I have to admit with being conflicted by the principle of the stars of the TV show ‘Nashville’ getting shortcuts into the music industry, potentially over deserving artists who have learned their craft over years of playing in dives for small crowds. Having said that, I do like the voices of most of the cast, and appreciate that some of them do have considerable artistic credentials, demonstrated particularly by Jonathan Jackson, who is primarily a musician before an actor. Where Chris Carmack stands in this I’m not sure, since he started writing in his spare time between modelling and acting in LA, only bringing this to the public domain having made more of a musical name as Will from ‘Nashville’.
What I particularly like about ‘Pieces Of You’ is that the music is different from the pop-country primarily played in ‘Nashville’, having much more of a bluesy vibe, both in the instrumentation and in Chris’ soulful vocals. The EP begins with ‘Being Alone’, a stripped back soulful tune which perfectly displays Chris’ nice voice away from the bravado and pretence of his songs on ‘Nashville’. I’d hardly call it country, but that probably holds for most of the new releases recently, so I will hardly hold that against him, given that there is a definite ‘real’ feel to the music here. I really enjoy the instrumental build-up at the end of the song, where Chris really strains his voice for extra power, squeezing the extra drops of emotion into the song.
‘Can’t Do It Again’ is another soulful number, with an added bit of swing into the instrumentals to give a bit more groove. Again, the vocals are good, and the great thing about the EP as a whole is that there don’t seem to be any vocal effects in the production, which is perfect for Chris in particular, since he is starting at a point where the listeners don’t really know what parts of his voice are him and which are Will.
‘What Has Changed’ adds a bit more blues into the proceedings, with a characteristic understated electric guitar riff accompanying the vocals before the band fires up for the chorus. The effect is groovy and chilled, and I have to say I really think that the music displayed on the EP suits Chris more than the nothing songs that he generally sings on TV. ‘What Has Changed’ is a cool song and Chris is a cool songwriter, relying on creating a good vibe, rather than getting particularly deep.
‘Always Mine’ is the first example of a more traditional ballad, with a great melody and great soft, soulful backing and even some pop-like vocal backing during the chorus. Regardless of this increased pop influence, there is still noticeable blues instrumentation with the electric guitar solos in particular having Memphis influences, merging possibly more into proper R&B territory (I’m not talking about the stuff that Thomas Rhett and friends come up with).
The EP finishes off with the title track ‘Pieces Of You’ which begins with a nice quiet electric guitar instrumental. Again we have a blues-influenced song, but the really great thing about the EP is that whilst there are noticeable musical similarities between songs, they don’t sound the same, and can each stand alone musically as well as fitting coherently into the EP.
‘Pieces Of You’ is one of the better EP records I’ve heard, with a really cool vibe and a coherent connection between songs. The best thing is that I can really get a feel of the artist, something that every artist should strive to do on a record, and which is particularly important for Chris given that he is most famous as an actor, singing other people’s songs in a voice that is different from his nice soulful, bluesy vocal that he delivers here. Is it bad if I now want Will to be killed off in a freak accident so that Chris can make more music?
Originally posted here.
