Gregg Allman & The Alabama All-Star Soul Revue (1994)

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This is the Gregg Allman live album to have. Unfortunately it has never been released, but it's circulating amongst traders. This is Gregg doing his Southern Soul thing. And it's red hot and cooking. Great sound, great band, great tracklist. It's much better than any official release. Smokin'.

The Marshall Tucker Band - Can't You See

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Don't talk, just listen: Can't you see?

Mylon LeFevre - Mylon (1970)

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Alright, it's gospel-time, ya'll! Well, sort of. This album by Mylon LeFevre is undeniably gospel-related. Hell, he sings about God and all. But don't let that spoil your fun. I won't, and I really love this album. And it's definitely very much Southern Rock!
Mylon's family were The LeFevres, a famous gospel group. But Mylon first needed to put his faith to the test, I guess. So he did the rock 'n' roll thing. And quite good too. This LP, Mylon (also known as 'We Believe'), from 1970 is easily his best. Another nice one is 'Weak At The Knees'. Though that LP cover would scare most any human being off. Since the eighties he's refound his faith, and more so than ever. He's recorded some very slick gospelrock CD's, stuff you really don't need to hear (yes, that's my opinion!) throughout the eighties and nineties. He's now a preacher man. ... have mercy...


I thought this photo was too good to be true. Players on this album are: Mylon LeFevre, Kim Venable, Barry Bailey, Auburn Burrell, Dean Daughtry, Ron Graybeal and Paul Goddard (quite some Atlanta Rhythm Section pickers). The recording engineer was Rodney Mills, the record was produced by Allen Toussaint.

Warren Haynes - Some Ordinary Madness (1991)

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Here are the demos Warren Haynes made for his first solo album Tales Of Ordinary Madness. What can I say about this, other than: these are essential recordings for any Southern Rock fan. I believe Warren must be the savior of Southern Rock. Cause it was at a dead-end before Warren joined the Allman Brothers, as far as I'm concerned. Check out the Wintertime Blues CD, a modern day Volunteer Jam with lots of really cool guests...
These demos circulate widely across the internet. But if you haven't already got these, by all means, get them quick! Personally I prefer this album to most Gov't Mule albums (though Deja Voodoo is in a same class). Some Ordinary Madness, no ordinary songs. Red hot and cookin'!

George Hatcher Band - Have Band Will Travel (1977)

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Yep, it's George Hatcher. Again... Yeah!
This is the 10" EP Have Band Will Travel. It's a live effort which features 4 tracks. It's also very much sought after. And thanks to Mawos we now at last get a chance to listen to it. It wasn't Mawos' rip, but he sent it to me. It suffered from a nasty ground hum. I did my best to fix it as best as I could, but there are still places where it's audible. If I tried to fix that, it would mess up the recording. It's not as bad as I make it sound, though. But if at anytime a better source becomes available, I would surely check that out too.
Back to the music: it's good ol' Southern Boogie. And you just gotta love George's voice. And band. So, get it!

Lenny LeBlanc - Breakthrough (1981)

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This is a happy album for ya. Lightweight, some gospel influence and some tasty playing by the folks from Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Produced by Barry Beckett in 1981, this was the second and last Southern Rock album by Lenny LeBlanc (besides an album with guitarist Pete Carr from 1978). From then on it would mostly be christian music.
I would buy this album if I could get a CD copy. But they are no longer commercially available, and second hand they come at rather high prices. So I hope you will enjoy this album rip.

Mose Jones - Mose Knows (1974)

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Ha ha. Knows, nose... Yeah right. Ha! Nice nose, though. Anyhoo, what we have here is another essential piece of the puzzle of the history of Southern Rock. From back when southern had merely a geographical meaning. And Southern Rock might as well have been so recognizable because in the South every genre got mixed. And that attracted people from all places, from Eric Clapton to Rod Stewart. To make great music with them southern guys.
That's when the label 'southern' really started have commercial meaning. And only then would the rest of the world learn. Slowly.
But in the early days Southern Rock was a lot less bound by rules. There was no genre or image then, these guys were just making music. Still, you could hear a familiar sound in all different types of bands. From Marshall Tucker to Blackfoot, from The Allmans to Barefoot Jerry, and from Charlie Daniels to Black Oak. Oh, and then there's the attitude. That too.
One of the first 'southern' labels to emerge after 'Capricorn' was 'Sounds Of The South'. Distributed by MCA, this label was set up by Al Kooper. He was the one who gave us Lynyrd Skynyrd. And they were recommended to him by a band he had already signed: Mose Jones.
This is Mose Jones second album, 'Mose Knows'. I'm really happy to finally get a chance to listen to this myself (thanks Tyrone), cause the Mose Jones albums are not that easy to find. I like the album, though I can see why Skynyrd made it and...
At times the sound is somewhat reminiscent to Marshall Tucker. So, it's all good vibes and mellow rocking. And it made me thirsty. Cheers!

