Customer Reviews

Halcyon Times

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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

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.

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!

Almost 40 years ago there was this band out in California. They played a little rock with some strong folk and country influences. They became the posterchildren of the LA country-rock scence while they grey to dislike one another,all the while as if they made a deal at the "crossroads" they got bigger and bigger until they were literally a Fortune 500 company more than a band. Still each album sold more while offering less and less. It didn't matter, they got richer and when they denied the fans their awesome goodness the fans begged for forgiveness. In the interest of the fans they decided to relent and once more grace them with their prescence...although at a newer corporate approved pricing structure. The music, while performed with amazing accuracy, now lost all it's intrinsic heart...and the crowds begged for still more. In the interest of yet once more keeping the fans interest close to their hearts they gave them a gift of a new album in which all of the new songs completed the journey of greatness to dismal mediocrity, this time though they threw in something old just to incite the loyal subjects to what once was. O.K., enough of this crap! I know I'm blathering...sorry.

What I meant to say is the most amazing melding of country and "real rock and roll" ever was a little band called Jason & The Scorchers. They were the real deal and never lost themselves in spite of coming into existence when some of the most synthetic music ever recorded was becoming the flavor of the day. Every album they put out was very good and most were great. Because they music business was in transition to the aforementioned more synthetic sound and also entering a period where video actually caused success or failure, the power and grit of this real deal band was largely ignored. We didn't know it then but the music business model was beginning to fail and would ultimately implode by the next decade. Some of the worst habits that caused it to fail were working against this band in the meantime and they bounced to several labels, yet never compromising to the point of ever putting out anything embarassing because, as stated, they were the real deal when it came to so-called "country rock". As George Harrison muscially proclaimed: "All Things Must Pass", and so did this great band - preferring to call it a day since the business was so geared toward anything but talent. I never blamed them, but many times thought what an injustice there was this one Fortune 500 outfit that kept claiming they invented country rock (while playing country schlock) and getting richer all the while. But, something strange happened...Some Europeans never wanted to forget about Jason, Warner, Perry, and Jeff. They wrote glowingly about them in the press and created enough traction to get them back together a couple of times over. Well, people grow if they don't wither and these guys could, seemingly, pick up right where they left off each time as if tapping into some synergistic power source which kept the legend growing right along. That brings us to today...just a little more than 14 years after their last studio album "Clear Impetuous Morning", an great injustice is righted, and once again people everywhere can hear "the real deal" as to what rock and roll with true country and folk influences should sound like and it ain't got nothing to do with anything Fortune 500 related (if you get my gist).

Halcyon Times by Jason And The Scorchers is one of the best albums from any decade when it comes to this genre of rock. These guys amaze me - instead of a fourteen year layoff it sounds more like 14 days where some transformation ocurred whereby they were granted superpowers: copious amounts insight and maturity to go along with their already prodigous talent. They always rocked with abandon most bands could only hope to approach, now they have some great "William Faulkne-rish", if you will, gothic story telling to deepen the musical well! This stuff is truly great, it reasonates with realism, but is infectous and fun. These guys did what conventional wisdom dictates can't happen in music - that is they quit for a very long time and came back stronger. Thanks Jason and Warner for restoring my belief in what country rock can be. I wish you the best and I hope just one person reads into my passion for what you are accomplishing, buys Halcyon Times and infected with the joy of your gift. And yes, this is really a gift and it's a shame these guys won't make a thousandth of what that schlocky band's "gift" a couple years back generated. But, hey, real rock and roll has not one thing to do with capitalism and I'm happier for it. If you love JATS you must have this, if you've never heard JATS and you want to hear what country rock should sound like, get this, and finally, if you want to hear what one of the greatest rock bands of all times sounds like...GET THIS!

After too many years, the Scorchers finally back is too much to be true. A band that led the pack in the early to mid-80's with their rock/country/punk mix that inspired so many others. This release is a culmination of all that was and is the Scorchers. Great songs, unbelievable creativity and masterful musicians wrapped together for a 'rock' solid comeback!

I was so excited when I first learned that this album was going to be released. It is not a disappointment. The first track, "Moonshine Guy" hits you like a tornado. The beautiful words and music on the next track, "Beat on the Mountain", makes you stop, pause, and think. The whole record continues along those lines. "Golden Days" will just put a smile on your face. I could go on about each song on the record, but you can get the picture. The songwriting is honest, poetic, and intelligent. The combination of Warner Hodges guitar and Jason Ringenberg's voice produces the same energy that it did twenty-five years ago. If you like country, rock, or any combination of the two, this will certainly make your day. I figured, given these guys track record, this would be a good listen, but it is better than I ever expected.

If you are a Scorcher's fan, this release is for you! It has been many years since the Scorchers were in the studio, but if you like great songs and tight musicians sounding better than ever, buy this now. Jason's at the top of his game and Warner's guitar never sounded better! Rather than review all the songs, just listen for yourself-though 'Beat on the Mountain' is my favorite. ENJOY~

So happy to hear that the Scorchers were back on the horse. Even though they're down to Jason and Warner from the original band (R.I.P. Perry Baggs), this CD rocks (and twangs) as hard as any other. Catch them on tour to see one the best live experiences you will ever have...