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Dang! Talk about striking while the iron is hot. Rather than go home and put their collective boots up, The Cadillac Three have run out of box sets to binge on, and got back in the studio. ‘Legacy’ comes just a year after the release of the critically acclaimed ‘Bury Me In My Boots’, and continues in the same manner. If you didn’t dig TC3 before, then you aren’t going to dig them now, but if ‘Bury Me In My Boots’ ticked all the boxes for you, ‘Legacy’ will have the same effect. Simplistic in it’s execution, ‘Legacy’ is such a melting pot of styles and musical genres that it’s best not to overthink it, and just say… fuck it, this is good shit. Southern Rock? Country Rock? Country? Really, who cares? ‘Legacy’ has enough on it to reward every visit. ‘Take Me To The Bottom’, for instance, comes near the end of the album, that bit where albums tend to sag before the big finale. On the first few listens, it didn’t stand out much, but then after a few more, you start picking up the sizzling lap-steel from Kelby Ray… then the fuzzy guitar solo from Jaren Johnston that most stoner rock bands would kill for. A perfect example of taking your time over an album, and ‘Legacy’ is full of them. ‘Cadillacin’’ is the sound of The Cadillac Three getting the party started. This is one for the ladies. Guys couldn’t dance to this at a gig, and shouldn’t even attempt to. This is for the guys to do the faithful nod up and down while the ladies make it look easy, but then, on ‘Tennessee’, we get a chance to raise our glasses and cut a rug to some of the finest guitar licks this side of Skynyrd, baby. A love song from Johnston about coming home to his wife after a tour, it’s another fine example of his songwriting prowess as ‘Tennessee’ is romantic without being schmaltzy or making the listener want to throw up. Hey, any song that name checks Sturgill Simpson, vinyl, and whiskey gets my vote. It helps that it has a killer groove, though. In anyone else’s hands ‘Hank & Jesus’ could have been a recipe for disaster, but this is The Cadillac Three, so it never strays towards the blatant imagery and use of Jesus (or God even) that blights so much American music these days. “Thank daddy for Hank, thank mamma for Jesus, between the vinyl and the bible it was everything that I ever needed”… way better that “Jesus take the wheel”, wouldn’t you agree? A song that begins with such a simple, gentle intro develops into a Rolling Stones vibe before ending on a frenzied, hellacious jam. ‘Dang If We Didn’t’ is the perfect tale of the morning after the night before, and let’s face it, we’ve all been there. This, along with ‘American Slang’ and ‘Demolition Man’ (complete with killer drum sound from Neil Mason), is the more commercial, drivetime radio version of The Cadillac Three, whereas ‘Love Me Like Liquor’ is the seedier, smouldering Paris, Texas side. The sublime vocals from Lori McKenna play a major part in giving the track it’s gritty, cinematic qualities, and it regularly changes places with ‘Tennessee’ and ‘Hank & Jesus’ as favourite track on the album. Dang if The Cadillac Three haven’t struck oil again. ‘Legacy’ is available now through Big Machine Records Review: Dave Stott]]>
