Customer Reviews

Flyin' High

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Plain and simple, this cd sounds like the purest form of the Blackfoot sound. It's raw...not alot of production. It's guitars, bass, drums, and kickin' vocal. There's not alot of spit n' shine polish...and I like that. As soon as I popped it in and Medlocke started wailing, I began to smile. "Feelin' good" is very Synyrd-ish...up tempo and groovin'. "Flyin' high", "Dancin' man", and "Junkies dream" all have wonderful, powerhouse guitar riffs...I loved all three. "Try a little harder" is ballad like and as soon as I heard it, I thought, THAT is the classic Blackfoot sound. It's a great piece of music. The weakies here are "Stranger on the road" and "Mother". Other than that, there's not alot on this cd to skip over. All in all, if you liked "Strikes" and "Marauder" then step up to the plate for another fine serving of Blackfoot. "Flyin' high" wont leave you disappointed.

I always thought that 1979's Blackfoot Strikes was this band's first record. I have two copies of this album on vinyl, and I also have the cd. This is an extremely satisfying record. I can listen to it over and over again. When I play this record I tend to CRANK IT LOUD to hear the AMAZING Guitar solos, thos AMAZING guitar TONES. Rickey Medlocke's vocals are far from being shabby as well. This record also came out on Epic Records, way back in 1976, the year Skynyrd released Gimmie Back My Bullets. The thing I like about this record is that it is not a weak record with a couple of great tunes. This record is a GREAT record with understated classics. The greatness of the album is the way it subtly takes you away. It's true that a couple of songs are not as captivating as others, but all in all Flyin' High is a tremendously ROCKING cd. My favorite tracks are Island of Life which has one of those tremendous opening solos, and Junkie's Dream. And I find it more than a coincidence that Blackfoot wrote an anti-drug song, in the same tradition as some of the classic Skynyrd anti drug anthems. Anybody remember That Smell or The Needle and the Spoon, or how about JUNKIE from the box set--- 1970!! put together shortly before Rickey and Gregg T. Walker helped to record Skynyrd's Muscle Shoals demo album? Junkie is credited to Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant, but I bet Rickey heard that tune before we did. This album is just so good and understated from start to finish. Never in my life have I heard such pure and tight and BALLSY guitar solos. The tones at times are absolutely amazing.

I think the most fault that I find on the recording would have to be the rather constant shouting wail of singer Rickey Medlocke. He needs song vehicles to take his voice to different places. But I don't find any fault with this record. Why talk about what this record is not. There is no Train, Train classic on this record, but taken as a whole, the SUSTAINED guitar, bass, drum garage sound makes this a VASTLY SUPERIOR record when compared to Blackfoot Strikes. And I don't know how to properly evalute what might have been accomplished in the studio, but for my money Blackfoot's Flyin' High SOARS HIGHLY over the Strikes record. The Strikes record has lame covers, such as the FREE song Wishing Well. I Got a Line on You also appears to be a cover song, as does Pay My Dues.

The thing you discover when listening to Strikes and Flyin' High is that Train, Train and Highway Song sound as if they belong on Flyin' High. If those two songs had been on this classic 1976 record, Blackfoot would have been rivaling Skynyrd. Clearly this is a great record. I feel good knowing that Ronnie must have known what a great record Rickey and company had produced. And just think if those two songs had been on this record. If that had happened, THEN, Flyin' High would be the CLASSIC that Strikes became. And everyone knows by now that routine covers on albums can be just that. I mean, who did Rickey think Blackfoot was, The Allman Brothers? And I didn't enjoy the Blackfoot bootleg that I got years ago. Actually I trashed it. But to be fair, the recording was filled with pops, but it seems the band live was just WILD and relentlessly wailing. Flyin' High feels more like ART!!!!!!!! GET IT!!!

out of the whole cd I enjoyed the title track but it does not compare to the hard riffs on ISLAND OF LIFE,JUNKIES DREAM,and MADNESS. Although the song Mother is a ballad-like softy it is acousticly brilliant.

