SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN (David T. Chastain hard rock band) – S G Double 20 (2020)

Among the many projects of rock guitar virtuoso David T. Chastain there’s SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN, where he puts aside the neoclassical / metal riffs and solos in favor of blues-based classic hard rock.
David states, “Listening to the album will obviously bring back memories of the great 70s & 80s blues rock bands such as ZZ Top, Robin Trower and Hendrix influences but in a heavier modern format. Everyone always talks about the great rock guitar during that era, and that is what I wanted to try to recreate. That was the style of music that I was first attracted to when I started playing. This isn’t my typical neoclassical shred album.”
Indeed – and despite the horrible album artwork which does not reflect the music inside – SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN’s new album ”S G Double 20” (Southern Gentlemen 2020) is a hot collection of hard rockers with very classy vocals by talented Eric Johns.

The songs here originally appeared on “Double Your Pleasure”, the band’s second album and David handled the vocals.
David recently explained this new release, “After working with Eric on numerous albums I knew that he would do the songs a lot more justice than I did so I approached him with the idea of re-doing the vocals.
After hearing the tracks with Eric I am so glad he did. It sounds like a totally new album. It brings a real voice to the tracks.
He also rewrote the lyrics and melodies to one of the tracks and we added 2 singles we had released over the last couple of years to bring the new album to market. I remixed and remastered the tracks to bring them up to 2020 standards.”

There’s a lot of groove on these songs, however the kind of groove associated with melody, so all music on this album is joyful, not dark. We find excellent solos as well, and strong vocals by Johns. It is hard to pick a favorite track because they’re all so kickin’ from top to bottom. However Eric’s vocals on ‘I Languish For You’ are truly impressive.
Mike Haid and Kevin Kekes, both well known artists on their own, power the foundation that provides the groove that all the songs seem to thrive. Mike has played on albums with heavyweights like Joe Stump, Michael Harris, Gus G and many others. Kevin has played with Chastain, Vainglory and Damien. This is a seasoned and well-respected rhythm section, to say the least.

SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN is the vehicle of David T. Chastain to get away from shredding guitar and find room for a more classic rock n’ roll. And the man can play some awesome bluesy solos, all with nerve and a hard rock, classic structure.
A very strong, rocking album.
Highly Recommended

 

01 – Aces & Eights
02 – Up All Night
03 – Tell Me Woman
04 – My Best Friend’s Girl
05 – I Languish for You
06 – Down on My Knees
07 – Racing Back to Mississippi
08 – Not Worth My Grave
09 – Angel on a String

Eric Johns – vocals
David T. Chastain – guitars
Kevin Kekes – bass
Mike Haid – drums

 

BUY IT
www.amazon.de/S-Double-20-Southern-Gentlemen/dp/B08HSSVJWP