Smokestack Lightnin’ Feat Eddie Angel & Paul Burch – Stolen Friends
Pull on your knee high swamp boots, and get your mosquito netted hat
strapped because Track 1 takes you deep into the thick of it all. As
the airboat gets moving, keep your head down and eyes focused to avoid
the Spanish moss draping off the cypress. Their roots stretching from
the water with the gators lunging at the boat cause the necessary
sharp turns to keep you alive. The deeper into it the hissing of the
rattlesnakes puts you into survival mode You can feel the intense
humidity that’s about to come.
Once the darkness starts to descend, Track 2 guides you toward the
lights in the distance. You are now approaching a roadhouse and feel
the thirst coming on for some drinks and some women. Looking beside
you as you walk you notice the choppers and hear the guitar piercing
the old wooden door as it slams open and shut with each new patron
arriving. Get ready to start moving with the leather clad women
gliding across the dance floor.
The band ends and you are left drunk and by yourself. You’re lucky
Track 3 has started. Stumbling outside you see the tracks rattling as
a freight train approaches. You run and grab hold of a rail and climb
aboard the train as it rolls into the late night hours. The empty car,
the thumping of the wooden tracks below, The desolate crossings with
the flashing red lights bring you into the chaos that starts
enveloping your mind. Those lights and the towns as you pass by start
to bring out Satan Reflecting on the emptiness of your life, makes you
slam your body against the steel walls and your eyes become more
demonic than they have ever been.
Track 4 brings you further into the night. Tiredness brings about
deep reflection into the soul. It brings about comparisons of others
and yourself, as the solos from the guitar really accentuate this
thought.
Track 5 is a lot smoother. It sounds more peaceful. Yet it brings the
science fiction into play with the thoughts of UFO interaction. With
Track 6 the Everglades and the swamp-life are back. This time it’s a
lot more blues guitar that drives the song. The lyrics help build upon
it and strengthen with the different species of life mentioned; both
animal and plant.
Track 7 starts a much more upbeat sound to the album. It reminds me
of a 1960’s rock & roll band. The drumbeat really drives this track.
In Track 8 the beat keeps a fast tempo. This track is a great deal
different than I have heard off this album so far. It almost seems
that the band really worked together on each track and shared each
member’s talents. This type of style really makes the band seem more
attractive because so far, I believe, no single member has tried to
outdo the others. The teamwork, or rather band-work, of creating each
track is amazing this rarely happens.
The lead guitar solos really add and make Track 9. It’s almost melodic
drumbeat, lyrics, and guitar start to bring down the album to let the
listener know that the end is near. Track 10’s lyrics are really
colorful and vivid. They create poetic pictures and the description
really adds to the depth.
Overall, this album really needs to be played with a good system or
headphones to really appreciate it. At first I listened to it on a
pair of cheap broken headphones. It was good, due to the fact that I
have been down in the swamps of Florida and Louisiana. It painted a
picture that sparked my own memories. Because of this, I gave it a
chance with better headphones and a better system. The difference was
immeasurable. It really deserves that attention and that better sound
to fully appreciate it.
Jeremy Frost