[Dregs of the Earth] -- Tomorrow (May 22, 2021, as I write this) -- would have been my father's 75th birthday. I say "would have" because he passed away due to complications with his second bone marrow transplant eight years ago. Some of you may recall reading updates about Dad's final journey, which started around the middle of March 2013 and ran through to his death on May 4, just a few weeks shy of his 67th birthday.
Although he is physically gone now, Dad was very much alive in the 1980s, and ever ready to help me with my musical appreciation. I'm sure he was at least slightly worried that I would be hopelessly lost to new wave, heavy metal, or synthpop. He wanted me to be grounded in the classics (er, classic rock) and jazz. And genres that incorporated elements of jazz (jazz fusion, world music, etc.). Of course, Dad loved bands that straddled both the classic rock and jazz genres. One such band was Dixie Dregs.
They released nine studio records, four in the 1980s. And their first 1980s release was Dregs of the Earth (1980). As AllMusic muses in a review of this record, the Dregs "must have been an awfully tough band to market back in the day." I mean, what with "Dixie" in their name and their obvious country influences stirred into a stew of jazz, blues, funk, prog, and more. You can hear the southern influence in tracks like "Road Expense" and "Pride o' the Farm." "I'm Freaking Out" blends jazz and prog, at least I think so (particularly with the organ riffs). But then there's "The Great Spectacular" that straight up rips the roof off your car, even if you don't have a convertible! It's certainly one of my favorite Dregs tunes. And it was one of Dad's faves, too.
Happy birthday, Dad. I'm enjoying this record once again in your honor.
Flashback: Dregs of the Earth (1980)
That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
No comments:
Post a Comment