Kingdom of XII
This third offering from the "new" Molly Hatchet is an excellent addition to their growing discography, and any fan (old or new) should definitely add it their collection.
Every song is another worthy entry in their canon, but personal favorites on this disc include - "White Lightning," "Kickstart To Freedom," and their cover of the Rolling Stones tune "Tumbling Dice." Another acoustic number, this time out consisting of "Edge Of Sundown" (found either on The Danny Joe Brown Band 1981 LP or Molly Hatchet's own 1985 Double Trouble - Live) closes the set.
However, not all is calm for me on this release. Drummer Mac Crawford has left the band, and has been replaced by Sean Shannon. Though Shannon's work is very competent, I must admit to missing Crawford. I viewed him as the best drummer the band had ever employed, and wish him well in his endeavors. Charlie Daniels has been brought aboard to add fiddle fire to two tracks ("Gypsy Trail" and "Angel In Dixie"), and for some reason, though I'm a fan of Daniels work, wish he had been left off the final release. Finally, before I really start nitpicking (lol), I want to throw a barb at vocalist Phil McCormack. I've been very pleased with his work up and through this album, but finally began to notice some cracks in the foundation. A dead-ringer for original vocalist Danny Joe Brown, McCormack initially started off as just one helluva replacement (see 1996's "Devil's Canyon"); but on this album sounds to me as if he's actually attempting to sound like Brown. Either way, I'm really cutting my complaints to the bone because, let's face it, there really isn't much to complain about concerning "Kingdom Of XII." You'll see once you give it a listen.
Every song is another worthy entry in their canon, but personal favorites on this disc include - "White Lightning," "Kickstart To Freedom," and their cover of the Rolling Stones tune "Tumbling Dice." Another acoustic number, this time out consisting of "Edge Of Sundown" (found either on The Danny Joe Brown Band 1981 LP or Molly Hatchet's own 1985 Double Trouble - Live) closes the set.
However, not all is calm for me on this release. Drummer Mac Crawford has left the band, and has been replaced by Sean Shannon. Though Shannon's work is very competent, I must admit to missing Crawford. I viewed him as the best drummer the band had ever employed, and wish him well in his endeavors. Charlie Daniels has been brought aboard to add fiddle fire to two tracks ("Gypsy Trail" and "Angel In Dixie"), and for some reason, though I'm a fan of Daniels work, wish he had been left off the final release. Finally, before I really start nitpicking (lol), I want to throw a barb at vocalist Phil McCormack. I've been very pleased with his work up and through this album, but finally began to notice some cracks in the foundation. A dead-ringer for original vocalist Danny Joe Brown, McCormack initially started off as just one helluva replacement (see 1996's "Devil's Canyon"); but on this album sounds to me as if he's actually attempting to sound like Brown. Either way, I'm really cutting my complaints to the bone because, let's face it, there really isn't much to complain about concerning "Kingdom Of XII." You'll see once you give it a listen.
No comments:
Post a Comment