Carolina Confessions

A very amiable listen. Some interesting things going on musically - while country rock influences like Skynyrd and Allman Brother were evident, I detected shades of Zeppelin, Eagles, even Steely Dan in some of the jazzier sections. The lyrics, though functional, were kind of basic and leaned heavily into cliché.

The guitar inclusions are this record's highlights. The rest of the music is soulful and, as a body, directionless. Nothing sticks out as bad just as nothing sticks together. Forgettable for non-blues-heads.

This is okay, but feels unnecessary for an album from 2018

I was filled with dread when I saw this was a blues rock record, the 1001 is full of them! Don't judge a book by it's cover though, this actually is an interesting take on it, combining the blues rock with southern rock, country rock, and even soul, I guess kind of similar to Brothers in the main list but far harder in the southern direction. Marcus King clearly shows himself to be a talented singer and guitarist, and it definitely helps him stick out from a very oversaturated pack. I feel like a couple of songs could have been trimmed towards the end though. I prefer the songs that emphasize the more soulful and technical guitar elements as I find these are King's greatest strengths. Unfortunately (like with yesterday's album) I think the fatigue from hearing so much of this kind of music from the 1001 has soured me on it, regardless of its quality. I have a feeling I'll bump this up a star when I revisit it way later, hopefully less irritated by blues. Should it be in the main list: No, we don't need more blues rock Top 3 songs: Where I'm Headed, Goodbye Carolina, How Long

I imagine this band playing in an American action film from the early 1990s where there would be a house band who provided the odd musical interlude when the plot was running slow. There would probably be a scene with a big fight while the band play as if nothing special is happening. It would sound like the band definitely weren't playing live, but were in a studio with a lot of production. The lead singer would have maybe a couple of lines in the movie, but nothing to do with the actual plot. This is the album soundtrack for the movie. There's no stand out tracks, but the guitar sounds nice every now and then, plus it's so generic southern country rock that they could be singing about anything and it doesn't really matter. It actually wasn't bad at all, but so generic I feel three stars is fair.

Meat-and-potatoes southern country blues with soul flourishes, certainly not unpleasant to listen to, but whose songwriting and arrangements will most probably be quickly forgotten two or three albums later. That lead singer is very good. But he's no Van Morrison. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 13 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 18 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 36 (including this one)

Awesome modern blues rock, phenominaly done

super rad!

Klassikalise rokki vibe, aga tehtud 2018.

Started off kind of meh, then it really picked up on the second half.

Well this could be from 1973 if not for the modern production. Some tracks are about as cliched as you can get but when it's done so well you can't help but like it. Gives a flavour of so so many bands and singers I like. I can't help but like this album.

I’ve listened to some of the Marcus King stuff. Liked it all, but I like him least in an album format. He’s not quite built for it. His individual songs are fine, but they blend together. No range. Also, a lot of them are needlessly long. Over seven minutes feels like an epic, where you have a lot of time to do some cool and experimental stuff, under five is a regular length for a song. He’s living in the in between where he isn’t really experimenting and his songs run on just a tad long. He just needs to try a different approach or something and he’ll be golden. That’s just my thoughts. I enjoyed listening, I like his style. It’s nice. 4/5

Very honest and full with soul.

It slowly grew on me 👏

Blues, southern rock. Me ha gustado, un 4.

A big gourmet potato salad Times like these are why I sometimes struggle with star ratings. My four stars include both some of the greatest, most ambitious albums of all time, as well as, uh, good ol' fashioned southern rock, sung and played well. But then, when I try to devise a system that takes influence into account, it always gets defeated by me thinking something along the lines of "Well I liked Carolina Confessions too much for a 3 star..." 4/5 ☆, like A Love Supreme

Thought this might be too derivative, and it sounds like it might be to start with, but it actually goes to some interesting places within its very 70s template.

Usually, this brand of southern rock isn't my thing. Dude has a beautiful voice, though, and he does a good job of mixing in soul and gospel into the music. Nice amount of variety in the music too. I thought this album was a really pleasant surprise 4/5

Soulfully strong and Southern. Seems so historically informed and pristinely authentic to 1972 Muscle Shoals vibes as to be a museum piece. "Homesick" is first-rate, as is "Side Door." Not sure it quite merits inclusion for the list proper, but it's certainly not far off and one's very glad to know it. Saw this guy live a year ago and was moderately impressed, but much more so now after hearing the record.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit!

