Customer Reviews

American Shadows - The Songs Of Moon Mullican

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Maybe the best album, as tough as selecting the best beer form Sierra Nevada, by the best band in the land, bar none. If this doesn't make you feel good you may already be dead. No band puts more into their recordings than these guys/gals. Also the last (to date) recording of the guitar genius of Paul Skelton who sadly passed away earlier this year. This album, and all of CHB's others are musts for anyone who loves Western Swing, Country, Rockabilly, and just great toe-tapping tunes. Not a bad cut on this disc.

Moon Mullican is one of the forgotten Country-Legends.
It was time for a tribute.
And when this tribute comes from one of the best Honky Tonk-Bands in the world,
the Party can begin!
CORNELL HURD,the King of Western Swing & Honky Tonk knows good music!

This is a very good album and a great example of a band doing Western swing these days. The opening selection, of course, is not a Moon Mullican song but a Jerry Lee Lewis song (that Moon covered in the 1960s). Jerry Lee and Moon had the definitive versions and this version here is the modern definitive version. While there are some great performances of familiar Mullican classics like "I'll sail my ship alone", "Heartless lover" and "7 nights to rock", there are also some really great lesserknown songs like "I've paid with a million regrets". The compulsory "Pipeliner blues" is also a must and even the throwaway novelty tracks like "Jole blon" are great fun here. "Cherokee boogie" is also great. Though I was not sure if anyone only Moon could do "Moon's rock" (it's like Jerry Lee's "Lewis boogie" - a song for and about the artist) but it works. "Don't Ever Take My Picture Down" was one of Moon's more old fashioned hillbilly type songs - Moon was versatile enough to look both backwards and forwards and was comfortable doing anything from rock to blues to swing to appalachian and pass them all off as country hits - but that fits right into the now bluegrass-conscious post Brother where art Thou world very well. I have done my own tribute CD to Moon and thankfully only "Keep a Light in the Window" and "7 nights to rock" are the only shared songs. Moon deserves many more tribute albums from others and certainly his "Lay me down beside my darling" or "Crushed red rose" deserve to be huge hits.