Audio CD review:
The Georgia Satellites - In the Land of Salvation & Sin

The Georgia Satellites - In the Land of Salvation & Sin

Band: The Georgia Satellites Title: In the Land of Salvation & Sin Rating: Release Date: 14 June, 2005 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: I DUNNO 2: BOTTLE O’ TEARS 3: ALL OVER BUT THE CRYIN’ 4: Shake That Thing 5: SIX YEARS GONE 6: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY 7: ANOTHER CHANCE 8: BRING DOWN THE HAMMER 9: SLAUGHTERHOUSE 10: STELLAZINE BLUES 11: SWEET BLUE MIDNIGHT 12: DAYS GONE BY 13: CRAZY 14: DAN TAKES FIVE

Customer Reviews ****1/2. A great, underrated rock record! The first one was a minor hit, the next two pretty much sank without a trace, and that's a shame, because this one in particular is a really great listen if you like straight-ahead three-chord rock n' roll. The Georgia Satellites issued three high-octane rock n' roll records in the late 80s, at a time when such a thing wasn't excactly in vogue. "In The Land Of Salvation And Sin" was the Satellites' last regular album, originally released in 1989, and it is their most stylistically diverse by far. That doesn't make it an eclectic record by any stretch of the imagination, but the tempo does vary quite a lot (!), and there are even two acoustic numbers present. . . which makes for a lot more variation than "Georgia Satellites" and "Open All Night" put together! Most listeners will be content with just The Satellites' excellent compilation album, "Let It Rock: Best Of The Georgia Satellites", which also includes a few great non-album tracks. But if you do want more, this one is a fine purchase as well. Opening with the tremendous fiery rocker "I Dunno", "Salvation And Sin" includes a number of the group's best songs, like the bluesy swagger of "Six Years Gone", the melodic mid-tempo rockers "Days Gone By", "All Over But The Cryin'" and "Bring Down The Hammer", and the country-ish ballad "Sweet Blue Midnight". The Satellites also perform a nice, drawling cover of Joe South's "Games People Play" (a song which has inspired covers ranging from straight country & western to hard rock and reggae). And the wonderful acoustic shuffle "Another Chance", which sees all four band members trading off lines, is one of the Satellites' finest original numbers. All in all, this is the Georgia Satellites' best album, with their self-titled debut a close second, and while you can get almost all the good stuff from their first two albums on "Let It Rock", "Salvation And Sin" is pretty much good from beginning to end. Highly recommended. A hidden treasure While their self-titled debut would be very successful and spawn their biggest hit with "Keep Your Hands To Yourself", they suffered from the sophomore slump when their next album Open All Night contained few memorable songs and bombed upon its release. In the Land of Salvation and Sin would be the third and final album the Georgia Satellites would release before their breakup in 1989. Having lost their momentum, In the Land of Salvation and Sin suffered the same fate as its predecessor and would ultimately lead to the band's demise. However, the few that bought the album would find a diamond in the rough as it showed a quantum leap in Dan Baird's songwriting abilities as well as a musical diversity that was absent from their previous releases. Thus, In the Land of Salvation and Sin has become one of the great lost albums in rock history, only appreciated by the few fans that purchased it. Every track here is very good with a few being among their best. "Days Gone By", "Six Years Gone", and the cover of Joe South's "Games People Play" are all great songs, containing memorable choruses you could sing along to. "Shake That Thing" is an awesome tribute to the late Lowell George, sounding like an updated version of Little Feat's "Fat Man In The Bathtub. " The mid-tempo tracks "Bottle O' Tears", "Crazy", and "Bring Down the Hammer" continue in the Lowell George tradition with extensive slide guitar from Baird and guitarist Rick Richards. The fast-paced rockers "I Dunno", "Slaughterhouse", and the relentless "Dan Takes Five" show that the band hasn't abandoned the hard rocking spirit of their first two albums. However, there are three tracks that truly make this album a hidden treasure. "Sweet Blue Midnight" is a tender country ballad featuring great vocals from Baird and special guest Nicolette Larson. "Another Chance" is one of those great acoustic songs you can imagine a bunch of your friends singing around a campfire on a hot summer night. Finally, there's the most well-known track, the mid-tempo "All Over But The Cryin'. " One of the all-time great breakup songs, it's arguably the best song Dan Baird ever wrote. If this were released on country radio today, it would be a huge hit. All told, In the Land of Salvation and Sin shows that the Georgia Satellites had a lot more to offer than just "Keep Your Hands To Yourself. " Highly recommended. . Will trade it back It's hard to pinpoint why-- I just seem to be finding other used rock CDs that sound better. I thought I'd warm up to this album, but never quite did. Part of it could be the singing. . . Dan Baird needs the right songs to sound good, and I don't think these showcase him well. "All Over But The Crying" is a good track-- but we've all heard that on the radio enough, right?. . You can see a complete list of all The Georgia Satellites discography, or go back to the The Georgia Satellites tabs