The Foundation

by Zac Brown, Zac Brown Band

Overview

Now that Jimmy Buffett has tried repositioning himself as a country artist by cutting duets with the likes of Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney and Clint Black, it should come as no surprise that the Parrothead influence has begun making its way into Nashville, and the first major-label effort from Zac Brown features not one but two songs ("Toes" and "Where the Boat Leaves From") devoted to the joys of getting buzzed and playing music in some seaside locale with good weather. Seeing how most of the great names of country's formative era rarely if ever sang about vacationing (beyond spending the odd night in a honky-tonk), this is an interesting and somewhat puzzling development, though Brown and his band have embraced a canny range of marketable influences on The Foundation. "Chicken Fried" is a radio-friendly homage to country-as-lifestyle (including chicken fried steak, cold beer and supporting the troops), "It's Not OK" is a less-than-good-natured rant against some panhandler that will warm the hearts of Toby Keith fans, the "lite-funk with fiddle" groove of "Different Kind of Groove" suggests these guys have been listening to a lot of Dave Matthews, and "Highway 20 Ride" and "Free" show the influence of the more sentimental branches of the Texas Singer-Songwriter tradition (through the results are more Pat Green than Robert Earl Keen). Brown has a fine voice and he and his band are solid pickers who've polished these songs to a fine semi-gloss after a few thousand nights on the road, but there's a calculated air of "something for everyone" about The Foundation that doesn't sound eclectic so much as an effort to chase down as many demographics as possible. Brown and his partners are determined to sing something you're going to like, but The Foundation would be a bit more satisfying if more of it came from the heart instead of some sort of strategy session. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/20/2023
Label:	Fugitive
UPC:	0851636005293
Rank:	1197

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Zac Brown Band   Primary Artist
Zac Brown   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
John Driskell Hopkins   Bass,Vocals,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Clay Cook   Piano,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Gary Prim   Organ,Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Daniel de los Reyes   Percussion
Brent Mason   Guitar (Electric)
Joel Williams   Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Electric)
Jimmy de Martini   Fiddle,Violin,Vocals (Background)
Greenwood Hart   Organ,Accordion,Keyboards,Organ (Hammond)
Marcus Petruska   Drums,Vocals (Background)
Coy Bowles   Organ,Guitar
Chris Fryar   Drums

Technical Credits

Shawn Mullins   Composer
Terry Manning   Engineer,Audio Engineer
Steve Lowery   Engineer,Recording
Keith Stegall   Producer,Audio Production
John Driskell Hopkins   Composer,Engineer,Recording,Audio Engineer
Clay Cook   Assistant Engineer
Ray LaMontagne   Composer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
John Kelton   Mixing,Engineer,Recording,Audio Engineer
Zac Brown   Composer,Producer,Group Member,Audio Production
Oswald Bowe   Assistant,Audio Engineer,Assistant Engineer
George Marino   Mastering
Ken Love   Mastering
Jimmy de Martini   Composer,Group Member
John Hopkins   Composer,Group Member
Julian Dreyer   Assistant Engineer
Matt Rovey   Engineer,Recording,Audio Engineer
Jack Miele   Engineer,Recording
Zac Brown Band   Composer
Gsn   Composer
Wyatt Durrette   Composer
C. Taylor Crothers   Photography
Matt Mangano   Engineer,Recording
Chris Allen   Engineer,Recording
Coy Bowles   Performer,Group Member
Hank Williams   Mastering
Stokes Nielson   Composer
Chris Fryar   Group Member
Tyler Bradley Walker   Assistant Engineer
Travis Humbert   Assistant Engineer
David Forman   Art Direction
Jay Cline   Composer
Jon Ashley   Assistant Engineer
Joseph Cline   Composer