out his run with Capricorn and his subse- quent opening of his own Muscadine Studios following the folding of Capricorn, Hornsby never recorded his own album – until now. With Red Hot, Hornsby puts his extraordi-
nary piano and organ talent front and center, with a set of classic tunes than run the gamut from rockabilly to New Orleans jazz and blues and everything in between. To add flavor to the album, Hornsby brought in a veritable who’s-who of southern music, from Tommy Talton (Cowboy) to Charlie Hayward (Charlie Daniels Band) to Chuck Leavell and Jack Pearson (Allman Brothers), Chris Hicks and Marcus Henderson (Marshall Tucker), the “Georgia Songbird” E.G. Kight, Lee Roy Par- nell and many, many more. One nice surprise here is Hornsby’s voice.
Who knew he could sing so well? I don’t think I’d ever heard him sing before this, and he does a great job. From his hot rockin’ cover of Ray Charles’ “Mess Around” to the rocka- billy of Billy Lee Riley’s “My Gal is Red Hot” featuring the slide guitar magic of Lee Roy Parnell, every song on this swingin’ platter just makes you want to dance – and I don’t dance! But I came close! “Hallelujah I Love Her So” was the debut
single from Ray Charles at the beginning of his career, and Hornsby makes the song his own, with some very Ray-like piano and a great Dobro from Tommy Talton, who, by the way does and awesome job of adding Dobro to Paul’s instrumental version of “Amazing Grace.” “Corina, Corina,” written and recorded by
Bio Chatmon (of the Mississippi Sheiks), Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams in 1928, is given a Clapton-esque feel, while “Key to the Highway” is given it’s own unique arrangement, copying neither BB King nor Clapton’s version. It’s just a great rendition of a classic. Freddie King’s “Let the Good Times Roll” rocks out here to beat the band, while “High Blood Pressure,” originally done by Huey “Piano” Smith, is an outstanding track.
The Fats Domino hit “I’m Ready” is yet an- other very good cover, featuring Jack Pearson on guitar, while Erskine Hawkins’ “After Hours” is a very nice piano instrumental . Hornsby digs deep into his musical influ-
ences to turn out a highly listenable and en- joyable debut album filled with energy and fun. Check out Red Hot and by all means, let the good times roll.
-Michael Buffalo Smith
Donnie Winters Real Country. Real Family (
donniewintersmusic.com) For the Winters family of middle Tennessee, it’s always
been about God, Family and Music - in that order. On his first ever solo album, Donnie Winters (formerly of from the Southern Rock group, The Winters Brothers Band) delivers a nostalgic feeling album full of real, honest to God country music that is written and played by family members, dedicated to fam- ily and filled with some of some of the finest pickin’ to rise up out of Nashville in a few decades. The album opens with “Running Wild,” a
song that sets the stage for what is to come. There’s no doubt after only a few measures that this is, as the album title suggests, “real country.” It’s a sound that had been sorely missing from the contemporary music of the 21st century. This is true country the way God intended it to be played. Pedal steel and fiddle, guitars and one outstanding lead singer. Donnie reminds me a lot of Marty Rob-
bins, a singer whose music was always played in my home when I was growing up My Mother just loved Marty, while Daddy was into Johnny Cash, Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb. Yes, all through my 1960’s youth, I was exposed to true country music. Even when I
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