Monday, November 24, 2008

Law - Hold On To It (1978)



Alright. This is the third and last album of Law. What started out as a Southern Rock band gone Funk, by now it's mostly Funk. But with Rock. And at times you might be so lucky to hear some trademark Southern Rock tricks. Some tasty guitar playing. And it's fun. I love it. But I'm funny that way.
This, yet again, is a rip by Nozmokinh. I think he must be smoking. (Thanks man.) I did some cleaning up and tagged it beautifully for your convenience. I really dig most of this album, though I do prefer the other two. But maybe it's because I'm just starting to get acquainted with this album. And there are two re-recorded songs from their first album, which both sound peachy. And it's good. Get it.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Mylon LeFevre - Over The Influence (1972)



Praise the Lord. Here we have the third Mylon LeFevre album (of his R&R career, that is) courtesy of Nozmokinh. I had been looking for this album quite some time and I'm really grateful for this.
This pretty much picks up where "Holy Smoke" left off. Though some might argue it's slightly less of a Southern Rock album as the previous two. But the man has such a beautiful voice, and the music is soulful and warm, that it will grow on you no matter what. Again there's a little bit of everything: Rock, Soul and obviously Gospel influences. He even does "Blue Suede Shoes", though why he does it, is beyond me. The vinyl does suffer from listenable crackle, though when played on the home stereo set this was not a problem at all.
Well, enough already! Mylon was a great Southern Rock singer before he returned to being a Gospel icon. There aren't too many albums of Mylon doing this kind of music, so enjoy this. Thanks Nozmokinh! For the record...

Sundown - Sundown (1970)



Be forewarned, this is for Southern Rock scholars only. Well, mostly. If you did any research into Southern Rock you may have read about this album. Sundown was a local Macon band that was in the studio with Paul Hornsby producing. Recording did not go smoothly, since the band broke up a couple of times during the recording. Paul Hornsby brought in some buddies and wound up finishing the record using names like Bill Stewart (Capricorn Rhythm Section), Charlie Hayward (later of The Charlie Daniels Band) and Chuck Leavell on piano (later of The Allman Brothers Band and Sea Level). Paul Hornsby of course also playing organ. And this was 1970.
On Redtelephone66 it was being compared to The Allman Brothers Band, but I think a better comparison would be their precursor: The Hour Glass. It's basically old school 60's rock, and at times a little country twang gives away its origin. All the same, this is how a lot of Southern Rock started out. So it's quite interesting to hear what music was being made in the South at the time Southern Rock was born. So, no lost gem here. It's nice, but that's all.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hydra - Rock The World (1977)



And sometimes you just need to post good albums, even though they can be pulled elsewhere, for the sake of keeping alive good music that's out of print. Mr. Dixie asked me how I felt about Hydra, and sent me a rip. I quite love Hydra, though in all fairness I have never played it as much as I should have. Which is what i did now. Cause by now I had several LP rips of the only Hydra album that never had a CD release. So before posting, I needed to know which rip was best. That took some listening...
It's some mighty fine Rock & Roll on this album: "Rock The World". It's loud, but it's far from being dumb. The arrangements of old school Southern Rock bands is something you don't hear much these days. Blackfoot used to be real good at that too: make it it sound simple, don't make it simple. Nice raunchy vocals and fine playing. Furthermore, the songs on this album are pretty cool as well. Makes for a hit soundtrack to shooting pool with friends, beer bottle in hand while banging your head to the groove.
I have no clue where this rip came from (no tags in files, but it's done @256 kbps and the size approx. 65MB), but I call it close to flawless. A wonderful record that plays wonderfully on my MP3-player. So, thanks to the ripper and thanks to Mr. Dixie. Come on boys & girls: Rock the world!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Buckacre - Morning Comes (1976)



I was curious about Buckacre because I read about them in Popoff's "Southern Rock Review". I already knew that their first album had strong Country Rock tendencies and that their second album was much more of a Southern Rock album. And thanks to Carambola (who provided this rip) I can now get the first part of the picture.
These guys were not actually from the South (Illinois Valley). And the music on this album, their first, is indeed more in the vein of bands that fell somewhere in between West Coast and Southern Country Rock. There were quite a few bands that fall into this category: bands like Pure Prairie League, Cooper Brothers, Redwing and Ozark Mountain Daredevils. They did, at one time, rub shoulders with Southern Rock bands, as did many of the aforementioned bands. I guess that's why many people don't mind bands like these getting associated with the genre.
As for the music, well, it's very Country Rock. Only once in a while does it conjure up the spirit of Southern Rock. But it's nice music. Would do great at a BBQ with the in-laws. I'm glad I got a chance to listen to this. Makes me all the more curious about the second album. Popoff wrote some very nice comments on that one. So, until then...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Crimson Tide - Crimson Tide (1978)



Alright, more goodies from Mawos. This time it's Crimson Tide, a band lead by yet another Southern legend: Wayne Perkins. Wayne Perkins is, like Steve Cropper and Pete Carr, one of the great session guitarists of that great melting pot of Southern music. He's been a Muscle Shoals picker and has played with loads of greats. He was also the lead guitarist spicing up the "Black & Blue" album by the Stones.
Crimson Tide was a band Wayne had with his brother Dale. They released two albums, this being the first. Once you get past the slickness, you'll find a really great album, full of splendid picking and singing. It's a little bit of everything on this album, but that's the way I like it best. There's soul, there's rock, some funk and all Southern flavored. Unfortunately the vinyl wasn't perfect, but it's still very listenable and, the most important thing, very enjoyable. Play this on you home stereo, not on you ipod. Harmful algae?