Dickey Betts & Great Southern in Bloomington, MN

Three years after the issue of his landmark solo recording,
Highway Call
(and countless inbred brawls and unholy wars among
the Allman Brothers
), guitarist, singer, and songwriter
Dickey Betts
released the debut by his "other" band,
Great Southern
. Attempting to capture the loose, easy feel of
and combine it with the more
blues
-driven sound of
the Allmans
,
Betts
was largely successful though the record does suffer a tad from overly slick production. Evident from
"Out to Get Me,"
the very first track, is
' trademark slide guitar burning a hole through the center of the mix. The undertone of the album is the shuffle, both
country
and
, aided in large part by
Topper Price
's harmonica and the able second guitar of
Dan Toler
. But the feel is all
. He stretches out the stinging boogie of
"Run Gypsy Run,"
with dual leads, a killer pre-verse riff, and a solid
"Ramblin Man"
-style melodic line in the heart of his
. Perhaps the hinge piece on the album in on its third track,
"Sweet Virginia"
(not a cover of
the Rolling Stones
' track). Here,
' slide work is easily and lilting as it undergirds a sleepy
tune with a killer backbeat. Nostalgia, or at least the previous, is the backbone of
' sentiment as his vice rings through the guitars and rhythm section with conviction and a sureness that only comes out of the finest
country-rock
music (think
Creedence Clearwater
meets
). Ultimately, this album, with its funky New Orleans basslines and second-line percussions, is another restless
country-soul
set from
. And though more guitar driven than
(fiddle god
Vassar Clements
is not
' foil here), its songs hold as much soul and aplomb if not the same deeply held convictions that made the previous album the classic it is. Nonetheless,
is a very fine album that despite its polish holds a wealth of fine songs and truly astonishing playing within its grooves. ~ Thom Jurek