Allen Stone: A Diamond in the Rough
10 years ago Brittany Fisher Comments Off on Allen Stone: A Diamond in the Rough
Growing up in Memphis, TN, I was raised on soul music. From an early age, I could recite the lyrics to ‘[Sittin’ On] The Dock Of The Bay’ and I knew of the greatness that is Al Green. I often sang, ‘Hold On I’m Coming’ and regularly danced around the kitchen to ‘Green Onions.’
When you live in the home of the blues, the birthplace of rock & roll, you grow up on that stuff. And I’m so thankful to live in such a musically diverse city. It spawned my love and appreciation for music. Good music.
A friend of mine, Chris Phelps, traveled to SXSW last week. He’s a photographer and he takes amazing pictures. While perusing Instagram, I noticed that Chris posted a photo of an eccentric looking guy. He had long, curly blonde hair, thick glasses and, well, a Pharrell hat. Or maybe it’s an Allen Stone hat. That’s his name by the way – Allen Stone. I immediately had a gut feeling that I needed to check out his music.
I went to listen to this guy and I couldn’t believe my ears. I’m not a judgmental person, but I was fully expecting to hear something along the lines of Bon Iver or maybe Ryan Adams – not the golden, smooth, Stevie Wonder-like sound that came from the lips of Allen Stone.
Like many of the blues and soul greats, Allen Stone grew up on gospel music. His father was a pastor after all. But Stone yearned for more secular inspiration and he became infatuated with soul and R&B classics. These two genres, combined with his own “hippie” angle and gospel roots, provided the foundation for his style.
His self-titled 2012 album is bursting at the seams with character, style and pitch perfection. Of all of the songs, ‘Unaware’ stands out. The song, like Allen himself, is simply a diamond in the rough. It shows off his mixed style – the sounds going one way, the lyrics another.
Watch Allen Stone perform ‘Unaware’ live from his mother’s living room. If you don’t have goosebumps after 4:00, you should check your pulse.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Hy6kp5kIs?rel=0]You can download Allen Stone’s latest single ‘Million’ for free here.
Is Allen coming to your town? Find out. While you’re at it, keep up with him via Facebook and Twitter.
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