Zac Brown Band - "Welcome Home"

[zjames]

[maine]

I'll probably give this a listen soon, but are there any rockier songs on here?

[George Strait Junkie]

wow just wow this is their best album by far way better than the debut i love it

all good songs here

my favorites as of right now but i like them all

1. Real Thing
2. Roots
3. All The Best - love Kacey's vocal on here
4. Family Table

[recordyear]

Just a quick question, who is the female vocal in Trying to Drive?

[countrymusicjunkie]

May 12, 2017 1:03:01 GMT -5 recordyear said:

Just a quick question, who is the female vocal in Trying to Drive?

All I could find is the name Aslyn.

[countrymusicjunkie]

I've only listened to this all the way through once so far but I'm already absolutely loving it. My favorites so far are "Your Majesty", 2 Places At 1 Time", "All The Best", and "Roots".

[bamafan2102]

I like this but not sure I am going to love. There seems to be something missing. Doesn't seem like we will get an Island type single as the one on this album isn't single worthy. I will have this on repeat for a few days regardless.

[zjames]

I really like this upon first listen. I'll post more later when I get home, but I just wanted to say that "Roots" and "Your Manesty" sound like smash #1 hits.

[edph1]

It's ok on first listen but I do feel there's something missing. I'm sure it'll be a huge grower but it just feels like the effort wasn't put in with this album to be honest.

[Troublemaker]

So far I like what hear, the only disappointment is 'Trying to Drive' which does not have the same raw grit from their live album a couple of years ago. I always assumed the studio version would be better, boy was I wrong!

[recordyear]

May 12, 2017 1:03:01 GMT -5 recordyear said:

Just a quick question, who is the female vocal in Trying to Drive?

Found the answer in Taste of Country article. She's Madison Ryann, who covered Chris Stapleton's version of Tennessee Whiskey with American Idol Alum Clark Beckham.
tasteofcountry.com/zac-brown-band-welcome-home/

[phil1996]

Solid album. Wish it was a few tracks longer but nonetheless I enjoy it

1. Start Over
2. Real Thing
3. Roots
4. Family Table
5. 2 Places at 1 Time
6. My Old Man
7. Your Majesty
8. All The Best
9. Long Haul
10.Trying To Drive

[someguy]

I like this after a couple of listens. "Roots" is an immediate standout, and my pick for the next single. I also really like "Real Thing", "Family Table" and "2 Places at 1 Time".

[zjames]

I've said it before: Zac Brown Band is one of the main artists that drew me into country music. I was a little disappointed by Jekyll + Hyde so their return to their more traditional sound definitely left me excited to hear Welcome Home. Overall this is a really strong album. I like it more than The Foundation and Jekyll + Hyde and less than You Get What You Give and Uncaged. 

I've heard some criticisms about this album feeling like a calculated response to criticism about the eclectic Jekyll + Hyde and I think some of that might be true, but ultimately good music is good music and I think most of Welcome Home works. "Roots" feels like the thesis statement of the album and would have been the perfect lead single in my opinion. I love the piano and instrumental breakdown towards the end of "Real Thing." "2 Places At 1 Time" is probably the best-written song on the album (besides "All The Best" but that's a cover). "Trying To Drive" is another highlight for me. My one complaint is I don't think this album displays enough of the band's 'fun' personality. Besides "Start Over" (which I love), the album doesn't really exude the band's personality like previous albums have with "Whiskey's Gone," "Uncaged," "Who Knows," "It's Not Ok," etc. I love those songs when the band just sort of lets loose and has some fun. Other than that, this album is a really strong return (if not too safe) to their pre-Jekyll + Hyde sounds.

For potential singles, "Roots" and "Your Majesty" sound like radio smashes. "Real Thing" and "Family Table" also seem like potential radio singles if needed. I think "Start Over" could be a high-risk, high-reward single option as well.

[dm2081]

Overall, this is a pretty good album. I do have a few issues with it though.

1) Not enough songs. 10 isn't enough for me personally.
2) The production could have been amped up on a couple of the songs. I don't mean Joey Moi level of production, but it would have been nice to hear more instruments from such a multi-talented band.
3) Missing a crucial uptempo jam.

Those are really my only complaints though. These 10 songs are better than 99% of the songs that get made today, and you can tell there's real talent here.  The Foundation  and You Get What You Give remain my two favorite albums from them.  Both are pretty much flawless pieces of art.  Uncaged  had its moments, whereas Jekyll + Hyde was a weak "album" since there wasn't a lot of continuity, but there lots of standout tracks.  As for singles predictions, it seems pretty obvious and straightforward to me, so I hope the band sees it the same way.

My singles choices:
1) My Old Man - Not the best choice for a lead single, but I love the message of the song.  I can understand why they went with this first.

2) Roots - Such an obvious smash hit for them.
3) Your Majesty - Should be another solid radio hit for them.  Nice midtempo feel that has unique lyrics to say the same thing as other love songs.
4) 2 Places At 1 Time - One of the standouts on the album.  A little bit slower, but beautiful song.

Also, so glad they included a beach-themed song on the album again.  Its a great tradition, and "Start Over" is really strong and unique.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

Hammer's track by track:

"Roots": A good solid "on the road" song. If this is really the next single, then I have no qualms.

"Real Thing": It's OK, but the jingoism of the lyrics really grates on me (seriously, they mention America four times -- did Toby Keith ghost write this?). Also, the second and third verses seem really incongruent to the first. Why not continue the story the first verse set up?

"Long Haul": I like songs about trying to prevent a breakup. This should also be a single.

"2 Places at 1 Time": Beautiful, well-written, emotional "on the road" song too.

"Family Table": My God, this is corny schlock. Terrible country-boy pandering.

"My Old Man": This one's kind of grown on me.

"Start Over": "Toes" with all the energy drained out of it.

"Your Majesty": Solid and melodic.

"Trying to Drive": I like the female vocals. I should check out the live version to see how it compares. Because in the context of this album, it's one of the only things that shows any sign of life to it.

"All the Best": Good song. Strong lyrics. But where's the rest of the band?

Overall, it seems like the production is too minimalist. Most of the songs are just acoustic guitar and fiddle. There's barely any drums or electric guitar at all. In fact, there's barely any soloing period. It just feels like Zac went all "white guy with guitar" and other than a few splashes of harmony, totally forgot about the whole "Band" thing.

It feels like after the mixed reception to Jekyll + Hyde, they went too far in the other direction. All of these songs sound the same -- there's no variety in tempo or arrangement whatsoever, and there's barely any semblance of a pulse. "Roots" and "2 Places at 1 Time" are probably the best, but even those feel like something is missing. And by "something" I mean "the other seven people in the band".

Seriously, why is this album such a snoozer? Why are there barely any instruments on it? Why do all the songs sound the same?!?

[trebor]

Marginalia: 
I know what irritated me on "Real Thing" all the time. It's how he pronounces "genuine". It sounds so terrible to my ears. #Pony

[keelhauled]

May 15, 2017 22:47:06 GMT -5 Ten Pound Hammer said:

Most of the songs are just acoustic guitar and fiddle. There's barely any drums or electric guitar at all.

I'm sold.

[joey2002]

Why wasn't "Roots" the lead single?

I also love the soothing acoustic sounds of "Your Majesty" and "2 Places at 1 Time" – hopefully future singles.

This is a great album for those of us who often complain about the overproduction of songs these days.

[Ten Pound Hammer]

May 18, 2017 14:16:44 GMT -5 joey2002 said:

This is a great album for those of us who often complain about the overproduction of songs these days.

I still think it went way too far in the other direction. Almost nothing on this album feels like it has a pulse. Ballads are great, but when the entire album barely rises above a leisurely stroll, it's too hard for me to get into it.

[bamafan2102]

I am going with Your Majesty next, then Roots then Real Thing. I really wish they would release 2 Places at 1 Time but that would be way to many ballads. They could go with Start Over at some point but as I said before it just doesn't scream single like the other Island songs have in the past. One of the better songs is going to get left as an album cut. It will be interesting to see which one it is.

[onebuffalo]

#1 country, #2 top 200 album with 139,000 sold. Congratulations, Zac Brown Band!