CD Review- Zac Brown Band- The Foundation

Cream rises to the top.

That’s the only explanation why a little previously unsigned non-major-label band out of Georgia called the Zac Brown Band has their single “Chicken Fried” racing up the country charts this month. The band line-up consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitars), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, organ), and Chris Fryer (drums). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival and support slots for bands such as The Allman Brothers Lynard Skynyrd and B.B. King. It was with great anticipation, after hearing the first single “Chicken Fried” (which is my new favorite single on radio) that I had the opportunity to review their forthcoming album, The Foundation.

Brown and his band mates delivery best in the fact that he covers genres and styles fluidly, dynamically pulling musical styles that cover Americana, blues, island-country, gospel and very traditional country. Brown’s lyrics seem to cover an entire culture of American music in one album. Each song is a seamless patchwork of what sounds best across our radio music dials:

The sound of Kenny Chesney in “Toes”
Diamond Rio-like harmonies on “Whatever It Is”
Island influences from Jimmy Buffet on “Where The Boat Leaves From”
Great Charlie Daniels-like fiddle intro on “Free”
Meaningful lyrics and guitar-playing genius like Steve Wariner on “Highway 20 Ride”
The best Jerry Reed impression EVER on “It’s Not OK”
And a Big & Rich styled crazy roller-coaster of a ride on “Sic’ Em On A Chicken”

Those descriptions notwithstanding, none of the album feels “copied.” They take what’s best from each of those influences and put their own twist on it. Each tune has a distinct ZBB stamp to it that make it all their own. Even with its vast influence, the band’s delivery keeps it together and the genre in tact. The lyrics ring true with references to traveling on the road, pennies in pockets and hometowns in Georgia. It keeps it real.

The Foundation is my favorite album discovery of the year. There’s something worthwhile knowing that a band’s new-found fame is actually the result of putting tens of thousands of miles on a collective van across Southern dive bars-selling CD’s they’ve burned themselves to pay the gas and food bills. They’ve earned fame (and their skill) the hard way. And it shows. After years of being the lead-in on bigger names, they have the opportunity to shine themselves as the featured product. Shine they do. The Foundation by the Zac Brown Band is a must-own for any country music aficionado.