For The Sound of Muscle Shoals, Mike Farris’s first album since 2018’s Silver & Stone, Farris made the pilgrimage that many soul shakers and stirrers have made before him, across the O’Neal Bridge and over the Tennessee River, straight into the creative vortex of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and right up to the door of the legendary Fame Studios.

The result of that pilgrimage is The Sound of Muscle Shoals. It’s the culmination of all of Farris’s musical influences and life lessons learned, captured in a location that holds deep meaning for him, in creative collaboration with members of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and other session stalwarts of ‘The Shoals’ recording scene: Clayton Ivey (keys), Will McFarlane, Kelvin Holly, Wes Sheffield (guitars), Jimbo Hart (bass), and Justin Holder (drums). Collectively, they capture lightning in a bottle, channeling the spirit of their musical forebearers.

Overseen by award-winning executive producer Rodney Hall (son of legendary producer and record man Rick Hall), the new album conjures up the intrinsic magic of the Muscle Shoals sound and wraps it around Farris’s heartfelt and hardscrabble blue-eyed soul vocals. In the intertwining threads of spiritual and earthly, of gospel and rock ‘n’ roll, of faith and fire, Farris once again brings what Rolling Stone Country describes as his “supersized voice filled with the electricity of Saturday night and the godly grace of Sunday mornings” to the album’s 11 tracks.

The reflection on life’s lessons, hard learned and hard-earned, and how to move forward is the underlying theme of The Sound of Muscle Shoals. Take “Ease On” for example, which details Farris’s early life growing up in Franklin County, Tennessee. “We didn’t have much, and life always felt like a struggle, and for many years, I found it hard to go back there. But in a way, “Ease On” pulled the curtain back and allowed me to take stock of where I came from and how I got here.” said Farris.

The mantra of “ease on” continues in “Bird in The Rain.” “That song came to me,” said Farris, “like many songs do, early in the morning around the kitchen table. When I left New York to move back to Tennessee, it was partly because I had realized I couldn’t write the songs I needed to write up there. I had to get back home and have the soil under and all over my feet. “Bird in The Rain” is proof of that. And “Sunset Road” is about the futility of worry… that’s it in a nutshell. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of my songs are written directly through me via the Great Spirit.”

“Bright Lights” was the last song written for the album. Farris said, “I had the chorus for a few years, but I never could get past that point to the verses. But the power of sometimes letting go of what your perceived plans are, or ideas of songs, or maybe life in general, and allowing all possibilities to have a place at the table can surprise you in the most amazing ways. The idea behind the song is that the musician’s life is way more complicated than just what you see once the songs reach the performance stage. For all that to happen, it takes thousands of hours alone, working on the craft — countless ups and downs, self-doubt, big moments that fill you with hope, and low moments that test every ounce of meddle you have. It’s a deep, mysterious road we travel, that only a relative few are crazy enough to endure, and it demands everything. In the end, it’s all we know. It’s all I have ever done, and I wouldn’t trade it for all the riches in the world.”

Mike Farris is an artist’s artist and a musician’s musician, celebrated and revered by his fellow performers. He is a GRAMMY, Americana Association, and Dove Music award winner, with six solo albums since 2001. He is also a founding member of 90’s mainstream rock group, The Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies.