Marshall Tucker Band - Just Us (1983/2005)

Throughout their ten years of recording and touring, the Marshall Tucker Band endured everything from grueling work/touring constraints (they released an album a year for ten years) and the loss of one of their brothers/co-founders (Tommy Caldwell passed away in 1980 due to injuries from an auto accident). This frantic pace would assure even the hardest of bands a pathway to severe burnout. But for this ragtag group of steel-eyed Southerners, it was just another day at the office. By the time Just Us rolled around they were veterans of the record-making process, confident enough in their own skills to actually produce their works for the first time. This dedication and attention to detail results in some of the Marshall Tucker Band's finest compositions ever and one of their most thoroughly solid records. With the addition of Ronnie Godfrey to the band as piano player and songwriter, the group branch out into deeper blues territory ("Testify," "Wait for You") while still retaining the country and rock qualities that built them such a large fanbase.