I flew from Madrid to Nashville, and I went straight to sleep for about five hours. I was in Europe for three weeks doing promotion for Shinedown. Cutting live always lends a certain energy to a recording, but I’ll also tell you this – I think some of my sleep deprivation helped too. The only overdubs were the backup vocals from the three wonderful ladies. There were about fifteen people in that little room when we recorded. When we cut the song, we did it entirely live.
Plus, I knew that some of the players on this album were on the Wilson Pickett recording. Since I did not know as much about “Mustang Sally” as I did the other songs – one was “Main Street” by Bob Seger – I went with that one, because I figured it presented an opportunity for me to come in fresh, as you say, to something, and not have too many preconceived notions about it. By the time I got there, there were only four songs left that Rodney wanted me to consider. So, when the opportunity came up to go to Muscle Shoals with Rodney Hall (the record’s producer), they found out that I had a small window to get to Alabama and record the song. So, even though I love soul music and soul singers, I did not have that much knowledge of Wilson Pickett’s music. He got me into Sam Cooke, Percy Sledge, and Marvin Gaye, and then they got me to Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and Billie Holiday. Otis Redding opened the door for me to soul and rhythm and blues. Going way back, my dad changed my outlook on music when I was fourteen, because he gave me an anthology tape back when cassettes were still a thing by a guy named Otis Redding. Of course, I knew the song, but I had not dived into the history of the song, and all the different versions of it. One thing that helped me out is that I did not know a lot about Wilson Pickett. How do you cover such a familiar and beloved song, and strike the balance between homage and novelty? I have to admit that when I read you selected “Mustang Sally,” I was reticent because it is such a frequently covered song, but not only do you deliver a spectacular version, you manage to make it fresh. I recently interviewed Brent Smith over the phone about his cover of “Mustang Sally,” and Shinedown’s success with “Get Up.” Shinedown’s latest hit single, “Get Up,” from the album, Attention Attention, does exactly that as it explores the struggle to overcome depression and mental illness. “Mustang Sally,” in the hands and from the microphone of Brent Smith, is a true musical pleasure – and a tribute in the best sense of the word not a mere rehash of the original, but a rendition that honors the original with imagination.Įxpression of conviction, authenticity, and real life intensity, as the essential ingredients of soul, are also essential for songs, of all genres, that assimilate themselves into the listener’s heart and spirit.
He not only nails the vocal, but gives “Mustang Sally” a new arrangement – one that is a close cousin to the original, but surprisingly contemporary and novel. With a dazzling array of backup musicians, including some who played on Wilson Pickett’s unforgettable recording, Smith actually makes the song sound fresh.
Lucky for Small Town, Big Sound, Brent Smith manages to work a miracle of rhythm and blues.
Brent smith shinedown full#
It requires a significant quantity of courage to take “Mustang Sally” for a drive, as the road is full of possible pitfalls. It is an immensely beloved and familiar classic, already covered by countless legends, from Buddy Guy to Bruce Springsteen. So, it seems oddly fitting that he would select the Wilson Pickett barroom burner, “Mustang Sally,” for his Small Town, Big Sound performance.Ĭovering “Mustang Sally” is a pursuit full of risk and potential for failure. Smith and Shinedown are familiar purveyors of all those artistic qualities. It might surprise some of Shinedown’s listeners to hear Smith sing his heart out on an old school, soul classic, but the lead singer grew up on the genre in his Florida home, and beyond musical category, soul is also a term denoting expressions of conviction, authenticity, and real life intensity. The eclectic and excellent celebration of one of America’s most iconic recording studios features Smith alongside Steven Tyler, Alan Jackson, Grace Potter, and others in an impressive gathering of singers and players from country, rock, and R&B. Fans and critics know him best as the frontman of the hard rock unit responsible for hits like “45” and “Devour,” but Smith has taken a temporary and simultaneous detour and homecoming with his contribution to a Muscle Shoals tribute record, Small Town, Big Sound. It illumines the intricate details of the diverse range of lyrical subject matter his band explores. Brent Smith, the lead singer of Shinedown, has a voice as massive as a helicopter searchlight.
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