Rebel Souls
by: Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
Rebel Souls
(Phoenix)
Doc Holliday pays apt tribute to some of their own musical heroes on their latest outing, Rebel Souls, including not only Southern brothers like The Allman Brothers Band, Marshall Tucker and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but also everyone in our generation’;s favorite group, The Beatles. Ten songs, all produced flawlessly (a Holliday tradition).
Bruce Brookshire is smart. If you are going to cover Beatles tunes on record, choose the more obscure numbers. Here, the band kicks things off with a very nice version of “Run for Your Life,” and later return with a second Beatles track, “One After 909.” See, that really is brilliant. Had they chosen “Helter Skelter” or “Come Together,” it could have been a bore. Both Beatles covers work well in the hands of the boys from Warner Robbins, Georgia.
Tribute is paid to our friends from Spartanburg, South Carolina (The Marshall Tucker Band) as well. Doc pulls off an excellent reading of George McCorkle’s “Fire On The Mountain,” and a smooth cover of Toy Caldwell’s “Heard it in a Love Song.”
The recording also features takes on The Allman brothers Band’s “Melissa” and “Statesboro Blues” (actually a Blind Willie McTell song); Taj Mahal’s “Corinna, Corinna;” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “The Ballad of Curtis Loew;” and perhaps the finest track on the album, Paul Rogers and Bad Company’s theme song, “Bad Company.” I always felt like this song would make a great Southern Rock tune, and Doc Holliday has turned it into a Southern twang masterpiece. Awesome.
I couldn’t decide whether or not to spill the beans on the hidden bonus track, but I just have to. If you let the CD play on at the end of the last song, you will get a real treat. Bruce Brookshire performs a heartfelt acoustic rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Absolutely beautiful.
Rebel Souls is not a hard hitting Doc Holliday album like we have grown accustomed to, but it is equally great. A fine tribute to some rock legends, Southern and British, played with Doc passion and fire. Good stuff.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Comments
Please login or you can
If you aren't registered, Register Now to start leaving comments.