CDs, Vinyl & Downloads
Night Hawk Charlie Daniels (CDC) Charlie Daniels
never ceases to make me smile. With his new release Night Hawk, Charlie cele- brates the cowboy in
a way that would make Lois Lamoure and Zane Gray grin from ear to ear. Night Hawk is just plain fun, and it sent my mind reeling back to the bygone days of my youth, watching western movies with my dad, reading western novels, and playing “cowboys and Indians” as a child. This album holds a unique air of nos- talgia for anyone who ever built a fort in the back yard, pretending to be Gene Autry or Roy Rogers. (I always loved the “singing cowboys” best.) Charlie turns in a great cover of the ever popular “Ghost Riders in The Sky,” and an ex- cellent remake of his own classic “Billy the Kid.”
Speaking of being a kid, the last song on
the record is a Charlie original called “Yippie Ki Yea,” a beautiful father and son song that tells the heartwarming story of a kid making his dad’s day by playing cowboy. Just plain ol’ sweet.
The ten tracks here are each very special
in their own way, from the hopping “Big Balls in Cow Town” to the fine title track, “Night Hawk,”penned by Tom McKeon and Ron Pe- terson, a song about real, honest to God cow- boys on the job, ram rodding and driving cattle. This one is my favorite cut on the album. So good. “Good Light Loving Trail” is another
great cowboy song filled with lyrics that put you right out onto the trail. You can almost feel the campfire and smell the horses. By the way, Charlie turns in a fine cover of the classic
The Coal Porters No. 6 (Prima Records) I remember the first
time I ever heard the music of Sid Griffin. It was during the Reagan era, and I was rocking out
to Lone Justice and to Sid’s band The Long Ryders. They were Americana before it even became a thing. Around that same time, I ran across a book called Gram Parsons: A Music
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Tommy Duncan classic “Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer.” And I simply loved the Taz Di- gregorio co-write, “Can’t Beat the Dammed Ole Machine.” It’s a great song. I still miss Taz. Seems like ever since I discovered Charlie’s music, Taz was there. His passing was a hard one. He did leave behind some excellent music.
Speaking of Taz, he also co-wrote, along
with another good buddy who we have lost, Tommy Crain, Charlie, Freddie Edwards, Charlie Hayward and Don Murray, “Running with the Crowd,” another finer retelling of a classic CDB tune. Although this is a rare CD billed as “Charlie Daniels” rather than Charlie Daniels Band, the guys are all here backing Charlie –Charlie Hayward, Bruce Brown, Casey Wood, and guitarist Chris Wormer all turn in A-1 level performances, and we get plenty of Charlie’s always great fiddle. For my money, Night Hawk is a winner
on every level. Classic Charlie Daniels sounds blend with lots of cowboy music to create a great album. Fact is, The Charlie Daniels Band has always included plenty of songs about cowboys, the old west and wild horses, so this is a natural progression. Good stuff.
- Michael Buffalo Smith
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