and moves. The Whippoorwill is one of 2012's best albums from any genre.
Enjoy this live take on album track "Ain't Much Left of Me" from Live at the Georgia Theater DVD (and seen on Palladia TV).
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