On Friday the Bacon Brothers are releasing their new album “Ballad Of The Brothers” and even though this is the 10th album release from the Bacon Brothers it might be the first time you even heard of them. How do I know this, friends of mine who are really into music never heard of them, never listened to them and didn’t know they existed until I raved about them.
The Bacon Brothers are Kevin (yes that Kevin Bacon) and his brother Michael (Emmy winning musical composer, no slouch either) who started playing together as a band in 1994. They describe their sound as a Philly Thing where they originate from but even though it’s hard to pigeonhole the genre they have a rock-blues-country-roots vibe that flows through their music. The first time I heard them it was live. I didn’t know any of their songs, I just knew the band was fronted by Kevin Bacon and I stopped into a venue to catch a couple of songs. What I didn’t expect is to walk out of there as a fan which is what happened.
One of the things that can happen to me is when a new album comes out from a band I really like is usually for me some disappointment. I get the old songs so ingrained in my psyche that when I give the new album a listen I’m subconsciously comparing them and I don’t let the new songs get the chance they deserve. It’s one of the reasons I would rather review a band that I casually like or even don’t like. I can listen to the music with no expectations.
After giving it a couple of listening’s I can truly say “Ballad Of The Brothers” is a really good album. It’s a return to form for them. The song “Live With The Lie” is the jump out song for me. It’s a bluesy rocker that grabs you with Kevin’s vocals that reach a depth that hit’s the listener and it has a guitar riff in there that Joe Bonamassa would be proud of. Another song I really liked is “Take Off This Tattoo” which is a throwback song that reminds me of some of their older songs like “36 Cents” and “Only A Good Woman”, it’s got that same Bacon Brothers “vibe” as I call it. “Put Your Hand Up” is the type of song you put on your Friday night party playlist and I can see it being a future concert favorite, a definite keeper.
Like I said it’s a really good album, I really enjoyed it and I can’t wait to see some of these played live but please Keven and Michael don’t take “Hookers And Blow” off the setlist.
The Bacon Brothers “Ballad Of The Brothers” is out Friday April 19th and can be purchased at Bacon Bros Merch (colortestmerch.com)
