Before I start, I would just like to say that it was my birthday on Friday and my step daughter got me a really nice gift that I have to share here. She bought me two bottles of Iron Maiden Ale. Whoa!
Yes, I enjoyed the first one and I will enjoy the second. Now here's the next album, Charlie Daniels, "Full Moon
In 1980, The Charlie Daniels Band was riding high thanks to their 1979 hit, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." They even appeared in the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy" starring John Travolta. I won't go into great details about the film but I will say that the Texas accent put on by Travolta in the film was unconvincing and I'm from New Jersey.
- John Travolta in Urban Cowboy
"Full Moon" first came to my attention in the summer of this year courtesy of the hit single "In America." As a young marine feeling slightly frustrated that President Jimmy Carter hadn't sent me to Iran to go and rescue the hostages single handed, the patriotic lyrics struck a definite chord with me. That and the rocky edge to the song and that is what The Charlie Daniels Band was so successful at. They made the country to rock crossover look extremely easy and as a result won many fans in both camps.
The album begins with another notable song, "The Legend of Wooly Swamp" and along with "Lonesome Boy From Dixie," has that Southern boogie rock feel to them. They are sandwiched around the more ballad like "Carolina, I Remember You." The fourth track, "No Potion For The Pain" has a definite blues feel to it and I liked the guitar work on it. The album does go a bit more country with the next few songs although I still like them. "Dance, Gypsy Dance" is the song where Charlie finally cuts loose with his fiddle reminiscent of that great 1979 song. The album returns to that boogie rock edge for the remainder of the songs which leaves the album to finish on a definite high with "In America."
Track Listing:
1. The Legend of Wooly Swamp
2. Carolina, I Remember You
3. Lonesome Boy From Dixie
4. No Potion for the Pain
5. El Toreador
6. South Sea Song
7. Dance Gypsy Dance
8. Money
9. In America
- Charlie Daniels Band
Charlie Daniels- vocals, guitar, fiddle
Tom Crane- guitar, vocals
Joel "Taz" Di Gregorio- keyboards, vocals
Fred Edwards- drums, percussion
James W Marshall- drums, percussion
Charles Hayward- bass
If anyone could unify rednecks and rockers, it was the Charlie Daniels Band. Their blend of country and rock was unique and worked on several levels. Proof in the pudding is in the "Full Moon" album. I might listen to it again while drinking my second bottle of Iron Maiden Ale.
Next post: The Outlaws- Ghost Riders In the Sky
To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html
Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London
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