The last few years have seen a startling number of veteran acts release albums that aren’t just great, but stand head to head with the best of their catalog. Kansas awed fans and critics worldwide with 2016’s The Prelude Implicit. Many said it was their best album since Point of Know Return (1977). In 2018, Judas Priest and Uriah Heep stepped up to the plate, belting grand slams with Firepower and Living the Dream respectively. Now, in 2020, the southern rock institution Outlaws joins the ranks with their 12th studio album, Dixie Highway.
I’d call this a comeback, but Outlaws never went away. Their last album, It’s About Pride (2012), had some memorable cuts such as “Right Where I Belong” and the title track. Throughout the 2010s, they remained a large draw on the casino and county fair circuits. It was five years ago this summer I saw Outlaws live at one of these fairs. If you told me at that show A. Outlaws would release a new album in the following decade and B. It’d be one of the strongest outings, if not the strongest, of their career, I’d politely smile and go back to getting my face melted by the Florida Guitar Army. Sometimes life has a funny way of proving us wrong.
Dixie Highway opens with a poignant tribute to southern rock’s “Ghost Riders” on “Southern Rock Will Never Die”. Hard hitting, lyrically and musically, the song begins with a signature twin lead riff signaling the band’s arrival. Complimenting the guitars is the soothing southern drawl of Henry Paul. His voice evokes the same warmth and soul as it did on their 1975 self titled debut. Paul proudly names his fallen brothers from Skynyrd to The Allman Brothers before proclaiming “Southern Rock Will Never Die”. Not if the Outlaws have anything to do with it.
“Southern Rock” is not the only song on Dixie Highway with autobiographical and nostalgic lyrics. The country tinged “Over Night from Athens” is an ode to life on the road. The following song, “Endless Ride”, serves as a companion to “Athens”. If “Athens” is about touring, “Endless Ride” is about the lifestyle that comes with it. The chorus sings, “This endless ride is the mark of a wanted man. In every town there’s always one more one night stand.” Finally, there’s the brilliantly titled closer, “Macon Memories”. This song is another tribute to The Allman Brothers, as well as a tribute to the town of Macon, Georgia, its great music, and the memories Outlaws made there.
Like all of the great Outlaws albums before it, Dixie Highway is loaded with guitar heroics. The current twin lead duo of Steve Grisham and Dale Oliver absolutely go off on the title track, “Endless Ride”, and the flashy instrumental, “Showdown”. Such blistering, fiery fretwork would make late founding Outlaws axeman Hughie Thomasson proud. Another Outlaws staple is their pitch perfect harmonies. These vocals shine on the mellow songs which serve as breaks between the muscular, southern rockers. They particularly standout on a reworking of the 1977 track, “Heavenly Blues”. I’m always weary when bands redo classic songs. 99% of the time they sound like cheap imitations of the originals. Outlaws escapes this pitfall and lands in the fortunate 1% who pulls it off. There’s no reason this new version couldn’t be added to country radio playlists. It’d be a breath of fresh air to say the least.
In an era when their peers are putting out watered down modern rock, sticking to playing the hits, or dead, Outlaws are Playin’ to Win with Dixie Highway. You’ll be hard pressed to find another southern fried album this memorable in 2020.
8 out of 10
Label: Steamhammer
Genre: Southern Rock
For fans of: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet