Posts Tagged ‘Southern Rock’

SwampDaWamp: Rock This Country

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

SwampDaWamp_RockThisCountryHeavy Southern party rock

If Southern Rock, Heavy Metal and Arena Rock had mated in the mid-1970s, SwampDaWamp would have been the musical offspring. Gig Michaels’ vocals are gritty, the rhythm guitars thick, the lead playing sharp, and the bass and drums powerful and heavy. There’s a party vibe on the band’s third full-length release, but the core is red, white and blue-collar American rock ‘n’ roll. That latter identity is most fully embraced in the anthems “American Man” and “Rock This Country.” SwampDaWamp’s American experience includes ladies, wild nights, and cathouses, but they also spend a few songs pondering the economically dispossessed and a woman’s troubled path to the brink of suicide. Social consciousness aside, the album closes with “Stoned,” a celebration of artists whose muse has been stoked by grape and grass. It may not have the poetic context of Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” but it’s a good time, as is the group’s latest album. Now where’s the SwampDaWamp beer cozy for my PBR? [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

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Wet Willie: Keep on Smilin’

Monday, April 20th, 2009

wetwillie_keeponsmilinFunky southern rock and soul from 1974

Wet Willie hit simultaneous commercial and artistic high points on this 1974 album, their fourth of seven for the Capricorn label. The Mobile, Alabama band cuts a funkier, more gospel-inspired groove than its label mates, which included Southern rock standard bearers like the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band, and their songs re more lyrically focused and concise. Singer Jimmy Hall has a rich, punchy delivery that often soars in a preacher’s shout, and the backing vocals of the Williettes give the group the Southern edge of Stax and Muscle Shoals. The album’s single, “Keep on Smiling,” offers a lasting message of optimism with a memorable rhythm guitar riff, sweet harmonica solo and a backing choir that lifts the song to the heavens. Though it was the group’s only trip to the pop top ten, it was far from the album’s only jewel, as the opener provides a warm celebration of country life, and the James Brown horn funk “Soul Sister” gives the Williettes a chance to step up front. Hall also sings blue-eyed soul, such as the homespun ballad “Alabama,” and digs deep on the mid-tempo “Lucy Was in Trouble.” The group’s follow-up, Dixie Rock, continued in the same vein, and the pair of albums were issued as a two-fer. If you dig the studio works, you should also check out the group’s live album Drippin’ Wet for a taste of their jams. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]