Charlie Daniels Band:
No More Fiddling Around!
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Note: This review was originally supposed to be for the "On Second Thought" series, however as editor I felt that Mr. Daniels deserved to be recognized as an Artist of the Month because his new rock album is so impressive.  To bring that point home, this CD (Road Dogs" was named the Cross Over Album of the Year in the Rocknworld.com  "Best of Y2K" special. Needless to say "Road Dogs" has made it's mark here at the iconoFAN Network, we hope you will decide to check out this exceptional album for yourself! � Keavin Wiggins Managing Editor iconoFAN Network. 

Welcome to this installment of "On Second Thought". The basic premise of this series is to smash preconceived notions and open our minds to artists we may have previously pigeon holed and mischaracterized. 

This time we take a look at a legendary man in the world of country music, Charlie Daniels. Before you go off and shout at your computer screen that antiGUY has lost it, let me explain why Charlie Daniels has captured my attention and why I have expanded my rock CD collection with his music. 

It must first be pointed out that Charlie has a long history in the world of rock. His first band was a rock n roll cover band, he wrote music for Elvis, played with Bob Dylan and produced the Youngblood's "Elephant Mountain" and "Ride the Wind".  But that was long ago. During his four decade long career Charlie has always stood on the cutting edge of country and southern rock. Bridging the gap the country twang and fiddle and the heavy guitar of rock. Indeed if you look at the current trends in country music, you will see that Charlie Daniels was a trendsetter and far ahead of his time. 

Now the tables have turned and with the turn of the century Charlie has completed his crossover to the world of rock n roll with his latest album, "Road Dogs". While most of Charlie's music can be best described as Rockin' country Jam Music with "Road Dogs" he has dropped the country and went for full blues inspired southern rock in the tradition of ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

The album is filled with pure rock jams and some incredible guitar work, not to mention solid drumming, well above par bass lines, plus not to be overlooked it also has some great keyboards. 

The title track "Road Dogs" gets things moving. It's a great southern blues rock jam that kicks things off on a high note. Charlie and the band keep things moving with the second track, "Ain't No Law in California." A straight-ahead rocker with some impressive wha-wha pedal lead guitar. But the best part of this song is the lyrics that take a poke at the decadence of Los Angeles. "We got scalawags, we got queens in drag, we got pushers, pimps and punks/ We got crips and bloods, we got dykes and studs/ We got junkies, thieves and drunks/ This where the juice got turned aloose/ and if you haven't caught on yet/ Ain't no law in California." You have to admit, that chorus has got some attitude! 

For the third track "Even up the Score" Charlie turns over the microphone to guitarist Bruce Brown. The song written by Brown is a mid tempo rock number that falls into the Steve Miller Band territory. The melodic guitar leads are outstanding and Bruce can carry a tune with the best of them. Definitely not a filler tune, a great song on an already great CD. 

"Across the Line" take things up a couple notches with some really heavy guitars. The list goes on, I encourage the readers to find out for themselves just how dynamic this album is. 

One listen to "Road Dogs" shows that Charlie has finally come home to the world of Rock and the results are exceptional. "Road Dogs" just may be the best traditional rock album of the year. We would expect nothing less from this living legend!  Hats off to Charlie on a job well done! 

antiGUY 
 

Listen to sound samples and purchase "Road Dogs" at the iconoSTORE!

Check out the rest of Charlie's CD's.

Visit Charlie Daniels Official Web Site (Be sure to check out the soap box section to see why Charlie's "anti" attitude has won our respect!) 
 

Photos and artwork from the official Charlie Daniels Band web site. All rights reserved by copyright holder.