Bluesy brilliance, with vocals and guitar playing from the top drawer

This was an awesome southern rock album, I kept quite a few songs.

Im familiar with some of Marcus kings songs and am I fan, so really enjoyed this album, my sort of music.

Nice southern rock album by The Marcus King Band. The voice and performance of the singer is truly outstanding.

Decent.

Some nice rocky bluesy music that was easy to sit back and enjoy.

The Black Crowes and Skynyrd had a baby and it is the Marcus King Band. This is some great modern era Southern Rock. Maybe not as unfettered and stanky as it could be, there's some hipster withholding on that front, but this music is good, it takes me there. I like the cadence of the singer's voice.

It's a good album. Really like his voice. Music is really upbeat and just very easy to listen to. Nothing over indulgent.

Surprised and really enjoyed this. It soulful and southern... like a cross between Chris Stapleton and The Commitments (soundtrack). Goodbye Carolina and Autumn Rains are great and there's enough else that is easily approachable and hits that vibe to stay engaged.

Blues, southern rock. Me ha gustado, un 4.

Marcus King is a hell of a guitarist and singer. He expertly navigates between blues, Americana, country, and even funk/motown. This album was a great pick from a genre that is underrepresented in the original list.

Lay this slab of soulful southern rock on me. Reminiscent of early St. Paul and the Broken Bones. I like it. Rating: 4 Playlist track: Goodbye Carolina Date listened: 23/08/24

Nothing original or innovative or ground breaking just excellent classic rhythm and blues soul executed to an extremely high standard with feel and appropriate voice, guitar work, rhythm section and keys and horn arrangements. Wonderful.

Excellent!

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Goodbye Carolina, Homesick, How long, Confessions

I'm not a big "southern rock" fan, but this is really nice. 4 stars.

Easy and enjoyable album to listen to. Marcus King has a stunning, soulful voice and wrote some great tracks for this album. 3.7/5

Blues/Southern Rock is probably one of my least favorite of the rock genres.... but this is good. At times it game me Janis Joplin vibes... Standouts: Where I'm Headed, Goodbye Carolina, Confessions, Remember Better than expected. Rating: 3.5

7/10. I liked this, appropriately country

I enjoyed this quite a bit and added a few songs to my playlist of similar soundscapes. Thanks

A southern bluesy country outfit. I like classic country a lot, and I'm sure that there is still great country being produced, but it feels like there is a lot of subpar stuff to slog through to find the gems. So I like when someone submits something like this! Thanks for finding it so I didn't have to. It sounds a bit like CCR or Lynyrd Skynyrd at times, and then other times just sounds like some classic country. I don't think I'm going to rush out and buy the album, or add it to my active listening playlists, but I'm glad to know that it exists. Next time someone tells me that there's no good country music anymore, I'll point them to Marcus King Band.

It’s just a straightforward 3

Some good, some wtf am I listening to

User album #4 It's pretty decent blues country/rock. Looking at photos of Mr. King, you can tell he must be very talented.

Well made, but they don't bring anything new to the table. They're cosplaying as a seventies band. To be fair, they do it better than a lot of actual seventies bands.

I often wonder why someone would suggest a particular record for this list. This was one of those times. I was like ok enjoyable enough but what makes it special? So I asked ChatGPT. It gave a good perspective about how this stands as a more genuine blues rock record than other modern examples. It talked about how the production kept to the emotional connection and didn’t devolve into just a showcase for great guitar skills. All really great context that made me listen a little deeper. This will never be my style. But I did enjoy the listen.

Sounds like a generic riff on a popularized version of the Blues. King is a talented guitar player but his orchestrations fall flat here. 3/5

Umm yeah, it's ok. Not really my thing but kind of groovy. Faves: Homesick, Welcome 'Round Here

The first track started out very strong - loved the guitar! As the album went on, though, everything seemed to blend together. It's all competently done, enough - more than competently! But there's a certain something lacking. Fave track - "Confessions"

Except for the last song, it's a bland, country blues-ish album with little to offer. I can't say I disliked it, but I can ensure that I won't remember it tomorrow.

Mezcla de pop-rock sureño, sin mucha tensión, canciones normales. Se puede escuchar sin problemas. No destaca en nada especialmente. Pasa un poco desapercibido.

Blues, southern rock.

Not bad

Solid lazy day music. Somehow made me think of old Rod Stewart in places. Much more interesting musically than lyrically.

