Album Review – Brent Cobb’s “Ain’t Rocked in a While”
Southern Rock (#562) on the Country DDS.
Something’s gotten into our sweet little boy from Sumpter County, Georgia. We’re used to Brent Cobb serenading us with songs about the simple things in life and slowing down, infused with warm Southern harmonies and soulful grooves that put you in the right mood no matter what might be weighing on your mind.
That’s definitely not what transpires here. Ain’t Rocked in a While might alter your mood, but it’ll be from the jolt of adrenaline, and the freeing from inhibition this album inspires. If you’re not careful, you might get caught by your your wife or girlfriend wailing away on air guitar, standing on the couch cushions that even the dog gets kicked off of.
We can’t be too surprised Brent Cobb took a sabbatical from his country stuff to to make a Southern rock record. After all, his first album called No Place Left to Leave from 2006 (but reissued in 2020) had a lot of those elements and influences for sure. In fact, if Cobb hadn’t fallen into the songwriting crowd in Nashville, penning tracks for the likes of Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, and Kellie Pickler early in his career, Southern Rock might have been how the Brent Cobb sound developed.
Ain’t Rocked in a While imagines Brent Cobb’s career if he’d become a Southern rocker, screaming into a microphone in live sessions, and recording straight to tape with his backing band of Len Clark on drums, Matt McDaniel on guitar, and Josh Williams on bass, also known as “The Fixin’s.” The album is a loud, rambunctious, greasy, uninhibited affair that puts songwriting second to finding a groove and laying down in it. It’s garage rock deep fried in a vat of ’70s sweat.
As much of a departure as all of this sounds, on the color wheel of Southern music, Ain’t Rocked is actually more adjacent to what Brent Cobb’s known for than you might think. Groove and soul have always been paramount to his music. It’s just now the overdrive switch has been activated, and the gain turned up. If you’re not convinced it was a good idea for Cobb to go in this direction by the time you get to the 7th track “Power Man,” followed by perhaps the most potent track in the bunch, “Take Yer Meds,” then you never will be. This ain’t for you.
This album sure is one hell of a good time, though if we’re being honest, the big hits come with a couple swings and misses. Instead of trying to contribute something new to the Southern rock legacy, Cobb’s okay just trying to recreate the Southern ’70s Georgia rock sound. The way Cobb sings the melody straight in line with the guitar on certain songs lacks some of the imagination and compositional power that was so important to classic Southern rock.
When the album hits though, it hits. The grooves set on “Bad Feelin’,” “Do It All The Time,” and “Even If It’s Broke” are absolutely sick. And though this isn’t a songwriting album, Cobb finds the right moods for the lyricism that’s aligned with the ’70s era he looks to evoke, even if at times, the words are hard to follow through the noise.
Over-analyze this thing, or talk yourself into believing this is some sea change new direction in Brent Cobb’s career, and you might get spooked. Sit back and enjoy this as a wild card side project from one of independent country’s killer Southern songwriters, and you’ll pull plenty of enjoyment from it.
7.8/10
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Stream/purchase Ain’t Rocked in a While
July 13, 2025 @ 11:47 am
Saw him Friday night. Didn’t disappoint.
New album is different. In this case, different was sure good.
July 13, 2025 @ 2:08 pm
I don’t like this at all. He lost it completely.
July 13, 2025 @ 2:33 pm
I really wanted to love it. The musicianship is great and most of the songs are really strong.
Cobb does not (currently) possess the vocal range to do this style of music, and there’s no real way to sugarcoat that.
Having seen him live this year, I will say that I thought the live show is a better product because the sheer volume of the band hides how thin the vocals are. Once you have the vocals cleanly mixed in a studio environment, it unfortunately highlights it.
Props to him for running the gamut as an artist, but I think his strengths lie in other styles.
July 13, 2025 @ 2:34 pm
Sounds like a gand funk railroad.
July 13, 2025 @ 3:28 pm
Love it. Been listening to it all weekend.
July 13, 2025 @ 7:20 pm
Seeing him at FairWell Fest next weekend. Hope we get a good dose of this.
July 14, 2025 @ 4:39 am
He also wrote one of Whiskey Myers’ biggest tracks, Bar, Guitar and a Honkey Tonk. And actually wrote a really good song for Luke Bryan (I know) , Tailgate Blues.
