Great Rock Albums of 1985: Molly Hatchet- Double Trouble Live

 

It was only logical that after six great studio albums, Molly Hatchet would put out a live album and boy what a live album! This album is so brilliant that it almost, I stress almost, removes my regret of never having seen this great band live. There was a couple of near opportunities to do so but the US Marine Corps had other ideas at the time. That means, I have had to settle for the consolation prize, not a bad one in any way, of “Double Trouble Live.”

What is cool about this live album is that the song selection has offerings from each of the studio albums. This includes the “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Take No Prisoners” albums when Jimmy Farrar handled the vocal duties. I have to say that Danny Joe Brown does a good job on both of the songs “Beatin’ the Odds” and “Bloody Reunion.” Speaking of Danny Joe, the band even plays a track, “Edge of Sundown,” from his one album with the Danny Joe Brown Band. Therefore, this album has a great diverse mix but Molly Hatchet shines on each and every song.

Of course, there are all the familiar Molly Hatchet classics we have come to love. “Flirtin’ With Disaster,” “Bounty Hunter,” “Fall of the Peacemakers,” “Stone In Your Heart,” “Satisfied Man” and “Boogie No More” are all played brilliantly live. You’d expect nothing less. On top of that, it was only natural they opened with “Whiskey Man” but the song where they really go above and beyond is “Gator Country.” That has always been a cool song but live, guitarists Duane Roland and Dave Hlubeck go absolutely nuts and turn it into a great jam session, well done lads!

When I first heard the album, I was slightly perplexed as to why they would cover Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legendary “Freebird.” After all, most Southern rock bands have their own answer to the Skynyrd classic. Blackfoot has “Highway Song” and even Molly Hatchet had “Fall of the Peacemakers.” So I asked myself, “Why?” The answer came when I listened to the track. Molly Hatchet definitely do it justice. I mean, I have heard some awful attempts covering this classic and I wanted to take an Uzi to those pretenders but Molly Hatchet would have made Ronnie Van Zant proud. There is also a cover of the Allman Brothers classic, “Dreams I’ll Never See” and again, it’s nicely done. Like I said, “Double Trouble Live” nearly removes my regret of not having seen them live.

Track Listing:

1. Whiskey Man
2. Bounty Hunter
3. Gator Country
4. Flirtin’ With Disaster
5. Stone in Your Heart
6. Satisfied Man
7. Bloody Reunion
8. Boogie No More
9. Freebird
10. Walk on the Side of Angels
11. Walk With You
12. Dreams I’ll Never See
13. Edge of Sundown
14. Fall of the Peacemakers
15. Beatin’ the Odds

Molly Hatchet

Danny Joe Brown- vocals

Dave Hlubeck- guitar

Duane Roland- guitar

John Galvin- keyboards

Riff West- bass

Bruce Crump- drums

It has been said the “Double Trouble Live” is one of the best live albums of all time. It’s definitely one of the best in 1985. The only reason it’s not number one for the year as there is a definite contender as well but I’ll get to that one in due course. In the mean time, have a listen to a fantastic live album from Molly Hatchet. You too might not feel so bad if you haven’t seen them live.

Next post: Joe Walsh- The Confessor

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com 

Great Rock Albums of 1981: Molly Hatchet- Take No Prisoners

No longer will I trust another person's account of any album in influencing me whether or not to buy an album. Back in 1981, I was interested in buying the "Take No Prisoners" album from Molly Hatchet but a couple of my marine buddies had gotten it and they all said that the album sucked. As a result I was put off ever buying it and I never listened to it until a couple of days ago and let me tell you, those guys were wrong, very wrong. "Take No Prisoners" might not be as good as "Flirtin' With Disaster" or their first self titled album or even "Beatin' the Odds" but it doesn't suck, no way.
For many years now, Jimmy Farrar has been given the blame for the lack of success of this album and probably for "Beatin' the Odds" as well. I now think this is rather unfair to the man because as I said when I visited the previous album, if he was with any other band, his vocal ability would have been more praiseworthy. Unfortunately, he was in the shadow of Danny Joe Brown and that is the problem. I have to admit myself, when hearing a couple of songs on this album, I was thinking to myself that Brown would have made a particular bit sound better.

