Southern Rock Masters (Deluxe Version)

Album Review

For the most part, Southern hard rockers Molly Hatchet have been little more than a touring band since the middle of the 1990s. They've issued a record or two here and there, but most of their releases have been live offerings of recent tours, or perhaps repackaged material. This is a collection of covers and a few redone versions of Molly Hatchet's own hits by a band that contains one original member — guitarist Dave Hlubek. The tunes include "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy's anthem "The Boys Are Back in Town," the Rolling Stones covers "Tumbling Dice" and "Wild Horses," the Allman Brothers' "Dreams I'll Never See" and "Melissa" (the best thing here by far), the Eagles' "Desperado" and "Tequila Sunrise," Mountain's "Mississippi Queen," and George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone." The Allmans' "Melissa" works primarily because Gregg Allman's voice isn't a stretch for Phil McCormack, and he's probably been practicing it in a mirror his entire life. The set gets topped off with new versions of "Whiskey Man," "Beatin' the Odds," and "Flirtin' with Disaster" — all live, of course.