Tag Archives: Southern Rock

Country, Music Calendar

October 28: Happy 79th birthday Charlie Daniels

charlie-daniels

I just thank God I can make a living doing something I enjoy as much as I do playing music.
~Charlie Daniels

I had been on the road for a long time and was not really getting anywhere. Bob Johnston, a friend of mine, had taken over Columbia in Nashville. He asked me if I wanted to come down. I did – thank God I did.
~Charlie Daniels

A talented and showy fiddler, Charlie Daniels and his band fuse hardcore country with a hard-edged Southern rock, boogie, and blues. The group — which has had a rotating cast of musicians over the years — has always been known for its instrumental dexterity, but Daniels and company were also notorious for their down-home, good-old-boy attitude..
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

Charlie Daniels becomes member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008:

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“Devil Went Down to Georgia” | Live at the Grand Ole Opry:

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Southern rock

August 13: Lynyrd Skynyrd released Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd in 1973

lynyrd_skynyrd_pronounced_leh_nerd_skin_nerd_remastered_2001_retail_cd-front

(Pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd) is the debut album from Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in 1973. The album features several of the band’s most well-known songs, including “Gimme Three Steps”, “Simple Man”, “Tuesday’s Gone” and “Free Bird”, the latter of which launched the band to national stardom.

Bassist Leon Wilkeson left the band during the album’s early recording sessions only playing on two tracks. Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Ed King was asked to fill in for Wilkeson on bass during the remaining sessions, as Wilkeson already wrote many of the bass parts. This left Skynyrd with only six official members at the time of the album’s release. Not long after, King remained with the band, and was made a member, so that they could replicate the triple-guitar lead during live performances. Wilkeson returned to the band when it was time to take the photo for the album cover and embark on the tour for the album. It was certified gold on December 18, 1974, platinum and 2x platinum on July 21 1987 by the RIAA.

Rolling Stone Magazine named it the 39 best debut album of all time:

From the git-go, these shaggy folks from deepest Jacksonville, Florida played hard, lived harder and shot from the hip, all three guitars blazing in music that blew past the Mason-Dixon line to become America’s next top boogie-rock. Discovered and produced by from essential mid-Sixties Dylan sideman Al Kooper, Skynyrd offered taut rockers including “Poison Whiskey” and the perpetual lighter (well, now iPhone) waving anthem “Freebird.” Perhaps the ultimate Southern rock band and this record aged shockingly well; just ask the Drive-By Truckers.

Here’s Lynyrd Skynyrd in their prime, a full set from BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test:

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Allman Brothers Band, Great albums, Music Calendar, Southern rock

March 12 and 13: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971

allman brothers fillmore east

 

March 12 and 13: The Allman Brothers played Fillmore East in 1971

Recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, the storied rock venue in New York City, on Friday and Saturday March 12, 1971–March 13, 1971, the album showcased the band’s mixture of blues, southern rock, and jazz.
~Wikipedia

it remains the pinnacle of the Allmans and Southern rock at its most elastic, bluesy, and jazzy.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine (allmusic.com)

“The true brilliance of this live recording is in the shorter pieces. The longer pieces (“Whipping Post,” “You Don’t Love Me,” and “Mountain Jam”) have their moments, but those moments are diluted in the self indulgent noodling typical of many 1970’s live performances. If The Allman Brothers Band: The Fillmore Concerts contained only “Statesboro Blues,” “Stormy Monday” and “One Way Out,” it would still have a place as one of the finest live recordings ever released.

“Statesboro Blues” and “One Way Out” have Duane Allman’s dense and precise slide guitar pitted against Richard Betts’ round lead guitar, with “One Way Out” providing Betts with his finest recorded guitar solo. “Stormy Monday” juxtaposes Allman and Bett’s distinct lead styles in an orgy of perfect blues phrasing. Gregg Allman’s jazzy organ interlude is an added delight.”
~C. Michael Bailey (allaboutjazz.com)

Statesboro Blues (+ Duane Allman tribute video)

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Music Calendar, Southern rock

Today: The late Ronnie Van Zant was born in 1948, 66 years ago

ronnie van zant  To me, there’s nothing freer than a bird, you know, just flying wherever he wants to go. And, I don’t know, that’s what this country is all about, being free. I think everyone wants to be a free bird.
~Ronnie Van Zant

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Great albums, Southern rock

The South – The Further Inside You Go… New album and interview

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the south

Finally we’re getting new music from The South! We have listened extensively to the album since we got it and we had a little talk with Alexander Pettersen about the record and music in general.

The South (photo from Facebook)
The South (photo from Facebook)

What do you see as the biggest difference on this album from the last one?
The main difference is how fast we did it. We started recording the last album in December 2010, but we didn’t release it until March 2012. The new record was done in January 2013 and was actually ready for release in June this year (even if we waited until October)

Musically they’re even more at “the west-coast” of USA this time, the country aspect is toned down (but there are traces of it still – great steel-guitar and some honky-tonk piano, I like that they haven’t abandoned it all.) It has that very recognizable guitar sound (“The South-sound”), but it has more “space” and is more dreamy in a way.

When we talked to The South at Bergenfest in 2012, they told us that producer Bent Sæther (Motorpsycho) gave them music to listen to, to get inspired by.

What did Bent Sæther think you should listen to this time?
We didn’t have that specific discussion this time, we told him a bit about what we wanted, in what direction we would like to go. “A bigger canvas” was an expression that came about early on. We wanted not to rush it, to give the songs more time.

The Further Inside You Go… (Album teaser):

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