Black Stone Cherry

Black Stone Cherry Release Their Most Emotional Album Yet The Human Condition

By Kevin Wildman Black Stone Cherry has just released their seventh full-length album, The Human Condition, on Mascot Records. In addition to that, they have also released their new lyric video for the song, “Ringin’ In My Head. The first single from the album that was released prior to “Ringin’ In My Head” was the song “Again.” The new album will be available on Red Transparent Vinyl, Limited Edition CD Boxset and Digitally.

Fortunately for the band, The Human Condition was recorded and completed just a few days before the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. “There was a real urgency and fear of the unknown during those sessions - it was a scary time,” recalls drummer, John Fred Young. “Every song on this album tells a story of the experiences we all go through - our happiness, our struggles, and how we have to adapt.”

It’s certainly been a bit different for the guys in Black Stone Cherry due to the Covid-19 shutdown. We talked with guitarist Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry about how the shutdown has affected him and the release of the new album and he tell us that it’s a bit different than what he’s been used to. “I will tell you I’m pretty excited over this one,” says Chris. It’s been a new experience for me, working on a record and then not getting on a plane and going to Europe to do a press trip, and not getting on a plane to go to New York and do a press trip, and then not getting on a bus and going on tour. It’s a real different situation, so now I spend my days on the front porch doing interviews.”

The album was tracked in bassist Jon Lawhon’s recording studio, Monocle Studios. The band went in with four songs ready to record and then wrote the rest of the material while there, along with revisiting some old favorites that they had never recorded before. Also for this recording, the band tried something new that they hadn’t done before. Instead of performing live in the studio as they had previously done on all their albums, they multi-tracked everything, concentrating on doing the best possible job on their individual parts.

“I feel like it made it our best work yet,” explains Chris. “The way we used to track them was when a guy’s focused on his own part. You know you may have to fix something here, there or whatever, but the way we tracked this time, every single guy got to be focused on every single part of the song and that just took us to a whole new level of detail. Everybody’s paying attention to every single part, its kind of all eyes on and all hands on deck on everything. For me that was the best part about it.”

On the album, the band pulled some previous written unrecorded songs and reworked them for the new album. The album starts off with one of those, “Ringin’ In My Head.” It’s strange how songs that were written years ago can mirror the activities The song “Push Down & Turn” is based on a medical condition of his and of today, like the Covid pandemic, but the way he deals with it. He didn’t want that was one. It is also the basis for their to tell his fans that they needed to do to new lyric video. Chris tells us that, take care of their problems, but rather “Well, we wrote the beginning of that took the approach that this is what he song and the first verse along with the does and it helps him. It was more along chorus in 2016-17, somewhere around the line of showing them by example. there. That was all written three or four “That one is pretty personal to me. I am years ago, and we really wanted to manic-depressive and I see a doctor record that song. That song was already about it and I’ve been this way for a long on the final wheels before the Covid time. I’m going on two years now. thing even happened. The rest of the There’s such a stigma about mental song just kind of took shape after that. health. I am a guy who knows about the It’s a really unique song. I love that the deepest and darkest points of my life and album opened up with that.” a good doctor and faith actually pulled me out of it. I’ve always been very The first song that the band outspoken about mental health because I released as a single from this project was know it’s not the tough-guy thing to do the song “Again.” That song really to talk about it. Well, I don’t care, primed the field for these guys and had because if it reaches one person and they their fans waiting with baited breath to get some kind of help for it from me hear what the rest of the album was being honest about my experiences, then going to sound like. The fans loved this that’s what it is. That’s what the song’s one. “We came up with all the riffs and about man, you know for what it’s the music and then the chorus for “Again worth. The title of that song is “Push first. We had this melody and just off the Down And Turn” and I do that every top of my head. I sang the line, ‘every morning. I have seizure medications I time that I would come back to life I’ll take every morning and it allows me to see you again.’ and Jon just kind of looks wake up and see how beautiful life can at me and said, ‘what did you say’ and I really be, and for that, I’m grateful. So said it again. All four of us kept it going why not write a song about it? I’m not and then Ben had that verse melody and saying that this will work for everybody. the first verse lyrics, and then we hashed Going to a doctor is not what’s right for it out and in about 30 minutes we had everyone. What the song is about, is that song. That song to me is kind of what works for me, and the biggest thing like the story of the Phoenix and the in there it is being open and honest with rebirth. It’s not what you go through on people. Sometimes I wake up and I’m the way down, its how you recover from not the best version of myself, but I that when you’re coming back up.” know that you can feel it when you wake more of a personal song to Chris. It was continued on next page up, and you have to fight through those November 2020 • Rock and Blues International 73

