Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Session
5 Stars

This is an album that hardly needs any words from me. I mean, just look at the two artists. How could this album be anything but amazing? And it is just that.

The album opens with a 9-minute version of "Stormy Monday," and that is quite an appetizer. From there, the two guitar legends move into "Pride and Joy." Frankly, it is everything you'd expect.

Really, I feel like anything I say about this album is superfluous. It is two tremendous blues guitarists playing a session together. You get to hear not only a lot of hot blues tunes, but also some banter between two legends. What are you waiting for? Go get this album already.

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Blackberry Smoke - Little Piece of Dixie
4.5 Stars

OK, here's the scene. You've just left work on a Friday. You stop for smokes, beer, and tequila, and then you head out of town for a getaway weekend. That is the story in the opening track, "Good One Comin' On." And if that doesn't equate to a good one coming on, I don't know what would. Let's face it. Is there a better feeling than leaving work on a Friday, particularly if you have this sort of thing planned? This song is an excellent celebration of one of the little pleasures in life.

"Bottom of This" is another good story song. In this song, the narrator comes home from work and wants to have a beer before he starts talking about politics, religion, or anything else. This song also features some beefy guitar licks that will make you want to pump your fist.

This album doesn't just feature classic southern rock sounds, but also some classic southern rock themes: enjoying your free time, having a beer, the "little man," dancing, and freedom. In the case of "Freedom Song," freedom is not represented by a bald eagle or a flag. It is represented, by getting on the road in an old truck with the radio turned up, chasing down some blue sky, and fishing. I don't know about you, but all of those things sound better to me than busting your hump in a factory or being cooped up in a cubicle.

Blackberry Smoke plays a brand of southern rock that will make you want to stomp your feet. I have no doubt that the members of this band grew up listening to the great southern rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet (check out "Up in Smoke" for the Hatchet influence). That being said, this band reminds me more of The Backsliders than any other southern rock band. These are gritty mostly uptempo songs with a good story behind them. This is a great album for the car. You know, the sort of album that you put on and crank the volume while you open the windows and sing as loud as you can while making those around you wonder what you're on. If southern rock is something you enjoy, then you need A Little Piece of Dixie in your collection. Then you can put this on and have your own good one comin' on.