NYT Defense

A Generous Helping of Country-Rock Comfort Music by Jon Caramanica

Jon Caramanica’s review of the Zac Brown Band followed a fairly uncommon format as he not only reviewed their latest album, “The Foundation,” but also examined a recent live performance. This “buy one get one free” approach allowed for a fascinating contrast between, and overall mixed review of, the in-studio and live version of the band.

Caramanica opened with an effective lede intended to leave the reader thinking, ‘Yes I do like comfort food as well as comfort music, I will read on.’ After a brief background of the album, where he mentions its “references, allusions and nods,” Caramanica’s “but” reveals his mixed feelings on the album. He recognizes the attempted symbolism within “The Foundation”, but because of its stereotypical nature, the album sounds “almost like a parody, what a Northerner might write when asked to imagine what’s in the mind of a Southerner.”

Caramanica opens his review of The Zac Brown Band’s live performance by claiming that the band he saw at Bowery Ballroom was more musically focused than the band he heard on the lyrically centered “The Foundation.” Regardless, Caramanica holds mixed views on the Zac Brown Band’s live performance. In his “but” statement, he refers to the performance as “genial, sometimes affective.” He criticizes both the band and the audience for becoming disinterested and “undermining the hierarchy of performer and crowd.” At other times he praises Zac Brown’s performance in some of the more desolate songs, such as “Highway 20 Ride.”

This review was very intriguing to me because of the way it managed to review two different facets of the music industry while effectively exploring the differences between the two.