Southern Rock Allstars

"Danger Road"
(Tazer Records) 

Hey y'all! Time for some rocking, Southern style! As the name suggests, this band are a supergroup of sorts, consisting of former members of legendary Southern rock bands. Members include drummer Jakson Spires (ex-Blackfoot), guitarist/singer Dave Hlubek (formerly with Molly Hatchet), guitarist/vocalist Jay Johnson (ex-Rossington Band), and bassist Charles Hart, a relative newcomer. Many other Southern rock veterans also make guest appearances on the album. "Danger Road" is a smorgasbord of Southern styles, ranging from hard rockers, to country/blues flavored songs, to pop-rock tunes, to ballads. It is a no frills, down to basics, rock album (outright gritty at times), with a real "classic rock" vibe to it. The playing is very good, sometimes smoking (especially the guitars), sometimes mellow and laid back. They also use some rather unusual instruments at times, such as a fiddle and a saxophone. Some songs that really rock out are opener "Tough Situation", "Seein' My Friends", and "Messin' With My Living". By contrast, we also have some ballads on here, such as "This Broken Heart" and "Someday We'll All Be Free". Other songs lean in a more country/blues direction, like "Stump Jumpin' ", "The Hill", the title track, and "See You In Your Dreams". There are also some light hearted, pop rock tunes like "Hang On", "Southbound", and "Rock & Roll Dreams". To be honest, I actually expected this album to have more hard rock songs on it, being that much Southern rock has a hard edge to it, and three of the members come from hard Southern rock bands. I was surprised at how laid back much of this album is. However, "Danger Road" is still quite good. These musicians are already renowned for their talents, and they've done a fine job here, releasing quite a diverse album. As they say, variety is the spice of life, and that includes rock and roll. Anyone who liked the classic Southern rock of the 70's and early 80's should enjoy this album. For more info check out www.southernrock.com.

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