ANOTHER GREAT ONE HAS LEFT US FOR HIGHER GROUND

http://tinyurl.com/4svbd9

With all the time I spend online, particulary searching music blogs for old and new stuff, I don't know how I Managed to miss this bit of info, but I did until just yesterday. Sunday, September 9th, 2007 Hughie was at home, taking a nap in his easy chair as us 55 year old guys are inclined to do from time to time and he never woke up again.
It was late spring or possibly summer, 1975 when I first heard of The Outlaws. Their self titled, debut album was a knockout and many a day that summer you'd hear it blasting from my car speakers. Their debut album was one of the stronger first efforts I've ever had the pleasure to hear and even today it still stands as one of the best examples of the Southern rock genre.

They were known as the Florida Guitar army because of their fantastic guitar pickin' line-up which along with Hughie consisted of Billy Jones (who has also passed on) and Henry Paul. All 3 gentlemen had their own guitar style and each could write a great rock n roll tune, making them a formidable ensemble.

I got to see them once live, in 1978 and back in those days, with festival seating, you could get as close as you could get so I made it my business to stand right in front of the man. Back in those days you could also photograph the band and being a photographer of sorts I have a pic of Hughie on my den wall overlooking my album collection that I took at that concert. Hard to accept the fact that it's been 30 years since that concert. If I can find the time I'll scan the pic and put it up here

Although they put out a number of excellent releases, the first one is forever near and dear to my heart and to honor the man who wrote so many of their great tunes and who in no small part was The Outlaws, I'm offering up a share of their debut album. If by some cruel twist of fate you've never heard any Outlaws music or you were too young to be around in the days when it was happening and you love great guitar picking and fantastic harmony vocals then I'd highly suggest you start by listening to their debut album and go from there......

Rest In Peace Hughie and thanks for the music that always made me feel good to be alive.

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1975 on Arista Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: Variable Bit Rate (approx. 220)
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Paul A Rothchild
Engineered By: Fritz Richmond
Recorded At: Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California, March 1975
Album Cover: Janet Mager
TRACK LISTING:
There Goes Another Love Song
Song For You
Song In The Breeze
It Follows From Your Heart
Cry No More
Waterhole
Stay With Me
Keep Prayin’
Knoxville Girl
Green Grass & High Tides
THE BAND:
Hughie Thomasson – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Billy Jones – Vocals, Lead Guitar
Henry Paul – Vocals, Guitar
Frank O’Keefe – Bass
Monte Yoho – Drums
Guests:
J.D. Souther – Harmony Vocals on “It Follows From Your Heart”
WEBSITE(S):
http://www.outlawsmusic.com/ Official Site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outlaws Wikipedia Site
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/rootbound/outlaws/page1.htm The Early Years
REVIEWS:
Definitive Southern Rock, April 28, 2003
By Edward H. Welbon "epiphenomenalist" (Austin, Tx United States) - (Amazon Customer Review)

It's all subjective of course but I've always thought that the Outlaws were the penultimate southern rock act. For me the beautiful, melodic guitar work,and vocal harmonies are what souther rock is about. That's not to say that I don't like Pure Prairie League, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Allman Brothers (with Duane), The Band, Little Feat or the many other great southern rock acts - I will always enjoy the music made by these and other southern rock acts. But if I were stranded on a desert island, the Outlaws debut album is one that would show up the short list of what I wanted. Somewhere near the Outlaws in that list I'd probably also have the Drive-By Truckers album "Southern Rock Opera" just to remind me of my heritage and perhaps the Massive Attack album "Mezzanine" to add some balance to that remembrance but then, that's another matter. 8-)
==================================

Southern Rock Defined - 10 stars!!!, July 21, 2006
By Dr. Johnny Fevre (Largo, Florida USA) - (Amazon Customer Review)
I had been a fan of the Outlaws since this album was released in 1975 but it wasn't until I saw them in concert at the St. Petersburg Bayfront Center on New Years eve in 1977-8 (I still have the ticket stub) that I became rabid. They never received the same airplay that Lynyrd Skynrd and Marshall Tucker enjoyed except perhaps here in the Tampa Bay area. This was truly a shame as this is quite simply the some of the best music of the genre. The vocal harmonies comparison to the Eagles is inevitable but this too, is not a logical comparison. The music is just too different to compare. From the opening licks on There Goes Another Love Song until the last chords of GG&HT Forever, the beat is non-stop and the guitar playing is quite simply, and there's no other way to put it, AWESOME. Hughie Thomasson, Billy Jones (RIP), and Henry Paul have a way of making you pull out your air guitar and jamming along side them, or wishing you actually knew how to play. The softer sounds of It Follows From Your Heart and Song in the Breeze compliment the harder edge signature songs and no one is immune from toe tapping to Waterhole and Knoxville Girl. I have listened to this album as much or more than any other in my significant collection and I never tire of it. If you've never heard the music, listen to the Amazon clips but they certainly don't do the music justice. If you only buy one Outlaws album, this should be it.
CONTACT:
READ THIS for more information on this album.
Tom

THE OUTLAWS / HURRY SUNDOWN - 1977