The Outlaws: Henry Paul (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Hughie Thomasson, Billy Jones (vocals, guitar); Frank O`Keefe (bass); Monte Yoho (drums).Additional personnel: John David Souther (background vocals).Producer: Paul A. Rothchild.Reissue producer: Rob Santos.Recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California in March 1975. Originally released as Arista (4042). Includes liner notes by Clive Davis, Robert Feiden & Rick Clark.Digitally remastered by Elliott Federman (SAJE Sound, New York, New York).Originally released as a 2 LP set.Personnel: Henry Paul (vocals, guitar, electric guitar); Hughie Thomasson, Bill Jones (vocals, guitar); J.D. Souther (vocals); Frank O`Keefe (bass guitar); Monte Yoho (drums).Liner Note Author: Rick Clark.By the mid-`70s, Southern bands seemed be making a last stand for rock & roll, with two- and three-guitar lineups and not a keyboard in sight. The Outlaws` self-titled debut was released in 1975, a few years after the Allman Brothers Band`s greatest glories and a couple of years before the untimely demise of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Outlaws latched onto their Southern heritage by way of Florida, threw in some harmony by way of the Eagles, and then wrote a number of songs that played to their strengths. The result was -- and is -- a good classic rock & roll album. Several of the Outlaws` best songs are present here, including "There Goes Another Love Song," "Green Grass and High Tides," and "Song for You." Hughie Thomasson only sings lead on these three songs, but since two of them were the best-known Outlaw songs, it is his voice that is most associated with the band. It`s fun to hear cuts like "Song for You" and "Knoxville Girl," which never received a lot of radio play. "Keep Prayin`," sung by Henry Paul and Billy Jones, is a fine piece of Southern boogie with high soaring harmony on the chorus. Although "Green Grass and High Tides" has been played a million and six times on album-oriented rock stations, it nonetheless deserves mention. Created in the tradition of the Allman Brothers Band`s "Dreams" and Lynyrd Skynyrd`s "Free Bird," the song still sounds fresh in the context of the album, and doesn`t feel long at its nearly ten-minute length. The Outlaws` debut blew a fresh blast of rock & roll onto a scene increasingly dominated by synthesizers and dance music. It will leave the listener singing along and dreaming about the good ol` days. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
The Outlaws: Hughie Thomasson, Henry Paul (vocals, guitar); Harvey Dalton Arnold (vocals, bass); Frank O`Keefe (bass); Monte Yoho (drums).Additional personnel: Joe Vitale (ARP synthesizers); Manual Labour (percussion).Producer: Bill Szymczyk.Reissue producers: Rob Santos, Jeremy Holiday.Includes liner notes by Rick Clark.Digitally remastered by Elliott Federman (SAJE Sound, New York, New York).This is part of Buddha`s Original Masters series.Tampa, FL-based band the Outlaws released their third album, Hurry Sundown, in 1977, and it`s a fine work marked by strong songwriting and their unique country-based brand of Southern rock. All five members wrote material for Hurry Sundown: vocalist/lead guitarist Billy Jones, vocalist/guitarist Henry Paul, vocalist/lead guitarist Hughie Thomasson, new vocalist/bass guitarist Harvey Dalton Arnold, and drummer Monte Yoho. One significant influence on the album is producer Bill Szymczyk. It`s obvious his work with the Eagles sharpened the Outlaws` harmony vocals on Hurry Sundown. "Gunsmoke" is a vibrant rocker with lots of guitar soloing; the Outlaws didn`t feature three guitarists for nothing. The bright country-rock chorus is the foundation of "Hearin` My Heart Talkin`." Arnold`s "So Afraid" is a strangely compelling country song with two distinctly different parts: emotionally fragile lyrics supported by happy-go-lucky music driven by Thomasson`s cheerful banjo playing. Thomasson`s excellent "Hurry Sundown," an edgy story song with piercing guitar lines, was a minor hit single. "Cold and Lonesome" is a relaxed, swaying tune contributed by Arnold. The major discovery on Hurry Sundown is Jones` startling "Night Wines." This mournful, haunting song features a regret-filled protagonist drinking at night while lamenting the sad inevitability of aging. "Night Wines" must be at least partly autobiographical, because Jones, an obviously tortured soul, battled alcoholism before leaving the band by 1982 and, ultimately, took his own life in 1995 at age 45. About the first half of "Man of the Hour" is slow country with twangy electric guitars and Thomasson`s pedal steel guitar, but then the tempo shifts to a mid-tempo jam; along the way, guest Joe Vitale adds simple, effective synthesizer/strings fills. Buddha Records (aka Buddah Records) was scheduled to issue Hurry Sundown on CD for the first time in the summer of 2001. ~ Bret Adams Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
