Songs From The Road (Live) Royal Southern Brotherhood
Album info
Album-Release:
2013
HRA-Release:
10.12.2013
Album including Album cover Booklet (PDF)
- 1Fired Up06:16
- 2Hurts My Heart05:02
- 3Gotta Keep Rockin'05:12
- 4Moonlight Over The Mississippi05:22
- 5Left My Heart In Memphis03:54
- 6Fire On The Mountain13:07
- 7Band Introductions01:23
- 8Ways About You05:28
- 9Sweet Jelly Donut06:54
- 10New Horizons05:28
- 11All Around The World03:54
- 12Gimme Shelter06:53
Info for Songs From The Road (Live)
The Brotherhood are in the building. The date is October 24th, 2012. The place is the Crossroads Festival in Bonn, Germany. And the vibe is pure electricity, as modern rock’s musical dream-team tear it up for the legendary Rockpalast TV show. It’s surely no coincidence that the Royal Southern Brotherhood kick off their set that night with Fired Up! In the words of that song’s chorus, Devon Allman, Cyril Neville, Mike Zito, Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott are undoubtedly “fired up and ready to go”…
This new album set takes listeners along for the ride, fusing a blistering Brotherhood set with the pin-sharp sound and production values you’ve come to expect from Ruf Records’ celebrated Songs From The Road series. Past releases have included everyone from Jeff Healey to Luther Allison – and now the spotlight turns on the southern supergroup who have lit up the post-millennial scene.
It’s hard to imagine a band more deserving of the live-album treatment. If there was chemistry afoot when the five members first convened in New Orleans over the summer of 2010, then it’s only been strengthened by the self-titled debut album that followed in 2012, and the subsequent world tour that has seen RSB raise the roof across twenty-plus countries. “We’ve got to see the world with this band,” says Devon, “and I love it.”
Given that intensive bonding session, it follows that Songs From The Road finds the collective at the peak of their powers, trading on the kind of chemistry that can only be forged through miles on the clock. Devon drips molten soul from his Gibson Les Paul. Behind the congas, Cyril is a groove in human form. Mike strokes and scorches the frets, while Charlie and Yonrico are a rhythm section locked down to the point of telepathy. “We have fun and we play as hard as we can,” says Mike of the band’s high standards onstage. “If you’re not there, you better get there… or we’re gonna knock you over!”
The unofficial sixth member that night in Germany, of course, was the Crossroads crowd, still pinching themselves at getting up close and personal with this A-list band in such intimate surroundings. “It was such a beautiful evening,” says Mike of the vibe in the house, “with an amazing audience that really got into the music. They lifted the band up and made us feel good. It was such an honour to perform for Rockpalast.”
Aside from the blazing chops and interplay, Songs From The Road is also a timely reminder of the Brotherhood’s unique talent for songwriting, showcasing the splice of Southern funk, blues and soul that Cyril memorably describes as a “gumbo”. All killer and no filler, this Rockpalast set mines the band’s debut album for classics including Fire On The Mountain, Hurts My Heart, Sweet Jelly Donut and Gotta Keep Rocking (alongside a stinging cover of the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter). It’s a tribute to the heights they’ve already hit, while whetting our appetites for the highly anticipated second studio release, due for release in 2014.
That’s the future, but let’s hit rewind. All five RSB members have heavyweight history, but their journey together began in the summer of 2010, amidst the stifling heat of New Orleans. Appropriately, this was the city that had once hosted the Allman Brothers’ early residence as house band at The Warehouse – as well as the spiritual home of the Neville Brothers – and now it provided the backdrop to the pivotal meeting between Cyril, Devon and Mike. Friendship sparked, talk soon turned to the formation a new breed of soul/blues/rock band, and when the first jams kicked off at a secluded studio in the city’s Garden District, the chemistry was too strong to deny.
Before they even hit a chord, Royal Southern Brotherhood had our attention, thanks to the lineup’s cocktail of famous musical bloodlines in Devon Allman and Cyril Neville. Great expectations indeed, but this was a band determined to trade off talent, not genealogy, and in May 2012, they shook off the baggage with Royal Southern Brotherhood. With veteran producer Jim Gaines catching the sparks from sessions at the Docklands Studios, Louisiana, this was a debut album that shot the band into the spotlight and more than delivered on the potential of the all-star lineup. The fans queued around the block, the international music press threw star ratings like confetti (including a Blues Music Award nomination in the ‘Rock Blues Album’ category) and the crazy ride began. Now, with Songs From The Road, it shows no sign of slowing.
“We really came into this and threw all the egos aside,” recalls Devon. “This was about making something greater than the individual parts. I mean, everyone hopes they can do a band like this. It’s been a dream come true…”
Royal Southern Brotherhood
Before they even hit a chord, The Royal Southern Brotherhood have your attention. In the US South, where music is religion, two rock ‘n’ roll bloodlines tower above all others. In the saloon bars from Mississippi to Maryland, mere mention of the Allman and Neville Brothers casts a magic spell. Conversation falls silent. Pool balls stop rolling. Ten-gallon hats are tipped in respect and beer-bottles raised in salute. These aren’t just bands, they’re gods, and with a lineup comprising both the iconic Cyril Neville and Devon Allman, The Royal Southern Brotherhood come pre-loaded with expectations. Don’t worry: they can match them. The family tree might be auspicious, but this new band trades on talent, not genealogy. It’s not about rock history: it’s about the here-and-now.
This lineup has talent to burn. You’ll already know Cyril Neville: poet, philosopher, percussion master and perhaps the South’ last great soul singer. Devon Allman. As the son of Gregg Allman, the 39-year-old has rock ‘n’ roll in his DNA, but he’s always walked his own path. Mike Zito: the blues ace whose ear for melody provides the counterpoint to his wingman’s rocking tendencies. Nominated in 2011 for the Blues Music Foundation’s ‘Best Blues Rock’ award, and winner of 2010′s Blues Music Award. Bassist Charlie Wooten and drummer Yonrico Scott: both heavyweight names in their own right, with Charlie’s bass chops celebrated on the Southern jam scene for his sets with the Woods Brothers, and Yonrico hitting the skins for luminaries including the Derek Trucks Band, Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers themselves.
They said that rock ‘n’ roll was dead, but they were wrong. Right now, in 2012, there’s something in the air, as The Royal Southern Brotherhood drag their thrilling new brand of blues-rock and white-hot musicianship from the Southern States onto the world stage. The South is rising again. Come along for the ride.