Showing posts with label Tim Brooks And The Alien Sharecroppers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Brooks And The Alien Sharecroppers. Show all posts

Monday, February 08, 2010

Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers - See Rock City (1999)



After breaking up the Brothers Brooks, Tim carried on without brother Gregg. The first recorded results can be heard on this 1999 release by Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers with "See Rock City". What a band name. But what great music yet again. Tim can play Southern Rock music like the 70's never went away. Like the 80's never even existed. Wow!
He's got a good replacement in the vocal department, although I do prefer brother Gregg. The music is great, though the follow-up to this album, "Back In The Game", would be even better, introducing yet another singer. Still, some very strong songs and fierce picking here. A couple of tunes here are re-recorded versions of songs originally included on The Brothers Brooks"" album. I added two bonus tracks, "Sweet Dreams" & "Jesse", which were from a Taxim Records blues compilation called 'Peach State Blues'. That compilation is already out of print and these two tracks are not available elsewhere. So, try shakin' this ol' tree..

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers - Back In The Game (2002)



There were some speculations going on about a new CD being released by Tim Brooks, but I guess it takes some more time. In the meanwhile the first Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers' CD's are no longer available. Which is too bad. Just listen to this beautiful piece of Southern Blues Rock: "Back In The Game", their second album. Again, at times very reminiscent to The Allman Brothers Band, this is Tim and his band at their very best. Tim can play that guitar with the best of them (as has he done), and The Alien Sharecroppers are a more than worthy group of pickers to back him up. Tim handles some vocals himself, but vocally the star of this record is Jon Wimpee, who also plays guitar. Just check out the track "Hanging By A Thread" (written by Tim and his brother Gregg). It's a classic! "Back In The Game" is a 'band record', which to me means that it's a very cohesive record where everything comes together as it should. Some of the finest Southern Rock songs and one hell of a band! Let's hope that new record will be out shortly. C'mon guys, don't hesitate: you want this! Possum chops..

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers - Live! (2001)



Well, some good news about Tim Brooks. On his MySpace page there's mention of a new album coming out this year. Hell yeah! So, all the more reason to spoil you with yet another scorching live set of Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers. I have no info on where this was recorded, only the year 2001 is given. I prefer this show over the previous, which I also love. But this better represents his own work. It's a soundboard recording (also out there in lossless format, so don't pollute the lossless community with this version! & thanks Traink) and it sounds pretty good. Classic Southern Rock, great picking, wonderful! And it's a long show, but well worth hearing out. Some Allman Brothers songs, a cover of ZZ Top's "Shiek" and a version of "Jesse", which has only had a release on the compilation album "Peach State Blues".
I just know you will enjoy this smoking live show. I know I did. So, kick back and let the music carry you away. But be sure to keep a look out for Tim's new album coming soon. And go buy it! No cover charge...

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers - Live At The Douglas Theatre (2002)



Thanks to Traink, I offer you this little show by Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers. Important to note is that this was originally offered as a lossless show. Therefore I urge you not to convert this to wav or flac and trade as lossless. If you need that, just holler!
Back to the music. Tim Brooks is amazing and a bit of an anachronism. He sounds so much like heyday 70's Southern Rock, it's like a time warp. It's classic, old school Southern Rock. His style was already very reminiscent to The Allman Brothers Band, on this show even more so. But maybe that has something to do with the fact that it's an Allman Brothers set he's playing. And it's not a dodgy stab at giving it a go. No, this is the real thing. It's raw, has gravelly vocals, great playing and touches the true spirit of Southern Rock. Hell yeah! (got me carried away...)
Apparently, Tim Brooks is out there playing again. He operates from around Macon, Georgia. Check Tim's MySpace page and say hi. Here's hopin' for a new studio album. If this is the first music of Tim Brooks you're about to grab, maybe you should try the studio album by The Brothers Brooks. That's the best way to get acquainted with the excellent music he's made. If, however, you're already familiar with the man, or an Allman Brothers fan, get this now.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The Brothers Brooks - The Brothers Brooks (1994)



This is classic stuff, y'all. Serious business indeed. No matter what kind of Southern Rock you prefer, this is good for everybody. The Brothers Brooks were reminiscent of The Allman brothers Band, without taking it all over the place. More accent on songs rather than improvisation. Some good steady rocking going on here. Magnificent guitar playing by Tim Brooks and gorgeous vocals by his brother Gregg (reminding me of Gregg Allman in superb form).
I actually saw these guys back in 1994, playing a real small club in Groningen, The Netherlands. They were touring Germany and wound up in that pocket size bar, doing a show free for the audience. I had never heard of them, but a friend of mine worked at that place and told me I should definitely check them out. Boy, was I glad I did. They blew me away. I wound up drinking a beer with Tim Brooks after the gig. They were from Macon, Georgia and he could tell some great stories about the time when Capricorn Records were the biggest thing in town. And when bands like Grinderswitch, The Allmans, Wet Wilie, etc would all hang around.
After this album Tim formed a new band Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers. They released two great albums, equal to this effort. Alas without the strong vocals of brother Gregg. I wonder what happened to him. And, for that matter, what happened to Tim. Cause it's been way too long since he's released anything at all. If anybody out there knows anything about their current whereabouts and whatabouts, let me know. I'm curious as hell. Ride the gravy train.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers - Live In Germany



I saw Tim Brooks with his brother Gregg back in 1994 in a small joint. They were performing as The Brothers Brooks, promoting their first (and as it would turn out, only) CD. After the dreadful 80's, this was basically the first time I watched a southern rock band playing actual southern rock. It was like a timewarp back to the 70's. And boy, could these guys play.
They were similar to The Allman Brothers Band. Not in the least due to the fact that Gregg Broooks was a dead ringer for Gregg Allman. Vocally.
5 years later Brothers Brooks were no more. But Tim continued with Tim Brooks & The Alien Sharecroppers. About Tim, from his own site:

"Tim is a veteran who among other honors, had a single, "Boating Down the Ocmulgee" picked in Bill Gavin's report in BILLBOARD MAGAZINE as a sure hit, only to have his record company go bankrupt, leading to a dead end, (so common in this business!), and leading to the breakup of his band at the time. But probably, his most distinct honor was winning the slide guitar category, then the overall Grand Prize in GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE's 25th Anniversay ULTIMATE GUITAR COMPETITION out of thousands of world-wide entrants. In addition to the gear he won as a result of this, he and his wife Denise were flown to San Francisco, where they were given the "5-star treatment", as Tim played a concert at the GRATEFUL DEAD'S legendary venue, the WARFIELD THEATRE. Tim shared the stage that night with Gregg Allman, Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter, Adrian Belew, Harvey Mandel, Steve Morse, Ry Cooder, John Lee Hooker, and a host of other big-name guitarists, where he performed a standing ovation - earning version of the late DUANE ALLMAN'S signature tune, "Statesboro Blues", that really brought the house down."

From his site I took these live recordings. These were loose songs that did not belong together in any order. They ended abruptly and were not meant to be played back to back. They are still on the site: http://www.timbrooksband.com/music.html
I took the liberty of editing somewhat and joining them to something that sounds like a little show. Easier on the ears and a nice introduction to the band. Check out, if you can, their two cd's: "See Rock City" and "Back In The Game". As for now...