Molly Hatchet Flirtin' With Disaster (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1979) *****
Molly Hatchet Double Trouble Live (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1985) ***
Genre: Southern rock
Places I remember: Marbecks Records for the first two, Slow Boat Records for the double live one.
Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Gunsmoke
Gear costume: Flirtin' With Disaster
Active compensatory factors: I had a real job picking Fab and Gear tracks to highlight above. Anything on those first two studio albums would have done the trick. The first three songs are crucial on any album and each of these albums sets a blistering pace with real quality.
Gear costume: Flirtin' With Disaster
Active compensatory factors: I had a real job picking Fab and Gear tracks to highlight above. Anything on those first two studio albums would have done the trick. The first three songs are crucial on any album and each of these albums sets a blistering pace with real quality.
There's nothing wildly original about the songs on these albums - they simply base everything on the southern rock template of guitars, shuffle beat, down home drawl vocals and a local setting for subject matter. But it's damn fine to listen to! Fun times!!
Molly Hatchet (the first album) sounds insanely brilliant and fully formed right from those first three superb tracks: Bounty Hunter; Gator Country; Big Apple.
The interplay between the three lead guitarists is superb and the confidence oozes out of each track. I guess Tom Werman (producer) and Antonio Reale (Engineer) should take some credit for that - it sounds great!!
It contains their own 'Free Bird' epic - Boogie No More and hits other peaks other southern bands could only dream of. Only The Allman Brothers and Skynyrd ahead of them in my humble opinion.
Warning: the double live album came out in the mid eighties. By that time Danny Joe Brown was back in the band so you're in safe hands vocally as they run straight atcha baby, with some great songs and the version of Free Bird is brave (and terrific).
One star off for replacing the third lead guitarist with a keyboard player (including a synth!). Side one is a cracking trip through 4 songs off those first two albums - then side 2 opens with two melodic pop songs featuring a synth and la la la la backing vocals. So, there's that. But the rest is damn fine.
Where do they all belong? Like Lynyrd Skynyrd, the first two albums are all you really need (I sold the third album as I didn't like the replacement singer for Danny Joe Brown as much).
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