Red, White and Blue is a significantly striking song, the backdrop is primarily of the country-rock inspiration, but the leading vocal, and the effects chosen to enhance this, add something of a heavier rock edge – as if the track was once something much heavier, but has now been broken down to its bare essentials. It sounds great, the leading vocal is superb – warm and confident and very powerful sounding, which works brilliantly alongside the loyalist and proud nature of the song writing. The voice carries the melody and the lyrics well, yet also adds a huge amount of character and in many ways demands your attention as you listen. It draws you in, and what you get then is a strong bit of songwriting, great rhymes, a memorable concept and an exceedingly memorable hook.
The way in which the track builds up has the effect of making it seem to switch from soft country to rock, as the beat comes in the vocal performance intensifies, and the instrumentation follows a similar path. The intensity falls away for the in between sections, the emotional moments, where not everything is joyful, and it rises back up for the big resolve, the optimism, the pride. You can imagine the track being a big hit at live shows, the moment at which everyone comes together to enjoy the music and sing together. It’s an enjoyable song that draws comparisons to a couple of big country rock tracks that have broken through to the mainstream in the past few decades, it’s a distinct sort of vibe, but all in all the leading vocal and the song itself have something new and something undeniably meaningful – you can tell that it means something to those involved, and that passes over well to the listener.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing
