Mike Farris — “Sound of Muscle Shoals” — Fame / Malaco Records
From the hard-driving opening bars of “Ease On,” with the passionate voice of Mike Farris fronting the soul-soaked sounds of the Muscle Shoals rhythm section, to the world-weary finale of “Sunset Road,” Farris’s latest album is a glorious non-stop musical journey.
That journey includes nine sharply crafted originals and a pair of gorgeously sung covers: Tom Petty’s pensive, slow rocking “Swingin’,” and the soulful gospel of the Staple Singers’ “Slow Train,” with sublime backup vocals.
Elsewhere, Farris lets his deeply felt Southern-soul-filled vocals roam expressively through songs like the thundering “Heavy on the Humble,” the delicate thoughtful soul of “Bird in the Rain,” the pedal-steel countrified “Bright Lights,” and the richly voiced soul stirrers “Her” and the painfully elegant “Before There Was You & I” resonating with echoes of the great Otis Redding.
Farris has come a long way musically since his 1990s fronting the rocking Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies. His 2014 album “Shine for All the People” (2014) won a Grammy for Best Roots Gospel album, followed by his thoroughly soulful “Silver & Stone” in 2018.
It feels like this entire album is a kind of return to his roots for Farris. “Ease On,” for example, is rich with details of his early years in Franklin County, Tennessee. “We didn’t have much, and life always felt like a struggle, and for many years, I found it hard to go back there. But in a way, “Ease On” pulled the curtain back and allowed me to take stock of where I came from and how I got here.” The lyrics reflect this sentiment: “It’s a long, long journey from where we began.”
Mike Farris is criminally under-appreciated as a soulful Southern voice, one that’s laid bare in the vibrant tracks of “The Sound of Muscle Shoals.” Farris and the roadhouse bravado of his music command your attention and demand your respect.
Here’s “Ease On” from the album:
Tracklist & Credits:
- Ease On
- Heavy On The Humble
- Swingin’
- I’ll Come Runnin’
- Bird In The Rain
- Slow Train
- Bright Lights
- Learning To Love
- Her
- Before There Was You & I
- Sunset Road
Mike Farris–Lead Vocals
Clayton Ivey–Piano, Hammond Organ, Wurlitzer
Will McFarlane–Guitar
Kelvin Holly–Guitar
Jimbo Hart–Bass
Justin Holder–Drums, Percussion
Wes Sheffield–Guitar
Wendy Moten, Kevin Clayborn, Lashanda Evans, Cindy Walker, Angela Hacker–Vocals
Philippe Bronchtein–Steel Guitar
Brad Guin–Saxophones
Drew White–Trumpet
Blues Roadhouse 