Rick's Music Trivia

If music be the food of life…Play on!

THE OUTLAWS..ANOTHER CHAPTER OF SOUTHERN ROCK

January 24, 2019 — Leave a comment

While the Outlaws are generally considered to be a part of the Southern Rock genre influences. Their primary similarity to other Southern rock bands is the dual lead guitar interplay, a defining characteristic of many Southern rock bands. However, the Outlaws’ mix of country and rock elements displays the vocal harmony influences of groups like Buffalo Springfield, Poco, The Byrds, New Riders of the Purple Sage, The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their use of three and four part harmonies set them apart from their contemporaries who usually relied on a single lead vocalist.

Hughie Thomasson’s signature guitar playing style and voice were defining characteristics of the band’s sound. Thomasson’s guitar sound was underpinned by the use of the Fender Broadcaster (and sometimes a Telecaster) played in a quasi-country style mixed with fluid, quick blues runs. Hughie was nicknamed “The Flame” for his flaming fast guitar work. He is a member of the Fender Hall of Fame.

The other lead guitarist, Billy Jones, played mainly a Gibson, Le Paul and switched between a clean and distorted sound. A good example of this can be heard on “Green Grass and High Tides” on the right stereo channel. Hughie Thomasson’s distinctive Stratocaster sound can be heard on the left channel. Thomasson opens the first solo at the intro and plays the first half of the two succeeding longer solos all on the right channel. There are many video examples of his Green Grass solos on the internet.

The records released by the band between 1975 and 1980 are considered the best representation of the band’s style. The band was seen on successful concert tours billed with other non-Southern rock acts of the time including opening for the Who on the ‘Who Boots In’ tour in 1976. This contrast of styles was more common at that time than the packaged “genre” tours seen so often these days. The willingness of promoters to mix styles led to the Outlaws gaining a large following in the USA.

The Outlaws’ style is highly characterized in their first three albums, The Outlaws (1975), Lady In Waiting (1976), and Hurry Sundown (1977). These are considered the best work of the band with all of the “classic era” band members, except for O’Keefe who was replaced by the left-handed bass player Harvey Arnold.

The albums released after 1980 are largely viewed by critics as a gradual move away from the original sound that gained them success in the 1970s. The reworking of the Western-styled “Ghost Riders” in 1980 was the band’s last taste of big league success, although the band released two more records, Los Hombres Malo in 1982 and Soldiers of Fortune in 1986. As the 1980s came to a close, Thomasson became the final original member of the act. Albums such as Diablo Canyon released in 1994, were released on smaller independent record labels. The band by now was mostly confined to smaller club dates. This situation led to Thomasson accepting a guitar position in the legendary and more popular, Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1996. This essentially sidelined the Outlaws for a decade, as Thomasson’s voice and guitar style were just too integral a part of the Outlaws’ sound for the other members to successfully work without it.

In December 2007, 2008 Outlaws tour dates were released. In January 2008, the Outlaws lineup would be revealed to include Henry Paul (guitars/vocals), Monte Yoho (drums), Chris Anderson (guitars/vocals), and Randy Threet (bass), along with newer additions Billy Crain (guitars), Jon Coleman (keyboards), and Brett Cartwright (bass). Cartwright left the band shortly thereafter. This would be the first lineup in Outlaws’ history without Hughie Thomasson on guitar and vocals, as from the band’s formation to his death, he was the only constant member, garnering him the nicknames “Mr. Outlaw” and “The Lone Outlaw”.

Here are The Outlaws with Green Grass and High Tides. Enjoy (or not).

Rick https://youtu.be/R82OM5tzcrk

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterPost on X
FollowFollow us
PinterestSave

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *