The Charlie Daniels Band - Fire on the Mountain

Four albums in, Charlie Daniels -- now fronting The Charlie Daniels Band -- finally found a way to not just synthesize his various influences, he found a way to streamline them and polish them, turning them into something proudly Southern and redneck yet commercial with Fire On The Mountain. This means that he's toned down the wild, messy eclecticism that he displayed on his ignored debut in favor of a bluesy, jam-oriented country-rock owing a great deal to The Allman Brothers. The change is brought into sharp relief because he revives two of the best songs from Charlie Daniels -- the rampaging rocker "Trudy" and the sweet ballad "Georgia," both given more direct arrangements here; the originals were ragged and right, but these have more of a rock feel, even if they're not as loose as those on the debut. Read More