July 14, 2025 @ 6:13 am
Another tidbit from that song, the album Firewater was produced by Leroy Powell, who also played on Cobb’s debut No Place Left To Leave as part of Shooter Jennings backup band The 357s. Shooter produced that album with help from Dave Cobb, and Leroy played on both versions of the song. It was likely Powell who suggested the song to Whiskey Meyers.
July 14, 2025 @ 8:01 am
I never knew he wrote “Tailgate Blues”. Not that there’s a wise selection of songs to choose from, but that’s always been my favorite Luke Bryan song.
July 14, 2025 @ 4:59 am
Big fan of this. I was a rocker before I found good country/roots music, so it was an easy transition. Brent is one of the best in the business.
July 14, 2025 @ 5:33 am
Brent will always “Keep em on they toes”! He has always done Brent and stays true to his himself and his fans. Awesome again.
July 14, 2025 @ 8:49 pm
I’ll be honest, I didn’t like it at 1st. I’m so used to him doing country songs that other then Bars Guitars was the only other rocker to compare to and I love that fact. It takes guts and tenacity to venture from your safe place
Brent just proved again it’s ok to do that when it feels right.
July 14, 2025 @ 6:18 am
I already commented on this album in the Friday release post saying I like it. I’ve always loved the rocking side of Brent Cobb, and Providence Canyon, which is also pretty rocking, is my favorite of his releases. I can understand why some may not like it though if they are more into Cobb’s mellower stuff. But that’s what makes Cobb great, the ability to weave his way through many styles and yet keep his own sound.
Expecting lot’s of poolside jamming to this album.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:05 am
As some of you know, I came from the hard rockin’ side of the spectrum, and I did give this a few spins upon its release. I do like the album’s simplicity and rawness but I already have too much Rock in the rotation I don’t have time for. Them Dirty Roses Vol. 2, the 2 Jay Joyce produced Whiskey Myers songs (he didn’t write em or ruin em…lol) and this great debut EP by The Filthy Heathens are satisfying the quench to occasionally have my ass kicked. I saw the Heathens Saturday night at the world famous Law Office Pub, and they tore it up, proving what Neil said “Rock and Roll will never die.” Brent’s album is ok, sadly there’s just not enough hours in the day.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:13 am
love me some Brent Cobb, but I have to be honest here. I’m not feeling it. I’ll say the same thing that I’ve said so many times about other artists who branch out into places that they seemingly don’t belong. Similar to way that Beyonce, Shablowzy, Poser Malone, Jelly Donut and a few others have tried to co-op country music, and done nothing but turn it into a punchline, ol’ Brent here isn’t doing rock n’ roll any favors. I do believe his heart is in a more genuine place, but he’s not pulling it off here. He should probably stay in his lane going forward.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:14 am
I’ve been a Brent Cobb evangelist for ages, since Providence Canyon (still my favorite of his). So, it sucks to say, as others have said, Brent doesn’t have the vocal range for this style and some of the production choices here are odd, like some of these tracks were recorded in an airport bathroom with the mics set up way on the other side of the room.
I will say, maybe contrary to some (most?) fans’ opinion, I think Brent really shines when he does that sing-song-rap-talk vocal delivery, in that distinctive Georgia drawl of his, like on “Power Man” and “Take Yer Meds” (my favorites on this album), and “Mornin’s Gonna Come”, “Ain’t a Road Too Long”, “Livin’ the Dream” etc. from previous albums. I just really dig how he does that.
Overall though, I don’t hate it. It’s enjoyable and a lot of these songs will sound great live. It’s just not exactly the home run of an album I was hoping for.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:14 am
Personally I am sold on this album. I am a big fan of southern rock, and his album sounds great to me. Oh does anyone know if he is related to Dave cobb? Just curious.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:15 am
Yes, they’re cousins, and Dave’s produced a few of Brent’s albums.
July 14, 2025 @ 7:17 am
Thanks , I thought maybe they were .
July 14, 2025 @ 11:47 am
I hope he continues to put out whatever music makes him happy, but this album was a miss for me. Interested where he goes moving forward.
July 14, 2025 @ 2:05 pm
The best thing about the album is that it’s over after just 33 minutes. Unimaginative arrangements. Boring 70s blues rock riffs. Many demo tapes sound better than this “production”. Brent Cobb sounds like an embarrassing Bon Scott impersonator. Everything is somehow half-baked, strangely lifeless and stiff. Nothing twangs, nothing rocks. A total artistic failure.
July 15, 2025 @ 2:56 pm
Listened to the whole thing. It doesn’t sound like an album but a set of experiments. The most successful experiments are the southern rockers.