Artist: BLACK STONE CHERRY
Album: BLACK TO BLUES BLUE VINYL (LP)

Year: 2017
EAN/UPS: 819873015611
Media type: LP

In April 2016, Black Stone Cherry released “Kentucky”, to great critical and commercial success. Kentucky reached new chart peaks for the band worldwide, and was followed by massive touring through the United States, Europe and Australia. In the midst of this all, the band found the time and dedication to record “Black to Blues”. On this EP, the quartet of Chris Robertson (vocals, guitar), Ben Wells (guitar, vocals), Jonathan Lawhon (bass, vocals) and John Fred Young (drums, harmonica, vocals) channel their blues music roots. The EP features a collection of blues classics and obscurities reimagined with the meaty moxie of classic BSC. On “Black to Blues”, the traditional songs get wildly Black Stone Cherry-fied, while also paying homage to the original on the other hand.

“I know it’s crazy for four rock n’ roll dudes to make a blues EP, but it’s us sharing with everyone the music that’s been our DNA from day one,” Chris Robertson says. “Blues is the music we listen to when we sit around on the bus with a bottle of bourbon. I hope by sharing this music we have the beautiful opportunity to expose a new generation to the blues.”

Black To Blues pays homage to the fertile 1960s era of electric blues where the masters pushed boundaries with experimentation and volume. The EP includes covers by Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and Albert King.

Black To Blues opens with the Howlin’ Wolf classic “Built For Comfort.” Here, BSC harnesses the song’s dark energy with foot-stomping burly riffage, impassioned whiskey and honey vocals, and a peaks and valleys arrangement that features virtuosic bursts of bluesy guitar brilliance, smoky quiet passages, and mountains crashing down climaxes. Other standouts include a raucous version of Muddy Waters’ “I Want To Be Loved,” complete with jaw-dropping blues-rock guitar solos, and a clever rendition of Freddie King’s “Palace Of King.”  


A1. Built For Comfort
A2. Champagne & Reefer
A3. Palace Of The King

B4. Hoochie Coochie Man
B5. Born Under A Bad Sign
B6. I Want To Be Loved