ARTIST: Molly Hatchet
TITLE: Molly Hatchet
YEAR RELEASED: 1978
CHART ACTION: #64
SINGLES: Dreams I’ll Never See
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Bounty Hunter, Gator Country
LINEUP: Danny Joe Brown, Dave Hlubek, Steve Holland, Duane Roaldn, Banner Thomas, Bruce Crump. Jai Winding played keyboards
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Debut album takes the torch from Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, though not as successfully.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Florida’s Molly Hatchet was the next group up for Southern Rock fans, after the demise of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the meander to irrelevance of the Allman Brothers. This debut, in fact, covers “Dreams” by the Allman brothers, albeit with a new title and a different arrangement.
The three guitar lineup for Molly Hatchet was tight, without a lot of overplaying and or showing off. Some tracks really work (“Gator Country” and “Dreams I’ll Never See”) and some just seem perfunctory. The main difference for the band is the distinctive voice of Danny Joe Brown. That voice was a signature element of Molly Hatchet during their hitmaking years.
All in all, this is decently decent. There’s nothing that makes your head hurt, nor anything that makes you really want to play this 250 times in a row.
NOTES & MINUTIAE: The cover paining is by Frank Frazetta, titled “The Death Dealer”
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE B: Not their best, far from their worst.