Blackberry Smoke - The Southern Ground Sessions (Acoustic) (2018) Hi-Res

BLACKBERRY SMOKE’S CRUNCHY Southern rock may be made for fuzzed-out electric guitars, but their songs sure do translate well to being played acoustically. Now the Georgia crew is releasing a new EP, The Southern Ground Sessions, with just that in mind, including a stripped-down take of “Run Away From It All.”

The six-track EP collects acoustic versions of songs taken from Blackberry Smoke’s latest LP, Find a Light, plus a cover, with these renditions all cut at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios in Nashville. A chugging rock riff with a jackhammer breakdown and guitar solo on the album version, this new recording of “Run Away From It All” sees singer Charlie Starr and company huddled around microphones as they strum away from the comfort of some stools. The song takes on a more relaxed and wistful vibe, but the same simmering urgency of the original bubbles just beneath the surface.

The Southern Ground Sessions takes another page from the Find a Light playbook by welcoming in some guest players, including Amanda Shires — who appeared on the LP and pops up here twice, including on a cover of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 cut “You Got Lucky” — and Oliver Wood. The new EP comes out October 26th.

The six-track EP collects acoustic versions of songs taken from Blackberry Smoke’s latest LP, Find a Light, plus a cover, with these renditions all cut at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios in Nashville. A chugging rock riff with a jackhammer breakdown and guitar solo on the album version, this new recording of “Run Away From It All” sees singer Charlie Starr and company huddled around microphones as they strum away from the comfort of some stools. The song takes on a more relaxed and wistful vibe, but the same simmering urgency of the original bubbles just beneath the surface.

The Southern Ground Sessions takes another page from the Find a Light playbook by welcoming in some guest players, including Amanda Shires — who appeared on the LP and pops up here twice, including on a cover of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 cut “You Got Lucky” — and Oliver Wood.