Southern Rock Masters [PA]

Performer: Molly Hatchet
Engineer: Paul Lapinski
Producer: Bobby Ingram
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Dave Hlubek (guitar); Bobby Ingram (acoustic guitar, background vocals); John Galvin (keyboards, background vocals); Shawn Beamer (drums, percussion); Phil McCormack, Tim Lindsey (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Paul Vincent Lapinski; Bobby Ingram. For the most part, Southern hard rockers Molly Hatchet have been little more than a touring band since the middle of the 1990s. They've issued a record or two here and there, but most of their releases have been live offerings of recent tours, or perhaps repackaged material. This is a collection of covers and a few redone versions of Molly Hatchet's own hits by a band that contains one original member -- guitarist Dave Hlubek. The tunes include "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy's anthem "The Boys Are Back in Town," the Rolling Stones covers "Tumbling Dice" and "Wild Horses," the Allman Brothers' "Dreams I'll Never See" and "Melissa" (the best thing here by far), the Eagles' "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise," Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone." The Allmans' "Melissa" works primarily because Gregg Allman's voice isn't a stretch for Phil McCormack, and he's probably been practicing it in a mirror his entire life. The set gets topped off with new versions of "Whiskey Man," "Beatin' the Odds," and "Flirtin' with Disaster" -- all live, of course. ~ Thom Jurek Some bands just can't let go, and when they can't, it comes to this. For the most part, Southern hard rockers Molly Hatchet have been little more than a touring band since the middle of the 1990s. They've issued a record or two here and there, but most of their releases have been live offerings of recent tours, or perhaps repackaged material -- � la full concerts of the band in its glory days with Danny Joe Brown. This collection of covers by a band that contains one original member -- guitarist Dave Hlubek -- feels like little more than a desperate attempt to have something new on the merchandising table for a summer tour in 2008. Harsh, but if you heard this record, you'd understand that sentiment. Molly Hatchet murder a slew of rock classics -- and offer even more redone versions of their own hits to top it off -- for what can only be viewed as a way of compensating for a lack of songwriting ideas. The tunes include such predictable choices as "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, a criminally awful version of Thin Lizzy's anthem "The Boys Are Back in Town" (and Phil Lynott's estate should sue for negligent homicide of a work of art), the Rolling Stones covers "Tumbling Dice" and "Wild Horses" (!), the Allman Brothers' "Dreams I'll Never See" and "Melissa" (the best thing here by far), the Eagles' "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise," Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" (which is just as bad as, if not worse than, the original). The Eagles tunes are hilarious since lead vocalist Phil McCormack's voice is ill suited to smooth ballads, to say the least. The Allmans' "Melissa" works primarily because Gregg Allman's voice isn't a stretch for McCormack, and he's probably been practicing it in a mirror his entire life. The ZZ Top and Stones tunes and "Mississippi Queen" are just plain embarrassing. The set gets topped off with new versions of "Whiskey Man," "Beatin' the Odds," and "Flirtin' with Disaster" -- all live, of course. But why? This is a sad chapter in Molly Hatchet's long descent into the oblivion of rock history. ~ Thom Jurek

At the tail end of the 1970s, when Southern rock's popularity seemed to be waning, a new generation of Dixie outlaws appeared, and Molly Hatchet led the charge. The hard-rocking Southern boogie band released its first album in 1978, but it was the '79 follow-up, FLIRTIN' WITH DISASTER, that made the band a major name. Shortly thereafter, singer Danny Joe Brown quit the group, and was replaced for a couple of albums by Jimmy Farrar before finally returning for 1983's NO GUTS...NO GLORY. Though Brown and guitarist Duane Roland died in the mid-2000s, the band never stopped performing.

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