Dixie Dregs - The Great Spectacular (1975)

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Dixie Dregs featured/features (they still get together, now and again) guitar picker extraordinaire, Mr. Steve Morse. Steve plays with Deep Purple these days, and has in the past played with Kansas. And all the while, off and on, he's been playing with the Steve Morse Band. But Dixie Dregs was where it all started, as far as releases go (to my knowledge anyway). And this, "The Great Spectacular", was their debut. Issued as an independent record, this was recorded at the university where they were students at the time. This is a nice piece of raw enthusiasm with some expert playing. Nothing like you might expect from Southern Rock, then again, in the early 70's anything went. Dixie Dregs were from Georgia, and there are definite Southern qualities to be found here. But beware, overall this has more to do with Jazz Fusion than regular Rock. Great stuff, though. Dixie Dregs later were signed to the Capricorn label, and all their albums are well worth checking out. Wages of weirdness...

Dixie Dregs - Rebel Jam '78 (1978)

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The Dixie Dregs, featuring guitar virtuoso Steve Morse, were rather unusual Southern Rock fare. I guess they could best be described as a Southern Fusion Jazz Country Rock band. And most of their albums were instrumental. This one's for music lovers. It's great music, though probably not as easy to digest for all. In 1978 Dixie Dregs played at the Rebel Jam, a festival of which several tracks had already been released on albums such as "Hotels, Motels & Road Shows" and "Alive Down South". This is the complete part of the festival as performed by the Dixie Dregs. There's some serious picking going and it's one hell of a show to have. Great sound quality too. Refried Funky Chicken!

Various Artists - Alive Down South (1997)

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Hey, hey! It's hoe down time, y'all! After blue Monday, this is just what the doctor ordered. Tell your mama you won't be home tonight, grab a beer and get right!
Though this album was released in 1997 (and is out of print already), these recordings are mostly from 1977 and 1978. Some of these songs are from the Rebel Jam, so there is some overlap with the "Hotels, Motels & Road Shows" album. But the overlap is limited to three songs (Stillwater (2) & The Allman Bros (1, though not the same version)). And there are 13 songs in total on this album.
Yep, it's the same idea here. Some of hottest live performances by some of the greatest Southern Rock bands. All mixed together as though this was a non-stop Southern Rock show, so it never slows down with any fade-outs and -ins. And you get the whole spectrum of Southern Rock. From the Fusion Rock of Dixie Dregs to the Southern Soul of Wet Willie to classic Southern Rock of Stillwater and The Allmans. A big thank you to Luc for this one!
If you don't dig this, you must be gay. And if you do, you sure will be. Like a tidal wave of goodness...

Various Artists - Hotels, Motels & Road Shows (1978)

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! It's the holiday season coming up alright. Yet another bag of goodies here. This album is the perfect example of what I dig about Southern Rock. Ladies and gentlemen: it's the jackpot!
I knew about this album for a long time, and I wanted it really bad. But I never found a copy. But how cool is that? To find it's everything I'd expected, and then some..
"Hotels, Motels & Road Shows" is a compilation album, chockful of Capricorn recording artists. But this is no cheezy-cheapo-cash-in greatest hits of the label. No, no, no, no. It's a 1978 Rebel Jam! All exciting live performances, classic Southern Rock, and a guaranteed good time. And these tracks haven't been released on albums by the artists themselves. And some artists never released a live album to begin with. The artists: Stillwater, Elvin Bishop, The Allman Brothers Band, Bonnie Bramlett, Dickey Betts, Grinderswitch, Sea level, , The Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie and Dixie Dregs. You get the whole spectrum of Southern Rock on one album. Well, it gets very close to that. This is really, really good. Up among the bestest. For real!