Black Stone Cherry

continued from previous page days. Anyway, the first step of healing in wife and my son. It was also inspired by any kind of situation in admitting there’s the loss of Jon’s grandmother. For me, a problem. As heavy as this song is, I it’s just a song that I hope those two think it’s one of the most emotional and ladies can hear in heaven, you know, and human involved songs on the record.” smile, knowing how much they meant to Another song on the album that Chris says is especially personal to him Besides all the original songs on is “When Angels Learn To Fly.” Here’s the album, the band also decided to add a another song that he had the music to it cover song to the album. This is sitting on his computer for three or four something that they like to do from time years till he decided to revisit it for this to time. This time they selected the album. The song is actually about his song, “Don’t Let Me Down,” by Jeff mother-in-law that passed away. He also Lynne and ELO. While the song sounds tells us that it was a little hard to write a bit like ELO, it definitely has a and tears were flowing during the different flair to it as Chris explains, “We process. “It’s really beautiful music,” always do a cover here and there, says Chris. All the music is exactly what typically for B-sides, so we were looking it was about three or four years ago when for a cover song. We looked at several we wrote it, but we never had lyrics. songs, even a Fleetwood Mac song, and Sometimes you go through extremely we just landed on that one. That’s like a tragic events in life and just like the song fist in the air, like a little bit more of a talks about, it’s about overcoming those rockin’ song than ELO did it. We’re all things and how we get through those huge Jeff Lynne fans and we said, let’s things that define you and who you are. just do it. Let’s just do it the way we My mother-in-law was one of the most would do it. We took out all the synthecaring woman I ever had the privilege of sizers and added more guitar parts and meeting. She took me in when I was 16 just made it out own tune.” years old when I met her daughter, like I the world and us.” was her son. Unfortunately, she was After all the songs were recorded, diagnosed with a very rapid form of the band sat down and brainstormed to cancer last year and passed away. And try to find a title for the new album. the song is just honestly about what it’s After throwing around a few ideas, like dealing with that for me and my bassist Jon Lawhon came up with an idea 74 Rock and Blues International • November 2020 as Chris explains, “ The title came after all the songs. We were in the process of being recorded. We’re working on vocals and some of the last stuff that we do on the records. We were throwing around different album titles and all at once our bass player John said, ‘It’s like a human condition. There’s a song for every aspect on this record’ and we just stopped and said, well there’s the title of the record. It just kind of summed up all the songs nicely. It just seemed like the right thing for the group of songs on this album. It just seemed to embody that entire thing.”

“When I listen back to this record, I feel all these different emotions,” Jon Lawhon says. “We started when we were teens, and life has taken its course, especially now. Through it all, your heart and your perspectives change, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our connection as friends.” Chris affirms: “This is a brotherhood. It’s been amazing to stick around with all four original members and still be inspired. Here’s to 7 more albums and another 19 years!”

There’s a lot of emotion packed into the original songs on this album. There are songs about politics, there are songs about addiction. They have a song for virtually every human emotion you can think of on this album. It’s probably the most emotional album that the band has ever released in their career. Some of the music from the songs comes from as far back as when the guy’s were just teenagers, but those songs have been revisited and updated and stand up with some of the best songs they’ve ever written. And without a doubt, this is one of the heaviest albums that the band has ever written. From the moment the album starts, you’ll find yourself captivated by the music filled with pounding drums, thunderous bass and some of the best melodies you’ve ever heard on a Black Stone Cherry album. Chris Robertson’s vocals are simply superb on this album. The emotion his voice generates at times will range from having your fist in the air pounding at the sky to even sitting there with a tear in your eyes. It gets very emotional at times. The album is so good, that no doubt you’ll find yourself playing it over and over again… each time experiencing a new emotion and feeling. A big congratulation goes out to Chris Robertson Ben Wells, Jon Lawhon, and John Fred Young for such a groundbreaking album. Yeah guys, you hit the ball straight out of the park. It’s definitely a home run.