by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
Cover albums are tricky beasts. Most are novelties or fillers, something you can listen to a few times and then completely forget about, and something bands record to fill the space between new studio releases. In short, the shelf-life of many cover albums is the same as an extra mayo slathered dish of potato salad at a picnic, baking in the Georgia sun.
What makes Ron Keel Band’s South X South Dakota different is that it’s not just a band celebrating its roots, but the updated, heavier versions are actually an announcement of the Ron Keel Band sound. You’ve likely seen the tattoo “Metal Cowboy” on the frontman’s arms–that’s as succinct a way to describe South X South Dakota as any …
The southbound trail welcomes all aboard with the Blackfoot cover, “Train Train.” This cover stays true to the original; they don’t turn it into something it should not be. Why screw with a classic, anyway. Ron Keel Band, instead, pays a southern-fried homage to Blackfoot.
They go the opposite direction with the Rossington-Collins hit “Don’t Misunderstand Me.” This SOUNDS like Ron Keel Band. It’s an updated, high-energy burner, for the most part except where it wouldn’t make sense, and the highlight is Jasmine Cain joining the boys for some moonlight and moonshine. If you don’t know who she is, remedy that yesterday if not sooner. Their voices meld to a fricasseed melody. One of the best covers here.
The band released a video for the cover of “Red White & Blue,” the Skynyrd anthem. You really have to search for more identifiable Southern Rock bands–someone says “Southern Rock,” you automatically think Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s a thoughtful, humble slice of Americana, and the two-part harmonies between drummer The Rev and Keel create some aural voodoo as the chills run down your arms.
“Homesick” was one of those first covers the band slung to the masses when they became Ron Keel Band. Anywhere in the Midwest they play, the crowd knows the song. It’s a little more deft musically if you pay attention, or you can just wallow in the Rock, a cold one in the right and a shot of 90 proof in the left.
Maybe the best cover(s) here is the CCR medley. It’s all live, and on “Bad Moon on the Rise” you get some of those Metal snarls Keel made his original name with all those decades ago. “Fortunate Son” is the same; this cover captures all the live energy the band feeds to their crowds. It’s comfortably familiar yet new, somehow.
South X South Dakota is a cover album, but if you are paying attention, it’s a hell of a lot more than that. It’s a triumphant reveille, a heavy, all-embracing unveiling of exactly who the band is, and where they are taking us next. At the absolute least, it’s a party, good time celebration of Southern Rock. More than that, though, it wets your whistle while making you thirst for new music from Ron Keel Band that that aforementioned 90 proof whiskey can’t even slake.
Genre: Rock, Southern Rock, Cover
Band:
Ron Keel – lead vocals, guitar
DC Cothern – lead guitar
Geno Arce – bass
Dakota Scott – keys
Jeff “The Rev” Koller – drums
Tracklisting:
Train Train
Rockin’ Into The Night
Don’t Misunderstand Me (featuring Jasmine Cain)
Red White & Blue
Flirtin’ With Disaster
Ramblin’ Man
Fire On The Mountain
Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
Homesick
Ghost Riders In The Sky (produced by Henry Paul)
Creedence Medley LIVE
Label: HighVolMusic
Online:
www.ronkeel.com
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8 / 10)
