electric revival
Story By Mike Overall, Photo by Tim Trusty

Although there are elements of nostalgia and a paean to past musical glories on the new “Electric Revival” CD by the Northeast Arkansas-based band Zach Williams and The Reformation, the album is as vital and relevant to today’s contemporary music scene as Southern rock was when it first burst upon the public’s consciousness in the 1970s. The group’s soulful blues-rock sound, which also incorporates native elements of country and folk music, is a tribute to the timeless, down-home brand of rock music pioneered by such legendary powerhouse groups as The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet.

The Reformation’s multitalented leader, vocalist/acoustic guitarist/songwriter Williams, said the band was formed approximately one year ago. “The whole thing took off faster than any of us expected,” Williams said. “We hope to eventually be able to quit our day jobs and play music for a living. Right now...a lot of people in the industry seem interested in what we’re doing. We’re just keeping our fingers crossed.”

Creating a reformation in music is an art unto itself, and The Reformation, with Williams up front with his clearly articulated vocal lines and his original compositions, has a keen understanding and appreciation of Southern rock and what makes it so appealing to millions of listeners. The band defines its Southern roots with a clarity its predecessors possessed in the genre, in particular its affinity for the blues, that uniquely American art form which contains the essence of Oscar Wilde’s famous epigram, “Simplicity is the last refuge of the complex.”

“Now, some thirty years later, a group from the Northern Mississippi Delta of Northeast Arkansas looks and sounds like they stepped off a bus that has been in time travel since 1975,” one critic said of The Reformation’s new CD. “Like other Southern rock bands, Zach Williams and The Reformation effectively combines rock and roll, rhythm and blues, soul and all the elements of a musical genre that has been an important fixture of the American music scene for decades.”

Williams writes all of the lyrics and most of the songs. “I usually write the songs while using an acoustic guitar and then we sit down and arrange the pieces the way we think they sound the best,” the bandleader, who grew up in Bono, said. In an addition to its original compositions, The Reformation plays classic cover songs as originally performed by such stalwart bands as The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Black Crowes, ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.

Southern rock, Williams said, is such an established form that think the music we play is experiencing a big comeback for people of all ages,” Williams said. “And, yes, it would be nice to fill the shoes of some of the great bands that paved the way for what we’re doing.”

Since its debut in Jonesboro early last month, “Electrical Revival” has garnered critical acclaim from many sources, including a glowing review in Billboard magazine.

The album was recorded at Young Avenue Sound in Memphis, Williams, who started playing guitar at 18, said. The band is working with a publicist and has engaged the services of an entertainment lawyer, both of whom work out of Nashville, and has affiliated itself with a Memphis firm that is working on licensing and publishing details.

Although Williams said the songs he wrote when he was younger “weren’t that good,” he is no musical flaneur. He continued to hone his craft through hard work and dedication, focusing on constructing melodic lines and lyrics that flowed with a special intensity and meaning. “I didn’t play in front of a crowd until about three years ago,” he said.

The band has already booked a tour and will be on the road, probably more often than not, in an attempt to spread its musical message. “As far as I’m concerned, Williams said, “I don’t think I could be happy doing anything else but what I’m doing right now,” which is “fronting” a group of professional musicians for whom throwing in the towel and giving up on the music business would be tantamount to anathema.

As one reviewer wrote, Electric Revival “has a nice, thick, big sound...and these recordings really grab you with Williams’ super deep, resonant, slightly raspy voice. After hearing this album, fans who still love the sound of Lynyrd Skynyrd will probably think they have died and gone to heaven.”

“Electric Revival” may be purchased from numerous outlets in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Europe and Japan. Copies may also be purchased on the band’s website, zwrnation.com.

Williams’ fellow rockers include Dustin “Red” Dorton, background vocals and bass; Robby Rigsbee, rhythm lead guitar and slide; Josh Copeland, lead and rhythm guitar; and John Keathley, drums and percussion.

These five young men are in the throes of a musical reformation that may, despite the inherent vagaries of the music business, one day land them smack dab in the middle of fame and fortune, Southern-style, via a musical tradition that is as rich and fertile as the soil of the Mississippi Delta whence it came.