This one really got to me the minute I put it on. Heavy rock in a southern style and no screwing around. Medlocke's got a crazy rock and roll voice, the guitars sound big and punchy and are right up front in the mix, and "Thunderfoot" Spires keeps it all together by poundin it out on the skins. The whole first side soars, but watch out for "Save Your Time" which sounds like the Blackfoot boys listened to the Allman Bros Live at Fillmore East and then decided to have a little jam session and just tear it up. If my memory serves me right, I think Ricky Medlocke played on the first 2 Skynard albums and wrote some of the songs too. If you haven't figured it out yet, he's been back in Lynard Skynard for about 15 years now playing that mean guitar.

Y'all serve yourselves up a nice big helpin'. With grits.

I`m embarresed to admit I`ve only heard Strikes,Tomcattin and Marauder and before I listened to Flyin High I thought it would sound like a band trying to hit their stride , WRONG. This album is right there with the 3 classic albums that came after it. I`ve only gave it one listen so far so I can`t give a breakdown of the tunes but I can say that it is some fine hard rockin southern boogie rock n roll. Really good production for 1976 , the guitars sound really beefy. Do yourself a favor and buy this album or should I say CD.

THIS ALBUM IS THE MOST SKYNYRD LIKE OF ALL BLACKFOOT'S ALBMS. SONGS ISLAND OF LIFE, FEELIN' GOOD, MADNESS ARE THE BEST ON THE ALBUM. THERE'S A COUPLE SONGS THAT ARE AVERAGE/OK AND YOU COULD SKIP BUT IT'S A GOOD ALBUM AND IT'S ANOTHER ALBUM THAT LP'S OF WERE SELLING FOR HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS. THANK GOD IT'S ON CD NOW.

If the question were ever broached as to what band could be considered the "tighest" Blackfoot (the classic line-up) would win hands down. One listen to the guitar rhythm harmonies is all one need do to be convinced of this. You would be hard pressed to find any guitar tandem that can play so tight and "in the pocket" as the combination of Charlie Hargrett and Ricky Medlocke. Considering where this record was recorded, (Muscle Shoals Sound Studio) you will be quite impressed of the sonic fidelity that is delivered on this. Medlocke has said in subsequent interviews that he was not too impressed with the over-all sound of the record, but, for that era, circa 1975-1976 this record actually does bring the bacon home. For guitar sound conisseurs, pay particular attention to the guitar tones they are able to achieve (especially listen carefully to "Try a little harder, the soloing) here and you will be quite delighted. However, it is the incredible tightness of the entire band and in particular the pin-point accuracy of the guitar rhythm harmonies that are very impressive. A masterpiece? no, but considering the fact that this record is not only unknown by most southern rock as well as moderate Blackfoot fans, it is glossed over by reviewers (who probably don't even listen to it) and subsequently has become a sadly much underrated album. This record is glaringly obvious evidence of the enormous talent and skills of this band and in particular the great influence of leader Ricky Medlocke.

This is a very good southern rock cd from blackfoot. My favorites on are feelin good(great feel to it), dancing man, junkie's dream. All the songs on it are good, however. Mother is ballad type thing but most of this cd is very guitar oriented.

This is a solid (vintage) southern rock album - no doubt about it. It has an unpolished rawness that got lost later on, especially on "Vertical smiles". Some people would consider this a lost gem!

But the main problem with Blackfoot's "Flyin' high" is too little variation between the songs. The guitar riffs (often too many notes which gives a slightly frantic feeling) on which the songs are built around is very similar to one another, and the tempo of the songs are also rather similar. This results in a feeling that it's more or less one long song instead of ten different tunes. If you choose to play not more than a few songs each time (and not the whole album) you'll find it much better.

FLYIN' HIGH is the second masterpiece in a row for Blackfoot. All of the songs here are great, with the exception of the album-closing ballad "Mother", and could teach a valuable lessson to anyone who needs a little kick in the tail to get their lives in order. The fact that the surviving members of Blackfoot advocate efforts to free people unjustly jailed in foreign countries, police use of deadly force to rescue two girls kidnapped in California in 2002, capital punishment for kidnappers, increased funding for law enforcement, and major federal crackdowns on polygamy, schools and programs affiliated with Scientology (e.g. Mace-Kingsley Ranch), and privately-run "boot camps" for troubled youth makes FLYIN' HIGH an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.