There are bands with which I only need one listening to make me say “these will not remain unknown for long”. This happened to me when I listened to their third album (which I told you about here : https://www.trexroads.com/iii-49-winchester-2020/ ), a clear feeling of an uncommon talented group : the intense voice, the fresh writing, but firmly anchored to the roots and then a band, which accompanied the leader Isaac Gibson, of absolute level. That feeling was not misplaced, on the contrary! This group from Castlewood, a small town in Virginia, lost between the Appalachian Mountains and the Clinch River, with this record made the proverbial bang and confirmed that the choice of New West Records to put them under contract was absolutely winning. They are not novices, they are on the fourth album, but now they are famous in the independent circuit and they know well the States, after having shot them far and wide with their tours. There are many musicians who do not always like life on the road, a heavy life made of narrow vans, far from the affections and many kilometers. Well, Gibson and his 49 Winchesters love it instead, as they sing us in the single All I Need. They need this life and the piece is a fun and addictive honky tonk country rock. The work of the guitars of Bus Shelton is really fantastic, you can hear the sounds invented by Duane Allman and Steve Gaines (Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd), that flavor of the South that creates a wonderful crossover between country and southern rock. A record composed of 10 pieces, opens with Annabel, a song taken from the band’s archives, but that rises to new life giving an idea of what the production and talent of these musicians can do. A song that oscillates between the country and rock ballad, where Gibson’s voice speaks to us in a poignant way of love. Man’s Best Friend is a country of the South of the real one, a sound that still draws on southern influences (especially in the work of guitars) and the voice that seems to come from the swamps of Louisiana. The lyrics are small poems, incisive and never banal as when Gibson tells us that the best friend a man can have is Jesus, while the worst is called Jim Beam. Direct and real, so people fall in love with independent music stories. As I have often told you, their land and their home for these musicians is fundamental, the roots are everything and even the 49 Winchester do not lack in this. The dedication to their hometown and county is beautiful and poignant in Russell County Line, a ballad that begins acoustic, with the narration so intense and incisive, accompanied by the sweet sound of the piano. The text is pure poetry and flows into the phrase that encompasses the search for happiness that Gibson performs when he is away from home, loves the tour but the real smile is back in Castlewood : “And the most familiar happiness I’ve ever known is here with me again / Tucked away inside my home.” A real gem. Splendid is Hillbilly Daydream’s ironic and amusing honky tonk, crowned by a beautiful solo, preceding another intense ballad, Damn Darlin’, which the piano enriches with pathos and character. A piece that brings out the soul flavor of the voice of Isaac Gibson and that has inside him the dedication to the legendary Nashville club Exit/ In. The work of the production and the arrangements is really remarkable, the sound is so full and full-bodied and enhances the pieces, already of very high quality. Everything is jammed perfectly. The title track continues this crossover sound between different styles and influences, a bit ‘country, a bit’ soul, a bit ‘southern rock and the talent of the band makes it seem the most normal thing in the world. Fortune favors the bold and the 49 Winchester of courage and boldness have it to sell and deserve all the luck that will come with this beautiful record. The final solo is beautiful, as is the vocal performance of a great singer. The album closes with the unleashed honky tonk of Last Call, the lyrics seem very serious and gloomy, the escape from the dark shelters of the mind, but the band seems to want to exorcise and unleashes in a song fast and to dance, with the guitar on the shields, gorgeous closing! The feeling I had discovering them, as I anticipated, has been widely confirmed and the fact that Whiskey Myers wanted them at their Firewater festival and on tour with them is the certification. A band that is taking the deserved flight to the heights of American independent music, thanks to a talent truly out of the ordinary, demonstrated by a splendid record, a real gem from the first to the last note. I recommend it to all you lovers of rock and quality music, without a particular genre, put them on the plate and let yourself be guided in Russell County by a soul voice and his band of talents forged by the life on the road and the air of the Appalachian Mountains.
Good listening,
Trex Willer by http://www.ticinonotizie.it
(you can find original italian article at this link : https://www.ticinonotizie.it/49-winchester-fortune-favors-the-bold-2022-by-trex-roads/ )
