Terry Eckard - Highway - Music & Performance - CD

WAG 0016 THE TERRY ECKARD BAND on WAGGLETONE RECORDS REVIEWS- THE TERRY Eckard Band - Rebel on the Highway One might gloss over the name Terry Eckard Band and assume it to be just another beer-soaked cover band riding the weekend bar circuit, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Steeped in the kind of Southern roots-boogie that was presumed to be lost with the end of the Molly Hatchet and .38 Special era of the '80s, his second effort, Rebel on the Highway, finds Eckard venturing far away from the counterfeit rebel rock that inevitably sunk the genre in the '80s. Blanket Southern hubris is supplanted by a kind of localized pride that rather shows though in the everyman humility of his lyrical themes. The album's opener, "Hey!" is a breezy love song that describes a series of come-and-go highway romances, but still takes time to introduce the listener to the first of many guitar styles in which Eckard excels. The classic finger-style found there quickly gives way to a decidedly blues-rock kind of riffage on the album's anthemic title track, where the album's pervasive highway travelogue theme hits it's gritty high point. Eckard jumps back and forth between sizzling electric fireworks and contemplative acoustic picking, but occasionally he tries on different personas such as the barebones blues howler "Loves' Got Me Crying" and the jazzy "Maria's Fire." He may not have the name recognition to garner more than a passing glance on billboards, but fans of striking guitar work will absolutely find something to enjoy on Rebel on the Highway. Ryan Snyder YES WEEKLY MAGAZINE GREENSBORO NC Terry Eckard Band is a great band! They play original music, very good show. I bought the new CD.I LOVE IT. Virgal m. THE TERRY ECKARD BAND: REBEL ON THE HIGHWAY (WAGGLETONE RECORDS) Southern Roots Rock was supposed to be at it's' creative and commercial peak in the early 1980s, but don't tell that to the still passionate hordes of fans who still number in the millions Worldwide. Wet Willie, Marshall Tucker Band, Lynard Skynard, Allman Bros. And the many spin-off bands are the core icons that emerged to garner World fame and fortune and the genre still simmers on the back burner waiting to erupt once again. North Carolina's Waggletone Records recorded and released this classic Sounds of the South album and it's got everything one could hope for if you groove to that genre. Rock'n Roll that's Blues-infused, Rock ballads and high-energy stompers make up the bulk of the tunes and the guitar work of Terry Eckard is the fire and the glue that propels everything. Eckard is a fine Southern Soul based singer who also pens winning tunes and if this CD gets heard and played in the right markets by the right people we'll see some mega-hits for this band. "Hey" opens with a pleasant melody and distinctly Southern Roots feel with some nice reedy harmonica and jangly guitars that are reminiscent of vintage Byrds. Eckard is a first-class picker who can hold his own with the 'Superstars'. One can easily imagine "Hey!" as a Radio Hit while "Easy On My Self" picks it up in intensity but again Eckard shows off superior song writing, vocals and smokin' guitar. This is Z.Z. Top School of Rock Blues with Tommy Nations hammering the cowbell to great effect. "Rebel On The Highway" might just be the biggest/best biker anthem since "Born To Be Wild" and I ain't jivin'. If the 1970s/80s Radio Network was still in Power instead of the Internet, "Rebel..." would be blaring from every station from Tampa to Oakland. "Mothers (Why Do You Cry?)" is a comment on Humanity (or the lack of) in today's New World Order and again, this tune has both the Power and Melody to be a country-wide Anthem. It's a reflection on just how much Rock Music has been neutered by Government machinations that a band this good will probably reach 1/20th of the audience it would've 20 years ago, but we can always hope and pray Rock/Roots music will emerge once again, despite the War on Music. "Outlaw" is classic Southern Rock Ballad magic while Eckard, drummer Richard Balick and whoever is on keyboards get down deep in the Blues with "Loves Got Me Crying". "Beautiful Machine" is a great riff rocker while 'Cat Square" is a potential Monster Hit a la' "Devil Came Down To Georgia" only with Eckard's incendiary guitar work driving this Howlin' wild rocker to a climax. This song needs exposure! See if you can not play it 4 or 5 times in a row. Yes, The Terry Eckard Band may just be the rockin'est band alive in the U.S.A. and if North Americans don't get it, Europeans, Japanese and South Americans will. Oh yes, there's even more masterpieces included on this disc; the heavy slide workout of "One More Time", is a hard Blues that will undoubtedly be copped by many working bands. Thank God for The Terry Eckard Band for this is REAL Rock-Blues at it's' Southern finest. 6 Bottles of White Lightnin' for a disc that can rejuvenate and bring Hope to a generally Pathetic American Music scene. They should become the torchbearers for Southern Rock'n Blues. ...A. Grigg Real Blues Magazine Canada This CD has a great opening with the laid back, easy going, folk guitar & vocal accompanied with harmonica song "HEY". The next song "OUTLAW" loosely reminds the listener of the more relaxed music by The Marshall Tucker Band or the Dave Chastain Band, and there is lots more on this CD. The dazzling "EASY ON MYSELF can be compared to early ZZ TOP's Deguello phase. The brilliant riffs on the title track "REBEL ON THE HIGHWAY" and "CAT SQUARE" can be compared to the southern rock boogie of early Blackfoot. There are also classic rock songs, like we find on 'The Bounty Hunter gang' CD today . The songs "MOTHERS" and "MOONLITE" are two fine acoustic ballads. In addition there are the rockin' grooves of "BEAUTIFUL MACHINE", and the only instrumental latin jazz/Tex-Mex influenced "MARIA'S FIRE" sounds something like Santana. In the slow sad guitar blues terrain the band shows itself at it's best with the excellent tracks "LOVE'S GOT ME CRYIN' and "ONE MORE TIME". These could be compared to the blues style of B.B. KING! "FALLING RAIN", is a easy going country folk ballad. Last but not least the CD makes it's conclusion with the ebb & flowing ROBIN TROWER style blues rock song "THE TREE" with beautifully inspired guitar solos, again comparable to The David Chastain Band. Terry Eckard has been working long time in the music business, as you can notice it in every minute of this beautiful CD. Rebel on the Highway, Terry Eckard's latest CD is a thrilling none stop ride down a winding mountain road...you'll want to jump right back on at the end!!! The TERRY ECKARD BAND is from LONGVIEW NC, North Carolina. Their all original style is similar too early ZZ TOP/MARSHALL TUCKER /THE ALLMAN BROTHERS. A MUST FOR ANY TERRY ECKARD BAND MUSIC FAN!!!!!! Know as the King of Southern Boogie!!!! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Terry Eckard, leads the Bad Boys of Boogie with driving slide guitar riffs and a smooth southern rock style. He can take you back to a lost love or a day by the stream fishin... or rollin down the highway without a care. Terry's album hits ya like one too many shots... Right in the chest!!! His driving boogie style, sweet blues and slide playing set him apart from rest. Add lyrics that send ya back...'ya been there' and you'll be hooked!!! Raised in North Carolina, Terry's writing comes from his own years on the road, traveling and gigging throughout the south. You just try to dance non-stop to the album... then you'll know why Terry Eckard is the King of Southern Boogie!!!! _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.