Perfectly fine bluesy soulsy

I've seen the Marcus King Band live before as part of a blues festival. If you really love blues rock, which I do, you'll enjoy this. Saying that, it's not like it's exceptional in the way of, say, Tedeschi Trucks Band is. It's fine but really you know what you're getting if I say blues rock band. My personal rating: 3.5/5 My rating relative to the list: 3.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Carolina Confessions is both a really soothing, soulful listen, but also one that seems quite superficial and doesn't find the pathos and depth that legendary acts provided, which is maybe unfair as it's more recent but it effectively sounds like a tribute act to the greats rather than adding anything new. The passion in the vocals is super endearing, can listen to his voice for ages without getting sick of it, and there's some nice guitar accenting to elevate it beyond quite samey melodies otherwise; Homesick and Side Door are my favourite tracks but they only really stand out from the pack because they rise to a more memorable crescendo. It's a high 2 or low 3 because it's not bad at all, it's good in places, just a little bit average in and of itself.

A really solid country/americana record with some great songwriting and guitar playing. It all gets a little samey after a while and, while it’s all good, there wasn’t anything especially noteworthy for me that elevated it to great

nice start to the user list for me, good vibes, cool stuff

Surprisingly good

This seems like perfectly average blues from a 20-year old lad. Sure, it's competent enough, but strays into country a bit too often. I guess he's young and he might improve with age.

This was a lovely little surprise. I shall be listening again. Thank you internet.

I was recommended this man’s music by a friend a long time ago. I had forgotten the name of it, so thank you for reintroducing me! A healthy mix of blues, soul and funk and well performed at that. Didn’t grab me on a personal level, but solid nonetheless!

A unique add to the list: modern Americana. Dude's voice is great.

Rhythm and blues in the more traditional sense. Feels like a big band performing. Maybe a little sterile, but I appreciate some of the turns that they take to keep things interesting. Favorite tracks: "Goodbye Carolina", "Welcome 'Round Here"

This was a solid album by a band I’ve never heard before. They definitely fit the southern rock mold with some bluesy sound mixed with some solid guitar. Other southern rock bands do it better but these guys are still a good listen. It seems like they’re not the most active band but this album has plenty of replay value as it’s chill and easy going. 6.8/10

I got really excited when I saw southern rock but was mildly disappointed when I realized it was the slower, quieter, bluesy stuff instead of the black keys/gary Clark jr type garage sound that’s super heavy on the electric guitars. This was still good tho don’t get me wrong.

If you want new grassy blue country, this is for you.

Soulful, well-made blues rock. Rich with influences, to the point where it almost sounds like something out of another time. Runs out of steam a bit before all is said and done, but I still enjoyed this a lot. Thanks for recommending it. Fave Songs: Where I'm Heading, Goodbye Carolina, How Long, Homesick

Competent

Seemed much of the same near the end

Not too bad, rocks a bit. Maybe a bit too much "blues superstar" attitude for my liking overall, but I've definitely heard worse. 3/5.

A nice, soulful and groovy kinda rock. Kudos

Never heard of Marcus King nor his band before, but he didn't disappoint! Really pleasant album.

About as middle of the road as you can get.

Perfectly pleasant but very bland

It’s a feast of Southern-fried blues if you’re hungry for it. I would’ve enjoyed Alabama Shakes or Johnny Lang just as easily. Or maybe even Blues Traveler. Yup

Nice enough

Sounds like a mid afternoon festival support act.

Country music, a welcome departure but can't say there was much that grabbed my attention. Sounds well made though.

I didn't notice the release date and listened to the whole thing thinking that this was a 1970s band. So if their goal was to record "more of the same old, played out country", I'd call it a success. Not for me though.

It's absolutely not a genre for me. Very technically competent, well produced, tuneful Americana.

Too soon for this album to be in any Greatest Albums list

Not working here, this album.

Bluesy nature elevates the country styling a little, however it still gets tiring quickly 1.7

There’s been a large wave of this country-bluegrass revival sweeping the indie scene in the past decade, and I’ll be quite honest in that most of it sounds similar to me. This LP is executed well but barely makes any kind of mark, there’s just not enough personality in the songwriting, instrumentation, or arrangements to make this stand out in any way.

Eh, fine.

I don't believe you.

It is a contemporary album and yet it seems from another era, it is not very transcendental or addictive music but in the end it works.