Reviewed by Tim Holden

Tennessee's The Gibsons are a four piece proclaiming themselves to be God's All Original Southern Rock n' Roll Band and they certainly pump out the rock and roll in true Lynyrd Skynyrd style. From the full on opener "Rich Man", berating the corruption in the way laws seem to favour the rich, the pace never really lets up. The lyrics continue in the same vein as well, with a style that matches preconceptions of southern US Hell-and-brimstone preachers with a lot of condemnation and not much grace. The musical style and sound is what you would expect and it is almost impossible not to compare The Gibsons with the mainstream's Southern rock giants, and in truth not totally favourably. The Gibsons only have one guitar rather than the three or four that Skynyrd had and so they tend to seriously over work it which leads to a very busy sound that still seems muffled and lacking dynamics compared to the complex, layered harmonies that Skynyrd managed to produce. Combined with the lyrics delivered in a gruff growl makes this one for the die hard Southern rock fans only.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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