Brent Smith
Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the rock band Shinedown.
Early life
Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and is an only chi ...
and
Zach Myers
Michael Zachary Myers (born November 7, 1983) is an American musician who is the guitarist (formerly bassist) for the hard rock band Shinedown. He is also the lead singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band The Fairwell, and a m ...
of American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band, Dreve. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...
, released on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on January 28 and March 18, 2014. Videos of the recording sessions, directed by
Darren Doane
Darren Doane (born September 20, 1972) is an American filmmaker, actor, and music video director.YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in the weeks prior to each album's release.
Production
Frontman Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers asked fans to request songs on their
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page to be narrowed down to their top ten cover choices. Smith said of the album, "This is for the fans. They picked the songs and we recorded them. It’s as simple as that. And I must say that our audience has great taste."
The ten songs voted highest by the fans were planned to be released over ten days, along with YouTube videos of the recordings, directed by Darren Doane. However, some of the artists being covered (
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
,
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
,
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
, and
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
) did not sign off in time for the video release. The extended play was reduced to six songs. The following recording videos were released on YouTube between January 22 and January 28:
*"
London Calling
''London Calling'' is the third studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. ...
" (
The Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
), January 23, 2014
*'"
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
" (
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
), January 24, 2014
*"
Nothing Else Matters
"Nothing Else Matters" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, ''Metallica''. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Album Ro ...
" (
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
), January 25, 2014
*"
Blue on Black
"Blue on Black" is a song by American blues rock group Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Written by Shepherd with Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, it was originally released on their second studio album, '' Trouble Is...'' (1997). In 1998, the song was re ...
" (
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenneth Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues rock artist.
Early life
Shepherd was born in Shrevepo ...
), January 26, 2014
*"
Runaway Train
A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...
" (
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit " Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner ...
), January 27, 2014
*"
She Talks to Angels
"She Talks to Angels" is a song by American rock band the Black Crowes. It is the eighth track on their first album, '' Shake Your Money Maker'' (1990), and was the fourth single released from the album in 1991. The song reached number 30 on the ...
" (
Black Crowes
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...
), January 28, 2014
Smith insisted on eventually releasing all of the videos on YouTube, saying, "It's not about money for us. We didn't write these songs. We did this for the audience and for the fans, and we know it's something they're gonna dig." Despite the fact that the band did not intend to sell the songs, the album ''(Acoustic Sessions) - EP'' was released for sale on iTunes under the name "Smith & Myers" on January 28, 2014.
The following videos were released on YouTube in March 2014:
*" Someone Like You" (
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
), March 11, 2014
*"
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins's debut solo album, ''Face Value (album), Face Value'', in January 1981. It was selected as the s ...
" (
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
), March 18, 2014
On March 18, 2014, ''(Acoustic Sessions, Pt. 2) - EP'' was released on iTunes with the previously omitted tracks.
Track listing
Personnel
;Band
*
Brent Smith
Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the rock band Shinedown.
Early life
Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and is an only chi ...
- lead vocals
*
Zach Myers
Michael Zachary Myers (born November 7, 1983) is an American musician who is the guitarist (formerly bassist) for the hard rock band Shinedown. He is also the lead singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band The Fairwell, and a m ...
- guitar
*
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born Kenneth Wayne Brobst; June 12, 1977) is an American guitarist. He has released several studio albums and experienced significant commercial success as a blues rock artist.
Early life
Shepherd was born in Shrevepo ...
- guitar on "Blue on Black"
;Production
*
Darren Doane
Darren Doane (born September 20, 1972) is an American filmmaker, actor, and music video director.