Shotgun Rebellion, 2014
By Phillip Smith;
March 29, 2014
This self-produced, self-titled, thirteen track album by Shotgun Rebellion fell into my awareness quite unexpectedly and I have to say, it pretty much bowled me over. These guys elevate Southern Rock to a whole new level, by introducing fearsome guitar licks, emphatic beats, powerful vocals and wild-west imagery along with an arsenal of all-original songs. Rooted in Oklahoma, Shotgun Rebellion features vocalist Rick Davis, bassist Jon Parr, drummer Johnni Walker, and to top things off, guitarist extraordinaire Randy “The Arsonist” Cooper formerly of Texas Hippie Coalition.
“Lost
My Way”, gets the album kick-started with a combination of vocals and guitar
which reminds me a lot of Black Rain
era Ozzy with Zakk Wylde, sans the British
accent. Davis and Cooper knock this one
out of the ballpark. The album only gets
better. I really like the infectious
groove on “Squeeze My Shotgun”. This double
entendre titled party anthem takes me back a couple of decades to Guns N’ Roses (original lineup). The song is pure no-nonsense rock with
smile-inducing guitar play and crashing cymbals. Another track that seems to emit that GNR vibe is “Pain and Misery”. I can’t help but think of Black Oak Arkansas when I hear Davis’s
voice on this song, and its successor “Train of Pain”. Davis’s singing and style reminds me a lot of
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum from BOA. While on the subject of Jim Dandy, I want to mention another song I really like,
“Just
as Good a Day to Die”, a heady little ballad that falls right into the BOA
wheelhouse. It’s as if it was written as a follow-up to the song “Lord Have
Mercy on My Soul”.
I
detect a bit of Charlie Daniels inspiration when I listen to “Devils
Home Brew” as Davis spins the tale of a moonshining witch. The cool factor runs high on this eerie tale which
tells us ‘there is nothing you can do once you get a taste of the Devil’s home
brew’.
Right
up there on top of my list of favorite tracks are “Roll On” and “BadmansGUN”. “Roll On”, plainly put, is one hell of a good
song. Walker and Parr set up a really cool hallway of rhythm for Davis and Cooper
to maneuver their way through. Then there is old-West themed ballad, “BadmansGUN”,
which is sung from the view point of a man dying from a gunshot wound, and
interjected with little bits of dialog and effects. Sitting in on piano is Michael Miers, a friend
of the band. One of the more interesting moments captured in the song is when
everything gets quiet, and we hear just the piano, an acoustic guitar, and Johnni Walker softly whistling.
Shotgun Rebellion not only captures my
attention at the beginning, but it holds on to it until the end. This album is quite impressive, and I hope we
will be hearing a lot more from these guys in the future. I believe we will.
* Special note : Wes Wallace (also formerly of Texas Hippie Coalition) was added to the band full time about a month ago. So although he didn't appear on the album, he will be touring with them.
* Special note : Wes Wallace (also formerly of Texas Hippie Coalition) was added to the band full time about a month ago. So although he didn't appear on the album, he will be touring with them.