Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: Hillbilly Vegas
• Album: Ringo Manor
• Label: Red Dirt Music Company
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: mark_morton on 2011-11-23

Nashville by way of small town Oklahoma, with smatterings of Texas and Los Angeles is the hub of the melting pot boot-stompers known as Hillbilly Vegas. Harnessing a rodeo-bull of a sound, the band brings together the rowdy Saturday night bar brawl of hard rock, the Mississippi backwater swill of blues and the good ol' boy, front porch jamming of traditional country.

Yes, this sound is not unique, as many bands have trudged these waters many times during the (de?)evolution of rock music, but here in the 21st century, it is a welcome breath of smog-free air in the muddy swamp of what we tend to call "modern music."

At an initial listen, memories of the here-and-gone Georgia Satellites surface, and there is good reason; RINGO MANOR was actually produced by Richie Owens (cousin to Dolly Parton), who engineered the band's eponymous best-seller! Add that to singer Steve Harris' (not to be confused with the Iron Maiden bassist) more than a passing similarity in tone to one Jon Bon Jovi, and you have a recipe destined for success.

From sh**-kickers like "Shake It Like a Hillbilly" and "Grits N Gravy" to soulful ballads that include "Broken" and "Wrong Side of Goodbye," Hillbilly Vegas pumps out one whimsical track after another, each with the potency for hit-single status. With an album as strong as RINGO MANOR, the band should be dominating the radio and scorching arenas from coast-to-coast. Why the band is still slogging about in the underground is beyond me.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums