{"id":39855,"date":"2014-04-23T16:13:16","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T21:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39855"},"modified":"2014-04-23T16:13:16","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T21:13:16","slug":"moonshine-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/moonshine-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Moonshine | Moonshine<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MoonshineDo you feel like having a trip down the U.S. South, cruising from one smoky joint to another, where the whiskey flows and the rich bluesy tones fill the air? If you do, Moonshine\u2019s eponymous debut album might be just what you were looking for. Brought up on the old Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers Band tunes, six band members \u2013 backed by a few additional musicians and singers, the most notable of them being Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen) \u2013 bring the traditional Southern Rock legacy back. And if Derek Davis\u2019s name somehow rings a bell\u2026 yes, it\u2019s the hard rock act Babylon A.D.\u2019s frontman who now puts his Gamblers hat on and delivers his powerful bluesy vocals against the background of the juicy guitar riffs and boogie rhythms. After all, whoever says the \u201csouthern\u201d in Southern Rock is about geography must have never heard San Francisco-based Davis singing the bluesy tunes as convincingly as he does so here. <\/p>\n

This whiskey-soaked, slide guitar laden musical journey down the Dixie land has more than a few highlights, be it the groovy, bluesy opener \u201cMississippi Delta Blues\u201d, the maudlin melodic road song \u201cThe Devil\u2019s Road\u201d or the blues, Skynyrd-infused ballad \u201cThe Last Song.\u201d Outstanding is the rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival\u2019s 1969 classic \u201cFortunate Song,\u201d featuring some blistering lead guitar work. \u201cMams Kitchen Brew\u201d and \u201cWarm Beer Catfish Stew\u201d are dynamic pieces of hard-hitting roadhouse blues with well-crafted choruses against the groovy instrumental background. <\/p>\n

Also, there is a slow, twangy guitar laden track \u201cSouthern Blood\u201d, as \u201cblooze\u201d and \u201cSouthern\u201d as a song can possibly get, and a real centerpiece of the album. \u201cTurn Me Around\u201d features an elaborate solo which, at times, gravitates towards Jimi Hendrix\u2019s psychedelic style, a very intense song overall. The next to last \u201cFade Away\u201d is a tasty country-ish ballad, and the gritty blues rock piece \u201cThe American Train\u201d ends the album tremendously well and on a high note.<\/p>\n

Moonshine\u2019s album is full of now-forgotten rock and blues flavors, smoky harmonica sounds, bottle-neck slide guitar\u2019s weeping, contrasting guitar tones and boogie woogie piano-based melodies. It\u2019s a real throwback to the mid-1970s, when Southern Rock was pure, authentic, of, by and for the American rebels. From their fiery blues rockers to schmaltzy ballads, Moonshine not only pays homage to the swampy Americana sounds of the Mississippi Delta, but also presents the exceptional musicianship throughout the entire album. This said, their debut album Moonshine recommended to every rock and blues fan out there, and Southern Rock listeners in particular \u2013 let\u2019s hope all the Skynyrd and the Allmans successors will be equally up to the mark.<\/p>\n

Genre: Southern Blues Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDerek Davis- Vocals, Buzzy James – Slide guitar,
\nCreg DeFalco – Guitar, Mike Malone – Piano, Harmonica,
\nBrian Fox \u2013 Drums, Michael Norton \u2013 Bass
\nExtended Family Players: Jane Child – Piano, Background Vocals
\nMichael Anthony – Background Vocals, Kevin Hill – Bass
\nDrums – David Lauser<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. Mississippi Delta Blues
\n2. Warm Beer Catfish Stew
\n3. The Devils Road
\n4. Fortunate Son
\n5. The Last Song
\n6. Mams Kitchen Brew
\n7. Southern Blood
\n8. Turn Me Around
\n9. Fade Away
\n10. The American Train<\/p>\n

Label: Perris Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.derekdavismusic.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 10\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — Do you feel like having a trip down the U.S. South, cruising from one smoky joint to another, where the whiskey flows and the rich bluesy tones fill the […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,9126,9183,981,9184],"class_list":{"0":"post-39855","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-derek-davis","10":"tag-moonshine","11":"tag-perris-records","12":"tag-southern-blues-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}