Blackfoot Is Back Mofos! Sorta…
A live shot of the new Blackfoot. Check the wood....
[Guess I’m back too. Sorry for the hiatus. Life/work intervened!]
Now this is interesting.
Buddy of mine (thanks Bo!) sends me to Blackfootband.com. I’m doing the eyeroll, thinking the band has missed any and all chances at a meaningful reunion – or three-quarter reunion, what with Rickey Medlocke apparently wanting nothing to do with the other three guys and drummer Jackson “Thunderfoot” Spires dying in 2005…just before the 3/4 reunion tour.
But I’m always hopeful for something, especially when it involves one of my favorite bands of all time, and Bo has never pointed me in the wrong musically, so…I type it in the browser and go.
The site comes up, I see a note from Rickey Medlocke (Rickey?!), and a new tune starts playing: Whiskey Train. It’s woody! I may end up eating my words in POD-like fashion, but sounds like Marshalls to me.
The bottom line is this: Seems like Rickey got the rights to the band and launched a new, youthful version of Blackfoot he’s co-writing tunes with and producing (he also sings on Whiskey Train).
If Whiskey Train is any indication of the rest of the material, sign me up for the gold-plated disc…MP3…right now!
But that’s a HUGE “if” for a couple reasons, including the fact that the original Blackfoot played Whiskey Train.
So are we going to get a disc of retooled Blackfoot material (not the worst thing if the new tune is any indication), or maybe obscure/unrecorded Blackfoot material, or are the old tunes going to sound kick-a** and the new ones be meh.
(May not care about the latter, as long as they stay away from pick squeals/pinch harmonics and bass-heavy amps.)
So why is this interesting – IF it works out to our woody ears’ satisfaction:
> Blackfoot was an awesome band in every way. Great tunes, great playing, great live. If the new Blackfoot can get even 50-75% of the way there, could be cool.
> Blackfoot 2.0 is an interesting idea. Always figured KISS would be the most likely band to do that – to get too old to do it themselves, and pass the music (and, in their case, show) on to some younger folks. Guess KISS is 50% of the way there….
Rickey in the studio with the FNGs....
> Southern frickin’ rock! Seems to have gotten born around the Allmans/Marshall Tucker and fruited in Skynyrd (which Rickey Medlocke was in in the early days and now is again) and then bands like Blackfoot (#2 after Skynyrd imo), the Outlaws and Molly Hatchet – then died. Cart way before the horse, but could this be the start of a comeback for southern rock? Not southern metal, but classic southern frickin’ rock! Would be sweet….
More
> More reasons why Whiskey Train kicks butt: It’s a cover of a Procol Harum tune apparently written by none other than Robin Trower. What a pedigree, mang.
Category: Blackfoot
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I loved Blackfoot. One of the best concerts from my youth was Def Leppard and Blackfoot on the same bill. For some reason, I also think Rory Gallagher was also on this bill. Had the chance to meet Mr. Medlocke last year. He is a complete gentleman and one of the best songwriters/guitarist alive.