Enough of the negative though because this album really boogies. In every song, the guitar magic of the trio of Roland, Hlubeck and Holland shine through with those special riffs that made me love Molly Hatchet in the first place. "Power Play" is the stand out track for me but the others are right up there as well, "Bloody Reunion" especially. Then they play a perfect blinder with "Respect Me In The Morning." Most tend to think that because the song is a duet between a man and a woman, in this case Jimmy Farrar and Baby Jean Kennedy of Mother's Finest that the song will immediately be a ballad. It certainly is not. This song rocks in the way that Molly Hatchet are known for and Kennedy's vocals only make it that much better. Truly this album deserves more respect that what I give and I immediately and sincerely apologise to the band for my ignorance over the past three decades.

Track Listing:

1. Bloody Reunion

2. Respect Me In The Morning

3. Long Tall Sally

4. Loss of Control

5. All Mine

6. Lady Luck

7. Power Play

8. Don't Mess Around

9. Don't Leave Me Lonely

10. Dead Giveaway

[caption id="attachment_1703" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Molly Hatchet[/caption]

Jimmy Farrar- vocals

Dave Hlubeck- guitar, slide guitar

Duane Roland- guitar, slide guitar

Steve Holland- guitar

Banner Thomas- bass

Bruce Crump- drums

I realise now that I have actually committed a double faux pas. Not only have I ignored a cool album on account of here say, I have neglected another band whose albums I should be visiting here. I remember Mother's Finest back in the day and did listen to some of their stuff. They shouldn't be pushed into obscurity, there are many pop acts deserving of that. Therefore, I will be featuring them in one of my upcoming posts.

Next post: Danny Joe Brown and the Danny Joe Brown Band

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

Great Rock Albums of 1980: Molly Hatchet- Beatin' the Odds

By the summer of 1980, I knew that Southern Rock had established itself up North and was listened to quite extensively there. However, in the October of the same year, I learned that it had made its way across the Atlantic when I saw this very album from Molly Hatchet on sale in a record shop in Southampton, England. The very same marine buddy who first introduced me to Southern Rock was with me at this time and we did both exceedingly rejoice in the fact that Molly Hatchet was listened to in Europe.

Being very predictable here but one can't fail to mention that "Beatin' The Odds" was the first album to feature Jimmy Farrar as lead singer who had replaced Danny Joe Brown who left the band on account of alcohol problems or so I'm told. Many Hatchet fans want to totally forget the Jimmy Farrar period of the band's career but when I listened to the album a couple of days ago, (the first time in about 30 years) I tried to do so in a more open minded manner.

First, Jimmy Farrar is not that bad of a vocalist. Had he come out with another band, he probably would have been right up there with many of those who were around then. The unfortunate thing for him was that he had some very big shoes to fill when he replaced Brown at the mike. Saying that, I feel that the album still lacks a bit of punch to me when compared with the epic "Flirtin' With Disaster" album. Yes, Molly Hatchet still plays that Southern bad boy boogie sound and this is in no way a bad album, but it is a quite a come down from the previous one. The track that stands out for me is "Penthouse Pauper" which has a great guitar intro and the title cut is pretty good too. "Sailor" is also a strong track. However, in spite of all the good things, to me, "Beatin' The Odds" lacks something.

Track Listing:

1. Beatin' The Odds

2. Double Talker

3. The Rambler

4. Sailor

5. Dead And Gone

6. Few And Far Between

7. Penthouse Pauper

8. Get Her Back

9. Poison Pen

Molly Hatchet

Jimmy Farrar- vocals

Dave Hlubeck- lead and slide guitars

Duane Roland- lead and slide guitars

Steve Holland- guitars

Banner Thomas- bass

Bruce Crump- drums

I have coined the phrase "Sophmore Jinx" to bands whose second album didn't match the expectation of a great first album. As "Beatin' The Odds" is the third album from Molly Hatchet, I can't really use it here. Furthermore, like I said, it's not a bad album and it is a good one to have on in the background when sitting in your back garden on a warm day and swilling down some brewskies. However, when you do listen to it, try not to compare it to some of their more iconic albums.

Next post: The Charlie Daniels Band- Full Moon

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