Review – Jordan Allen & The Bellwethers, “Give My Love to Jenny”

Enough messing around with 2nd tier overly-sentimental singer/songwriters, or squinting at some band of 20-somethings from the suburbs trying to make themselves out to be the second coming of Lynyrd Skynyrd. If you want to sit down in a groove of Southern roots music goodness that doesn’t eschew the importance of quality songwriting, then you did right by screwing off at work or forgoing fetching the Christmas stuff out of the attic or basement to sniff around Saving Country Music.
As good as Kentucky has been over the last few years birthing great music, apparently it’s still been holding out on us, at least when it comes to Jordan Allen and the Bellwethers. Commissioned in May of 2013, the five-piece outfit is now on their third record, and it’s a doozy of delectable rhythm/melody combinations that will remind you of the best of The Allman Brothers, intermingled with songwriting akin to that of the Americana stalwarts, and just a splash of Heartland rock to keep it all open and accessible.
Jordan Allen and the Bellwethers are easy to love, and so is their new record. Jenny’s not a lady—or at least, not in the way she’s referenced in the title of this album, Give My Love to Jenny. It’s in tribute to Jenny Wiley State Park, just outside of the town of Prestonsburg, Kentucky where this album was recorded. Claiming to be based between “southeastern and south central Kentucky,” there’s certainly a lot of Kentucky in the sound of this outfit, but the appeal will range well beyond the borders of the Bluegrass State.

Make yourself familiar with the opening song “Midnight Plane,” and your ears will immediately perk up to the full-bodied sound that comes with a five-piece band, and specifically this one that makes use of cello for a unique sound. The band’s self-described classification of “Alt-Country/Indie-Folk” feels a bit clunky. Just consider it Southern rock, with the latitude to slip in a few country songs, like they do with the road-weary “On My Way Back to You,” and the steel-guitar-laden and smartly-written “Hearts Break All The Time.”
Give My Love to Jenny also includes a dead ringer of a songwriter’s song in “Waiting To Be Born.” Not an entirely new concept, but one never rendered in song like this, Jordan Allen pairs up with Nicholas Jamerson of the Kentucky duo Sundy Best and a string arrangement to turn in a really spectacular tune about the nature of life, and life after death.
But what you come for, and the reason you stick around is the the groove-based and guitar-driven Southern rock epicness with just a splash of soul, just like the stuff found on the final song of the album called “Fly.” It’s another collaboration that features a Kentucky singer and guitarist in Wes Smith. This is the kind of stuff that reminds you of all the great Southern music in the past that today’s renderings and reenactments rarely live up to. This one does.
A sort of part-time band with a full-time frontman whose sole purpose in life is writing songs, Jordan Allen and the Bellwethers pull out all the stops and make a record they can be proud of and that will withstand the test of time, and hopefully makes a mark not just in eastern Kentucky, but on the national map.
8.5/10
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Purchase from Jordan Allen and the Bellwethers
November 30, 2020 @ 9:50 am
I like this alot. Thanks for showing me trigger
November 30, 2020 @ 9:58 am
Just a great listen.
Vintage Charlie Daniels vibe on a few of the songs.
Album has a nice sonic range.
It’ll be on repeat for a while.
November 30, 2020 @ 1:35 pm
Kentucky continues to deliver. The new Wayne Graham album that came out a few weeks ago is also great.
December 2, 2020 @ 11:18 am
Random, worthless trivia, both bands each have a music video featuring the owner of a Lexington, KY local bar/live music joint they frequent.
On my Throne – Wayne Graham
Appalachian Troubadour – JA and the B
November 30, 2020 @ 3:16 pm
I’m enjoying this album. My initial impression was that they kind of split the difference between the CDB and Blackberry Smoke, but the deeper I get in the more they’re reminding me of Flatland Cavalry and the Moonpies with the way they effortlessly amble through their tunes.
November 30, 2020 @ 3:38 pm
Damn….“ groove-based” is right, if not an understatement. Loving this.
November 30, 2020 @ 4:26 pm
This is fantastic stuff. Between these guys, the Steel Woods, Whiskey Myers, and Blackberry Smoke, there’s a lot of great southern rock these days.
December 1, 2020 @ 8:07 am
i don’t think i can thank you enough for promoting so many good artists no other journalist seems to care about! Good “human” music is still alive out there!!
December 1, 2020 @ 9:09 am
Thanks for putting this on my radar Trigger! Been spinning all three of their records since last night. Real good music.
December 1, 2020 @ 9:18 am
That checks all the boxes. Added it to my library. Thanks!
December 2, 2020 @ 9:11 am
This is so fucking good. it’s a shame they’re right down the road and I don’t hear about them. Shows you how fucked up our music delivery system has been and is.
TGFT
December 2, 2020 @ 9:41 am
Bad band name. Do they not know what a “bellwether” is? Jeez. For those who don’t know, a wether is a *castrated* ram leading a flock of sheep. The wether had a bell put around its neck so the shepherd could keep track of where it (and the flock) was.
December 26, 2020 @ 7:41 pm
Based on this review (thanks for turning me on to this), I’ve been listening to this album for a couple weeks now. A really nice set of tunes. As mentioned above, I hear a few influences on this album, in addition to those mentioned above, there’s a bit of Sturgill and Tyler in there; I’m pretty sure I hear some Pure Prairie League in this stew as well as a few Allman Brothers licks. Jordan has done a real nice job blending all these elements together. I look forward to hearing them continue to grow. This band has some serious potential.