Tennessee country rocker Charlie Bonnett III may not be a name readers at The Rockpit will be familiar with but when you get a letter from the man himself in which he self affacingly states that “My stuff ain’t rocket science, I’ve got a one, maybe two octave voice on a good day. I know a few chords and can play a pretty decent Blues lick” and adds that while he likes the storytelling feel of old country music he’s never been a fan of its overproduced feel, but admits he does like to “Rock out.” Then you start to think hey it’s probably not my usual thing but why not give it a spin? And that’s even before you read that Tracii Guns plays B3 organ on this six track slab of rootsy rock.
The vision for the album it seems was to create something that sounded organic, no click-tracks, no voice effects, no auto-tune, just mic the room and go for it. What you end up with is a rather impressive take on Southern Rock with Country influences seeping in – there’s touches of Steve Earle, a little Black Crowes and a dab of Skynyrd, Aerosmith and even Kid Rock in there. You can feel the eight previous albums and hundreds of shows under the belt in the performance.
Musically ‘Sinner With a Song’ is split between Rockers and slower numbers with the first four tracks taking the Southern Rock route which suits Charlie’s harder vocals so well. Title track that opens has a real Country twang and almost a Georgia Satellites type vibe going on but its chorus is its crowning glory – it just flows so well I could imagine this playing in many a bar I’ve spent time in enjoying Southern hospitality.
The rest of the rockers ain’t bad ether – with ‘Restless and Reckless’ a real 70’s rock throwback with a great riff – man this is good stuff! ‘Waiting on Time that follows is more of the same, Southern Rock of the highest order that has you wondering why this guy isn’t huge – he’s got enough Rock to please that crowd and enough country you’d imagine to please all but the bootlace tie and white stetson brigade?*
There’s a slight change of direction for the final rocker – ‘Hometown Heroes’ which has a more rootsy sound and more country twang and whilst it doesn’t grab these ears as effectively as the opening salvo it,like all of Charlie’s songs tells a great tale that sets his music apart.
The EP is brought home with gentler fare, as Heading Home’ and ‘Cold Alone’ are brought into the equation – the former is a sprawling Skynyrd-like ballad that sports some great backing vocals and a deep Southern groove, it’s another great song with a huge hook that Kid Rock would be proud of. We close though with ‘Cold Alone’ a song that deals with the subject of depression and a track that really connects from the opening guitar to the words.It’s mid-tempo and memorable and rounds out what is actually a rather fine EP. I’ll be eagerly awaiting Charlie’s next – but you should get out there and catch him on the road with his band ‘The Folkin’ Gasholes’ if you can.
If you like Southern Rock honest and raw then check Charlie out.
*if indeed such a brigade exists