Blackfoot - Southern Native

Blackfoot Southern Native cover
Blackfoot
Southern Native
Loud & Proud Records
2016
6
Well, the last Blackfoot studio album was “After the Reign”, which was released in 1994! That was a long way back! I’d never thought I’d hear from Blackfoot again, but “never say never” – ha! OK let’s take things from the start. This ain’t the “real” Blackfoot band… it’s more like a “clone” of the actual band that has the right to use the “genuine” band name. They were (re)formed in 2012 by Rickey Medlocke, who has taken the producer’s place. I do not think that I should say anything about Rickey, he has been a part of rock music and a legendary musician on the whole. If you do not know him, then better stop reading this review and go “hunt a pokemon”, cuz this is all that you can do!
 
My only objection about “Southern Native” is that it should have been released under a different name. The guys that consist the band’s line-up are all young and gifted, and they do their “job” very well, but Blackfoot is name that has a long history and it shouldn’t have been used in this case. They should have used a name with the word “blackfoot” in it but not the actual “Blackfoot” name. That’s the first and the last mistake they made.
 
I’m gonna talk about the band’s music, as it is, without making any (unfortunate) comparisons with older albums, cuz it ain’t right to compare totally different things. “Southern Native” is a decent rock album, which blends classic rock, southern, blues rock and hard rock music. I feel that the guys are not quite free to do their thing and they are under “guidance” in general and that’s something that doesn’t let the musicians play with their heart out and pay their respects to rock music. It feels a bit by-the-numbers and not very “original” at places. The guys can play but if you bear such a “heavy” name on your back and you’re not free to do things your way, then the final result won’t be very tasteful. I do not know what they will decide to do from now on, but they should definitely reconsider all the above-mentioned things and they should follow their own way. The Blackfoot history is already written and none can add anything to it… these youngsters need to make their own “history” or at least they should try to do so.