Alligator Stew - A First Taste Of (2001)

California's "hottest unsigned band".
Alligator Stew - again a new band ... - what will it be now ..., but folks, all you southern rock fans and connoisseurs watch out: this quartet from Los Angeles / California appears out of nowhere and breathes new life into this music and such a carefree freshness that the hair on the back of the neck stand up with joy. So even in the new millennium, Southern rock is indestructible, despite all the crazy music trends. No way! They let the tradition of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Atlanta Rhythm Section, the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet live on in their sound. And they succeed brilliantly! That's "kick-ass rock, southern-style, a little bluesy with twangs of country-style boogie woogie", according to the US Music Connection Magazine! The four are excellent musicians, especially the outstanding singer Gary Jeffries. He has a great, powerful, voluminous voice and sings with "heart and soul". But the guitar sound is just great too. Partly very nice lap steel and slide guitar that spans a musical arc from Georgia to the Louisiana swamps. Excellent songwriting, not a bad track and the production is right too. As a representative of the 13 songs, one should be mentioned in particular: the wonderful southern rock ballad "Blood money", which even all of our heroes in their best form and the weddings of this music could not have gotten better. It is then represented twice on the album - in an electric and an acoustic version. No real Southern rocker who is self-worthy can ignore this disc.