There was time when the music industry was dominated by good ole' southern boys playing a blues-infused outlaw brand of music that brought out a person's rebel side and free spirit. The airwaves were chock full of longhaired and bearded, hat wearing bands and every song was an anthem that you could sing along to every word. But with time, southern rock slowly dried up like a farm pond in the midst of an August drought and has become a genre that most people talk about in the past tense. Every now and then a rock band comes along that plays the classic sound made famous by bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, .38 Special, and The Allman Brothers Band, to name a few, and MOONSHINE is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest.

With the release of their 10-song, self-titled LP via Southern Blood Records, MOONSHINE are trying to bring southern rock back to the forefront of the rock n' roll genre, and my goodness, they're doing it with force. This bluesy, six man rock band consists of Derek Davis (former lead singer for BABYLON A.D.) on vocals, Creg De Falco on guitar, Buzzy James on slide guitar, Mike Malone on piano and harmonica, Mike Norton on bass, and Brian Fox on drums. These guys deliver an instant whiskey drinking classic full of sing-a-longs that will have listeners checking the liner notes to confirm that this is not a re-release of an old 80's Southern Fried Rock band. And by the way, this album was recorded at Eddie Van Halen's 5150 studio and produced by, none other than, Michael Anthony, who also adds background vocals.

All 10 songs are really, really good and a few of the standouts, to me, are "Mississippi Delta Blues", the opening track that is a slide guitar driven masterpiece. You will no doubt be singing along to this one over and over. "Warm Beer Catfish Stew" sounds so much like an old AEROSMITH song that I found myself checking Google to see if Steven Tyler had provided guest vocals. "The Devil's Road" is a ballad eerily reminiscent of recent KID ROCK music and is my favorite song on the album. This song could easily be released as a single and become a hit record. "Southern Blood" should resonate well with the modern day outlaw and become an anthem for a new generation of "southern cross" toting rebels. "Fade Away" is another ballad that could not be better for this style of music and could become a charting single, as well. "Turn Me Around" is whiskey-drinking rocker that brings the guitar front and center and will most definitely be a crowd favorite. MOONSHINE even cover the CCR classic "Fortunate Son" as good as anyone I've heard, outside of the original or course.

MOONSHINE delivers in a way that has not been heard in years. A band has finally come together with all of the ingredients necessary to become a southern-rock household name. Mixing a heavy dose of slide guitar, piano, and harmonica with classic vocals and bluesy lead guitars, this will easily make my Top Ten Album of the year list. If you like your rock southern fried and bluesy, and are a fan of bands like KID ROCK, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 SPECIAL, and old AEROSMITH, this is an album that you don't want to pass on. MOONSHINE is a good as you will find in the southern rock genre and their new album is a masterpiece just waiting for you to put it in your ears.