Kentucky rockers Black Stone Cherry are to release an EP of blues covers in September. Black To Blues features covers of songs by artists including Muddy Waters, Freddie King and Albert King, and the band’s version of Willie Dixon’s Built For Comfort — made famous by Howlin’ Wolf — is the first to be released.
“The blues has always been the nucleus for Black Stone Cherry,” say the band. “That’s where it all started for us and what we grew up listening to.
“One of our favourite blues icons is Howlin Wolf, who we consider the quintessential voice of the blues. It only made sense for us to put our spin on a few of his of his classic songs, one of which is Built For Comfort, a song that our audience has begged us to record since playing it live over the years.
“We only hope the Wolf would be proud!”
On their cover of Built For Comfort, Black Stone Cherry take Howlin’ Wolf’s original and add a dose of Kenrtucky thunder, with strutting riffs and scattergun drums driving the song to the point where it could easily be mistaken for one of their own numbers.
Black To Blues pays tribute to the electric blues revival of the 1960s, when bluesmen like Waters and Wolf found a new, younger audience.
“The blues is such honest music,” says singer Chris Robertson. “When you hear it, it’s like ‘I’m down on my luck, and, damn, that guy gets just how I feel.’ I hope by sharing this music we have the beautiful opportunity to expose a new generation to the blues.
“Our approach was to do these songs as we’ve written them, with attitude and heavy guitar. It was humbling and freeing at the same time. It reignited our passion for this music, and it will definitely have an effect on our next album.”
Other songs covered on the album include Muddy Waters’ I Want To Be Loved, Freddie King’s Palace Of King and Muddy Waters’ Champagne & Reefer.
Black To Blues is released on September 29. The band are currently on tour in The US, and return to mainland Europe for some dates in September (details below).
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