Album Spotlight: The Cadillac Three, ‘Legacy’
The Cadillac Three offer a different kind of high with Legacy, their second studio album. While once known for highly caffeinated, but somehow still poetic country rockers, this second album is at its best riding a stoner's groove.
Legacy is a mellow project, with the 11 songs approaching many of the same topics of Bury Me in My Boots with the volume turned down. Few songs will find drummer Neil Mason struggling to keep up. The guitars are less distorted and the lyrics are more mature.
And somehow it's still a party album. "Cadillacin'" writes a blueprint for those indoctrinating themselves to this power trio for the first time. "Dang If We Didn't" is a hold-nothing-back party song, and "Long Hair Don't Care" stays on brand. Space gives singer Jaren Johnston room to work, and while he's more of a stylist than an elite vocalist, your appreciation for his talent will swell. You can actually understand what he's saying without having to look up the lyrics online!
The heart of this album is the second half, beginning with a tender (vulnerable?) love song called "Take Me to the Bottom." Now older, this trio is capable of capturing more dynamic emotions that ever before. "Demotion Man" is another of four lovers that helps close, none better than "Legacy." The song, Johnston, Mason and Kelby Ray admit, is their most personal to date. The true ballad is an over-the-top tribute to the women in their lives. Is it sweet irony that one of the Cadillac Three's best songs ever is soft and tender, or is it a sign of maturity?
Key Tracks: "Hank & Jesus," "American Slang," "Take Me to the Bottom," "Legacy"
Did You Know?: The Cadillac Three wrote every song, played every instrument and produced Legacy themselves.
Watch the Cadillac Three Interview Themselves