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Songs of the south Well, if that don't put pepper in the gumbo!

From page 43 of Classic Rock Magazine July 2008

Cover of July 2008 issue.

MOLLY HATCHET

Beatin' The Odds

DANNY JOE BROWN

The Danny Joe Brown Band

DOC HOLLIDAY

Doc Holliday

Rock Candy

Molly Hatchet's Beatin' The Odds had southern rock connoisseurs choking on their hog roast when it came out in 1980. After the hot-selling success of Hatchet's first two albums popular singer Danny Joe Brown quit to form his own band. Replacement Jimmy Farrar was so ugly that his mother had to tie pork chops to his ears so the dog would play with him. (1 can clear a coliseum," he once claimed.) Plus Farrar's voice had a commercial twang that contrasted with Brown's downhome approach. But time heals old gunshot wounds. Listen to Beatin' . today and you'll find the criticism was unfair. Fan-ar excels on the reflective The Rambler and is no slouch on the bonus live tracks either. Nevertheless he only made one more album with Hatchet (Take No Prisoners) before Brown returned.

The Danny Joe Brown Band was recorded during Brown's hiatus away from Hatchet. A much more rootsy offering than Beathe it's like drinking Jack Daniel's straight instead of laced with Coke. The dustblown Edge Of Sundown is a very Eastwoodian tale of a mysterious cowboy ridin' into town, while the venomous The Alamo will have Ozzy hitching up his trousers sharpish. Sadly Brown died in '05 but this is a fine testament to his memory.

Doc Holliday were always at the more in-your-face end of the southern spectrum, and they had a talismanic leader in Bruce Brookshire. Their '81 debut is a creditable effort but they struggle to make their own mark; they can't quite decide if they're the Allmans, Blackfoot or even Thin Lizzy (Never Another Night being packed full of lilting Lynott-isms). All of which proves that, yes, the south will rise again. But occasionally only gently, like a soufflé.

•••• ••• ••••• Geoff Barton