Halcyon Times [Import]

Jason & the Scorchers (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• ASIN: B003675ND8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,183 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Moonshine Guy / Releasing Celtic Prisoners

2. Beat On The Mountain

3. Mona Lee

4. Fear Not Gear Rot

5. Mother Of Greed

6. Gettin' Nowhere Fast

7. Land Of The Free

8. Golden Days

9. Deep Holy Water

10. Twang Town Blues

11. Days Of Wine And Roses

12. Better Than This

13. When Did It Get So Easy (To Lie To Me)

14. We've Got It Goin'on

Editorial Reviews

2010 album from the veteran Roots rockers. Halcyon Times is no 'return to their roots'. It is instead a creative leap forward, showing the band at its peak, not on some sort of self-absorbed nostalgia trip. It's hard to pick a standout track on the record - they are all that strong. Hodges' guitar work has never been better, full of style and inspired originality, while Ringenberg rocks like he is still 18, leaping off the edge of the world, laughing while doing it. Snibb and Collins supply that elusive, magic rock 'n' roll groove, full of energy but grounded in confident unhurried power. However, like all classic Rock records, Halcyon Times has more than enough moments of sublime grace to balance out the hormones. Fourteen songs deep, covering a staggering range of emotions and style, the album shows Jason & The Scorchers not only celebrating 30 years of creating music, but still expanding that creative envelope, still in command of their legacy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Rock'n'Roll record, April 2, 2010

By 

Delta King Cody "Delta King Cody" (Champaign, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Halcyon Times (Audio CD)

This is the best Jason & The Scorchers in a mighty long time and that's saying a lot. This record just kills. It hits hard and it hits with purpose. I have opened for JATS (nicest bunch of guys you could ever been on the road with), been a fan since the first ep, and followed them ever since with affection. They have always been good. However, this is not a holding action of a season rock band. This is a band who found their original spirit. This is truly just an amazing collection of songs. Every song is a keeper. They rock with a wild & crazy abandon & vengeance. The lyrics are real and full of meaning and truth. This is not polite music.

And the liner notes are wonderful to read. And Jason is right in everything that he say in his liner notes; the band kicks and Warner is reclaiming his rightful position in the world of guitar players. Jason sings with all the fire of a 23 year old and the new rhythm section of Al & Pontus drive it like a train going full bore. JATS have returned!!!!!!!!
Hats off to ya! Be proud guys, very proud. this is a major great piece of work.
Cody

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JATS are back!, April 28, 2010

By 

Shelley Johansson (Johnstown, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halcyon Times (Audio CD)

I've been a fan of Jason & the Scorchers since the band first came on the scene in the 1980s. They were the hottest thing Nashville had ever seen, and you know what? This record shows they still are. It's a wise, wonderful reflection on where the band is, musically and in life -- folks, this is not a retread of past work, or a half-baked effort to relive the band's salad days (as if Jason Ringenberg were capable of such a thing - his solo work and his work as Farmer Jason proves definitively that he is not). This record will delight past fans and win a whole new generation of them. Highly, highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jason and the Scorchers burn it up with their latest, "Halcyon Times" (Courageous Chicken), May 7, 2010

By 

'Rebel' Rod Ames (Ingram, Tx) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Halcyon Times (Audio CD)

Jason and the Scorchers have been around for several decades, bringing us an array of music over the years. They have seen some great times and they have had some lean and difficult times. However, they have always persevered and managed to stay away from any major meltdowns that would eventually cause them to disintegrate, only to be absorbed into a black hole of egos, never to be heard from again. Thank the God of your understanding for that!

As you might expect from a band called Jason and the Scorchers, and a title like "Halcyon Times", there is a heavy dose of burning electric guitars, but what really shines here is the tightness of this band. This is the first set of new songs released by them in many years, but by the sound of it all, they haven't missed a beat.

I was talking to a good friend recently and we discussed this topic a bit. It seemed to us that so many artists appear to want to rush things so they can hurry and get to the top of the mountain in the music business, only to dilute their music into the almost unlistenable category of noisy pop crap in the process of accumulating the biggest pile of money.

The Scorchers took their time here and it shows. This an ingenious set of fourteen songs, each one seemingly surpassing the previous tune, resulting in a seamless blend of what I would call "instant classic Southern Rock" that should not be missed by anyone.

One of the things I love so much about my favorite two past times, listening to music and writing about it are several things can happen during the process; I won't like the record and will never play it again. I will not like the record at first but will listen to it on a different day and like it or sometimes love it, or I will love it and will not be able to stop talking or writing or listening to the music. The latter would be the case here. If my copy of "Halcyon Times" had been vinyl, I most certainly would have worn the grooves down to nothing. This record is really that good.

The 14 songs on this record, of course, feature Jason Ringenberg and he is sensational, as is to be expected. However, the electric guitar via Warner E. Hodges is nothing less than astonishing on blazing hot guitar with his deeply rooted Southern Rock style of banging away at it. As Jason Ringenberg said in the liner notes, "old burnt bridges were rebuilt, and new foundations were laid. Warner and I rediscovered how much we respect and admire each other. I do and will proclaim from the tallest Tennessee mountain that Warner E. Hodges is playing at his peak, and once again has raised the bar in the guitar star world."

I could not have said it better myself.

The two leaders of the band are joined by Pontus Snibb on drums and harmony vocals, and Al Collins on bass, harmony vocals, and on at least one song, box pounding. They are aided with what are billed as Honorary Scorchers, Dan Baird on guitars, Ginger (preproduction), Tommy Womack (consultation), and Perry Baggs on harmony vocals on several tracks. The band had an enormous amount of additional aid from a cast of many more.


"Halcyon Times" is expertly produced by Warner E. Hodges and Brad Jones (plays piano on a cut or two as well). It came out this past April but I was slow to get to it. Man, am I ever sorry about that. I feel as if I have cheated myself. It's here now though, and is not to be missed.

`Rebel' Rod says check it out!