To many people, they’ve never been more than a hokey novelty act, but I am in no way ashamed to admit that I fell in love with the gritty, deep-fried, rock & roll twang of the Georgia Satellites’ music from the second I saw Dan Baird’s clear plexiglass guitar in the “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” video. This was the fall of 1986, and I was an impressionable youth; much of the music I loved then has proven to be somewhat less than lasting, but the Satellites were and remain the real deal.
If you can get past the “no huggie, no kissie” thing, it’s easy to see why: They were channeling the Faces and the Stones during a time when the former had long since ceased to be and the latter had long since ceased to matter. Blissfully unaware of trends Á¢€” or, seemingly, of any music recorded after 1974 Á¢€” the Georgia Satellites made simple, wonderful rock music.
Today’s Bootleg City captures the Satellites in Montreux, July 1988. They were promoting their second album, the uneven Open All Night; I’d prefer to have a recording from their tour in support of their third and final release, the hands-down classic In the Land of Salvation and Sin, but as I believe the immortal Freddy Fender once said, a little bit is better than nada.
Have a helluva weekend!
Muddy Water
The Myth of Love
School Days
Battleship Chains
Long Black Veil
Red Light
No Money Down
It’s All Over Now
Nights of Mystery
Something Else
My Baby
Bye Bye Johnny
Open All Night
Don’t Pass Me By
Railroad Steel
Route 66
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