The Stone Foxes, originally from California’s Central Valley but now hailing from San Francisco, have a polished grittiness that features great structure and arrangements while also channeling the rawness that epitomizes rock.
The Stone Foxes’ 2010 album Bears and Bulls starts with the acoustic country/folk holler “Stomp” and then morphs into pure rock. My favorite track on the record is “I Killed Robert Johnson” (click on the link for the studio version or check out the live version below) which combines classic blues elements—as you'd expect given the song's title—with grunge-like power riffs backing the guitar solos that remind me of the furious guitar work on Soundgarden’s magnum opus Superunknown (particularly the title track of that record). See what you think.
Nearly every tune on the album works, although I could've lived without the cover of “Little Red Rooster”—do we really need another one of those?
The Stone Foxes' most recent album, Small Fires (2013), is also strong. It's a touch more polished than gritty—tracks like “So Much Better” and “Cotto,” while excellent, seem crafted for radio sensibilities. But “Ulysses Jones,” below, and several other tracks still contain some welcome rough edges.
The Stone Foxes’ raw energy and classic sound will remind you of why you love rock ‘n’ roll.
The band is currently releasing a new song on the first Friday of the month for an entire year, culminating in a new album, “Twelve Spells,” next year. Check out the first installment of this Foxes First Fridays project, a track called “Locomotion.”