The Pirates Of The Mississippi took a long time off, but this new CD leaves me wondering what would've happened if they had never stopped recording. The band sounds as good now as they did then and that makes Heaven And A Dixie Night a very good CD to listen to.
The Return Of The Pirates
In the first half of the 1990's The Pirates Of The Mississippi were one of the most successful bands in the country. They had a loyal base of fans and hits like "Feed Jake." However after their 1995 album Paradise failed to spark much of an interest, the members went their separate ways. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that the two principal members of the group, Richard Alves and William McCorvey, started writing songs together again. The reunion has directly led to the reformation of the group. Signed to Evergreen Records, the duo produced their new album "Heaven And A Dixie Night" with noted producer John Kelton. Richard and William wrote every track on the CD. Some of the songs also were co-written by hit songwriters Don Goodman, Casey Beathard and Michael Heeney.Real, Fun Songs
The first track on the CD is the fun, blue collar anthem "Drinkin' Money." With simple lyrics about a man who basically says he needs to unwind at the end of a long week. The first single "Kickin' Up Dust" comes next and hopefully radio gives The Pirates Of The Mississippi a chance with this song that reminds me of Montgomery Gentry's "My Town." It's a song that has a great uptempo melody with fun and relatable lyrics. Both are the hallmarks of a good country song."Heaven And A Dixie Night" is a romantic love song with a sensual groove to it while "Fish Bait" and "Is That Country Or What?" are nothing but pure, honky tonk fun. "Love Is Meant To Be" is a sweetly romantic song while "A Nickel's Worth Of Your Love" reminds me of a Pat Green track. It's fun and has a nice lyric about being a man who loves his woman so much that he believes "I'd be the richest man in the whole wide world with a nickel's worth of your love."
Rollin' Along...
"Rollin'" is a fun song about a guy who hopes to find love "waiting when he gets to the highway's end." "I Wouldn't Change A Thing" is a song that finds a man happy with his place in life, despite some things he may dream about doing or have done. "Me" is a song about ones lifetime and how we are who we are through the experiences we go through. "Gravy" finds the Pirates comparing the food topping to love. "A Snowman In Birmingham" is a well-done Christmas song that will no doubt find some airplay during the holiday season.I had no idea what to expect with this Pirates of the Mississippi CD because sometimes an artist comes back and they're not as good as they previously were. Thankfully Heaven And A Dixie Night is as good a CD as I could've hoped for. If you ever liked the Pirates Of The Mississippi's music before, you will really like their new stuff. There isn't a bad song on the disc.
Song List:
- Drinkin' Money
- Kickin' It Up
- Heaven And A Dixie Night
- Fish Bait
- Is That Country Or What
- When Love Is Meant To Be
- A Nickel's Worth Of Your Love
- Rollin'
- I Wouldn't Change A Thing
- Me
- Gravy
- A Snowman In Birmingham
