Blackfoot
Tomcattin'

Ricky Medlocke is a blond and charismatic musician from Florida, whose phenomenal grit probably derives from the blood of the proud Sioux warriors that flows through his veins on his mother's side. His name is mostly associated with the well-known Lynyrd Skynyrd, being one of the founders, although he left in 1972 right on the eve of their breakthrough, only to return permanently in 1996. Between these two events, the singer/guitarist developed his own Southern Rock project, assembling the quartet Blackfoot and releasing nearly a dozen albums under this name.

This one from 1980 is the fourth in the series, the last essentially "Southern" in style, as the pressing and aestheticizing trends of the eighties would push the group to distort their fascinating Confederate roots, in favor of counterproductive, excessive heaviness and guitar distortions, as well as impersonal contributions from electronic keyboards.

The name Blackfoot is more than fitting for this band full of mixed ancestry: as for Medlocke, the unfortunate drummer Jackson Spires (a true hammer!.. who passed away in 2005) was himself half Cherokee; it was a sight to see him beat like a smith on cymbals and skins, crouched on an extremely low seat, practically squatting like a real Native American at work. Bassist Greg Walker, on the other hand, descends from the Seminoles of Florida, and loves to celebrate it by going onstage fully dressed like his great-grandfather, complete with skin feathers and moccasins. The only one who has nothing to do with Native Americans is guitarist Charlie Hargrett, a New Yorker with glasses and a freak appearance, forced to leave in the mid-eighties... in any case, Medlocke knew how to perform better solos than his.

Together with Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot embody the heavier side of Southern rock, bordering on metal. Medlocke's dusty voice is adequate, indeed perfect for the genre, everyone (except Hargrett) plays their instruments fiercely, but the foundational blues, the country component that surfaces here and there, the constant melodic openings do their sacred duty and always keep the band's hard rock proposal warm and full of feeling.

From this album, I hold the following songs tightly in my heart: "Everyman Should Know (Queenie)", a tremendous blow, a detonating riff, introducing an angry vocal that unexpectedly gets lyrical at the end of each refrain, resting on an irresistible arpeggio. Then "Reckless Abandoner", the usual A minor riff of a thousand other pieces but delivered with maximum feeling. And still, the scorching "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and the concluding, somewhat chauvinistic "Fox Chase", in which Medlocke features in the prologue... his grandfather Shorty, banjoist, singer, and amateur composer, the one who instilled in him the insatiable passion for music when he was still a child.