Zac Brown Band - The Wind (single review)

The ".99 Review" format is a bit restrictive, especially for songs I actually enjoy, so I'm going to drop in some short single reviews from time to time now. I'll still do the .99 Reviews sometimes too, but I've gotten to the point that I'm unwilling to spend even ninety-nine cents (or 1.29) on a song I don't like.

Yep, that's the album cover.

Zac Brown Band - The Wind
(click to see an admittedly low-quality live recording or hear a high quality version at The Boot)

I had lowered expectations for the first single for the forthcoming ZBB album, Uncaged, due to some weak single choices from the previous release and the news of the band's expansion. Happily, "The Wind" is homerun of a first single.

It's an organic-sounding, lively, mostly-acoustic country jam that blows their last few charting songs out of the water. My worries about more band members causing an overly convoluted sound were unfounded. Somehow, all 42 members of the ZBB are perfectly integrated into the number with nary a shade of overkill. In fact, it's a surprisingly simple tune about a man whose love follows the object of his affections wherever she may travel.

"The Wind" is catchy, warm and charming. Perhaps the influx of new players has had an enlivening effect on the band's creativity and spark. Let's hope this winning single is a harbinger of good things to come on Uncaged, which drops July 10.

A