Charlie Daniels Band Album: “Blues Hat”

There isn't much to say. This CD is just too good to pass up. There is some solid boogie-woogie. Some Allman style 6/8 shuffles like he did in the '70's. And some straight forward no holds barred blues. Believe me, CHARLIE CAN SING THE BLUES! Listen to the song "Hard Headed Woman". You will not be disappointed.I'll keep this short because the CD speaks for itself.

Blues Hat was the Charlie Daniels Band's initial release on Charlie's own Blue Hat record label. On the record, Charlie pays tribute to the funky blues-rock music that, in addition to country, gospel and Southern rock, greatly influenced him. Charlie does a lot of soulful singing, and he and CDB bandmate Bruce Brown each put down some awesome guitar work. Also, Charlie's longtime keyboard player, Joel "Taz" DiGregorio, is great on piano and organ. Charlie rocks out with "Boogie Woogie Baltimore", "New Orleans Parish Blues", "Birmingham Blues", "Gone Gone Blues", "If It Would Satisfy You", "Looking For My Mary Jane", and "Deep Elm Blues". Also, when Charlie slows things down on "If It Would Satisfy You", "Hard Headed Woman", and "No Fool Like An Old Fool", his voice is especially strong. Somewhat ironically, the weakest song on Blues Hat, at least in my opinion, is the one that got the most radio airplay, although it's basically OK. Charlie's updated version of his classic song "Long Haired Country Boy" is toned down from his original 1974 hit version. References to "getting stoned", "getting drunk", and "taking another tote"(smoking a marijuana joint) are replaced by "getting up", "getting down", and "telling another joke". Even with the updated lyrics, the musical arrangement on "Long Haired Country Boy" is still strong. My problem with the song is Charlie's choice of guest singers. "Long Haired Country Boy" was originally a country rocker, and Hal Ketchum, one of Charlie's guest vocalists, fits the song perfectly. Hal's voice has a "rock" feel to it, but it's country at heart. On the other hand, John Berry, at least in my opinion, sounds too much like a pop artist to really "fit in" on the song, although he's had a solid string of country hits. I don't dislike "Long Haired Country Boy", but I think it would have sounded better if Charlie had gotten his buddy Travis Tritt, a Southern country rocker, to sing with him. Still, I believe that Charlie, who has been making music with his band for almost three decades, put out a very good set of songs here. Blues Hat is a solid, bluesy record from Charlie and the CDB.

DO NOT BE SWAYED BY HIS COUNTRY PAST.............HE AND HIS BAND ARE PLAYING KILLER SWING BLUES WITH GREAT GUITAR RIFFS....IF YOU LISTEN TO OLD CHARLIE DANIELS......HIS BAND PLAYED GREAT ROCK N ROLL ...BEFORE THE FIDDLE ERA........MUCH LIKE MARSHALL TUCKER............THIS IS GREAT BLUES, GREAT PIANO AND GREAT GUITAR.............I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Charlie Daniels is just an excellent musician, whether he sings rock, country, or in this case, blues. This album features a great version of Long Haired Country Boy without the dope smokin' lines. I would recommend it to every serious fan of great music

Great album from a great musician. I, too, would like to hear Travis Tritt on Long Haired Country Boy. (By the way, check out Tritt's new DVD, "Live And Kickin'").However, I believe that it worked out fine the way Charlie set it up. I like the fact that he keeps the rebel attitude without keeping the drug and alcohol references. Charlie Daniels transcends musical genres. He said himself that it is troublesome to him that music is so rigidly classified. Charlie can do it all as far as music is concerned.