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The Outlaws
Posted by Laila Hanson on 01-Jul-08 @ 11:39 AM|
YEARS OF EXISTENCE: 1972-1982, followed by stretches fueled by one man's desire to cash checks on the name YEARS OF DECENT EXISTENCE: 1975,1979 BEST RECORDS: Outlaws (1975), In The Eye Of The Storm (1979) WORST RECORDS: Lady In Waiting (1976), Hurry Sundown (1977), Playin' To Win (1978), Los Hombres Malo (1982) GO DOWNLOAD: "Green Grass And High Tides," "There Goes Another Love Song," "Hurry Sundown," "Freeborn Man" FILE UNDER: Middle Float In The Good Ol' Boys Parade SIMILAR-SOUNDING DINOSAURS: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot and anybody else with Confederate-flag stickers on their road cases THE MUSIC: Straight outta Tampa, Florida, the Outlaws--guitarists Henry Paul, Hughie Thomasson and Billy Jones, drummer Monte Yoho and bassist Frank O'Keefe--were designated as "Florida's guitar army" by a nation of yahoos impatient for the next Lynyrd Skynyrd record. Actually, it was Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant that took a shining to the band, hooking them up with management so they could get a break. Said break came from none other than veteran music industry mogul Clive Davis, who chose the Outlaws as his first signing to the Arista label. The 'law-men's combination of "blistering chops," "populist sincerity" and "massive amounts of hair," coupled with a loud 'n' proud signature song ("Green Grass And High Tides") made them a successful entity. But just like a scene from Almost Famous, the wheels started to fall off in 1977, with Paul and O'Keefe leaving to start the Henry Paul Band. Yoho and Jones hit their respective ejector seats two years later, leaving Thomasson the only original member. He knocked it on the head after the tepid Los Hombres Malo, but kept the band going in various incarnations (some including Paul), instead of retiring the name and going solo. Go figure. WHAT THEY SAY: "Though supremely competent, the band is completely indistinguishable in both style and substance from earlier and better known acts of Southern rock's golden age." --Roni Sarig, Amazon.com WHAT I SAY: Most Southern-rock fans don't have the intellectual capacity of Larry The Cable Guy, but I give the Outlaws a pass because it seemed their sincerity paralleled their musicianship. ("Green Grass And High Tides" is waaay better than "Freebird." There, I said it.) More importantly, they also had the balls to cover Elvis Costello's "Miracle Man" at a time when such a gesture would cause restlessness in Hillbilly Nation. ("Why'd yinz guys play that punk-rock faggot's song?") WHY YOUR (GRAND)PARENTS LIKE THEM: I don't know; why does any Coors-swilling, Skoal-dipping, sister-groping, cow-humping galoot like this stuff, anyway? CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: Since the Outlaws' halcyon days, original members Jones, O'Keefe and Thomasson have gone to that great roadhouse in the sky. Surviving original members Paul and Yoho now lead the charge, reactivating the name this year for a series of dates at venues with keywords like "tavern," "saloon" and "state fair" in their names. --Jason Pettigrew |
