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Legend has it that both Greg Allman and Dickey Betts distanced themselves from the “Southern Rock” term, Betts being especially vocal as he reportedly felt that the term was “limiting”. Simply calling Robert Jon & The Wreck, and their stunning new album ‘Last Light On The Highway’, Southern Rock, acts in much the same way, it limits both the band and the album.
Yes there are lashings of ‘Southern Rock’ on ‘Last Light On The Highway’, take your pick from ‘Oh Miss Carolina’, (the rather timely) ‘Tired Of Drinking Alone’ and ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ for starters. Three top-quality examples of southern rock played to the very highest standards. If you wanted to explain to a beginner what modern southern rock was, then these three would be examples 1, 2 and 3. Listen to ‘Oh Miss Carolina’ and ‘Tired Of Drinking Alone’ and let the warmth wash over you, listen to the full-throttle ‘Don’t Let Me Go’ and break out the air-guitar as you raise your voice to the skies with one of the catchiest earworms ever.
But it’s the variety on the album that makes it stray from simply being “just a Southern Rock” album. Artists like Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Lukas Nelson and to an extent; Nathaniel Rateliff, have all expertly blended together aspects of southern rock, country, blues, rock ‘n’ roll and soul. They paint multi-coloured landscapes with their music, they tell magical (relatable) tales with their words, and that’s what Orange County, CA, based Robert Jon & The Wreck marvel at.
‘Work It Out’ features a horn section on a finger-clicking, soulful gem that features some sweet, sexy sax. The origins of ‘Can’t Stand It’ might be based in Eagles territory, but to these ears at least, the melodic guitar harmonies are pure Thin Lizzy rather than California brewed. Likewise there surely is a Lizzy guitar influence throughout the lighter-than-light ‘Do You Remember’, which coupled with the smooth vocals from Robert Jon Burrison makes for perhaps the best song that Bob Seger never wrote. ‘This Time Around’ has a slight Tom Petty tinge to it, thanks to the masterful keyboard sound from Steve Maggiora and Burrison’s warm vocals. ‘One Last Time’ is one of those tracks which have the listener instantly hitting the repeat button once it fades out. Epic in its execution, it is a towering four minutes with a hellacious guitar solo towards the end, all the while Maggiora is laying down a non-fussy, atmospheric keyboard sound that helps bring the track to life.
‘Gold’ is a raw, honest ballad that most people might identify with, especially if they take the time to listen to the brutally direct lyrics. In the hands of Nashville’s conveyor-belt songwriters, this would no doubt be dipped in schmaltz, but in the hands of Robert Jon & The Wreck, it’s a stark to-the-point masterpiece. ‘Last Light on the Highway Pt. 1’ and ‘Last Light on the Highway Pt. 2’ might be two individual tracks that end the album, but they work best if tackled as one suite. The gentle acoustic-driven intro bleeds into the six-minute behemoth Pt. 2 that brings this fine album to an end. The opening half of these six minutes are an instrumental jam, complete with lush orchestrations and duelling guitars from Burrison and lead guitarist Henry James. Epic in every sense of the word. But those guitars…oh man! This is a fantastic guitar album, the lead work from Henry James sizzles, especially on the show-stopping ‘Don’t Let Me Go’, and the melodies from both James and Burrison will have purists purring with delight.
From an artists point of view, the lockdown couldn’t have come at a worse time for Robert Jon & The Wreck, not only have they produced arguably their best album to date, but ‘Last Light On The Highway’ might just creep into the top ten albums of the year. All they need now is to be allowed to perform these songs in front of a live audience.
Available now, more information here.
Review – Dave