Les Dudek - Les Dudek & Polar Bear (1974)

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Speaking of recommendations, I recommended Les Dudek the other month. But I couldn't upload, since everything is commercially available. Everything? Well, not quite.
These recordings are from The Record Plant - Sausalito, California, when Les was playing with a band called Polar Bear. This was a live in the studio setting, I guess. The source seems to have been a cassette tape, so it's a little slurry sounding at times. But not that bad. Not hardly bad enough to spoil the fun of hearing Les doing Les before we knew of him. Knowing that, it's actually quite a nice sounding recording. Well, funk me.

George Hatcher Band - Coming Home (1982)

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Man, was I glad when I got hold of this rip! I really dig George Hatcher a lot, so when Mawos came up with this (his) rip, I was jumpin' for joy.
Like the previous album, Rich Girl, this is another fine slice of subtle, southern boogie. With a twist. Boy, the man is cool.
If you're still in doubt, but you love ZZ Top, Little Feat, Allman Brothers or The Marshall Tucker Band: you won't regret grabbin' this!

Raging Slab - Freeburden (1992)

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Back by popular demand: Raging Slab. Yet another studio recording their label did not wish to release. God knows why, I don't. I love it. This was their second attempt at following up the 1989 RCA release (the first attempt was From A Southern Space).
Some songs wound up, re-recorded, on Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert. This also has Slab's version of We're An American Band (a hit for Grand Funk Railroad, way way back...). Boogie baby!

Beaverteeth - Beaverteeth (1977)

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Those who dug the Dam It album, will surely love their debut album: Beaverteeth. Beaverteeth features Rodney Justo (ex-Atlanta Rhythm Section) on vocals. Though not very rocky (similar to A.R.S. soft tone all over), it's a really nice, playful album. Some very good Randall Bramblett covers, and well, just get it.
I did some editing to this, already circulating, album-rip. To me, it's an improvement.
An amusing interview with the former Atlanta Rhythm Section/Beaverteeth singer, Rodney Justo, can be found here.

The Charlie Daniels Band - Volunteer Jam (1976)

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The Volunteer Jams of Charlie Daniels are legendary in southern rock. Big festivals with the cream of the crop of southern rock and related artists. But it started in 1975 a lot more modest than what it grew to be.
These are the first recordings of the Volunteer Jam. Recorded in 1975 and released in 1976, this is a rip of the original album done by Mawos (thanks man!). I cleaned it up slightly and added three songs that were released on the EP that came with the first pressing of Fire On The Mountain. So here you have it all!
Not quite the line-up that it became known for, still some interesting guests. The Charlie Daniels Band joined by The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts and Chuck Leavell, Bonnie Bramlett and Mylon LeFevre, among others. The songs are:

Whiskey
Birmingham Blues
The South's Gonna Do It
The Thrill Is Gone (The Marshall Tucker Band)
Sweet Mama (Dickey Betts)
Mountain Dew


I don't know the titles of the songs that came from the EP. They're all instrumentals, so I took the liberty of naming them Volunteer Jam part 1, 2 and 3. Dig in!

Elvin Bishop - Rock My Soul

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Nice footage of Elvin, getting his soul rocked...

Jim Dandy - Ready As Hell (1984)

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Jim Dandy a.k.a. James Mangrum. The one and only voice of Black Oak Arkansas. This album was released as a solo album. If I remember correctly this had something to do with contractual obligations, therefore it couldn't be released as a regular BOA album. But with a voice like that, how could it sound like anything other than BOA?
After the rather lame Capricorn release "I'd Rather Be Sailing" (which a lot of us agreed with) this is a return to some heavier rocking. And it's all good. I think you're ready as hell.