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Dixie Dregs - Free Fall CD (album) cover

FREE FALL

Dixie Dregs

 

Jazz Rock/Fusion

3.78 | 100 ratings

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Gatot
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Steve Morse was the main factor why I purchased this CD some years ago during my business trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I purchased it because I was frustrated with the fact that there was no good record shop in KL which sold good CDs (of course good CD meaning "prog" CD). So finally I purchased "Free Fall" and another live CD by metal group Gamma Ray. Listening to the music of Dixie Dregs is actually quite a challenge for me personally. As the band name implies, the style of music they are playing is somewhat close to Dixie or country type of music with typical straight forward structure and most of them are upbeat tempo. But that's okay for a break, sometimes.

That does not necessarily mean that I do not enjoy it. Remembering Steve Morse with his good solo albums and his involvement with later Deep Purple has made me curious enough to explore other Dregs albums from my previous collection. The good thing about Dixie Dregs is the inclusion of violin in its music. For some reason, I like violin being played in prog rock music. It's a personal taste. The opening track "Free Fall" (4:41) represents the whole music of this album. I can hear and enjoy excellent collaboration of work between Morse guitar work and Sloan's violin. It continues to the next "Holiday" (4:26) where Sloan gives more violin solo than the opening track.

The music moves faster during the intro of "Hand Jig" (3:18) which again features good duet between Morse and Sloan. Track with different style appears on track no. 7 "Cruise Control" (6:15) especially on the rhythm section which comprises bass (Andy West) and drums (Rod Morgenstein). Keyboard solo resembles Hammond-like sound augmented with fast guitar solo. The song has different styles as it changes in the middle of the track.

Overall, it's a good album that features excellent combination of guitar, violin and synthesizers in jazz-fusion style. My favorite track is "Wages Of Weirdness" (3:46) which contains excellent collaborative work of piano, guitar and violin. It's really enjoyable. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Gatot | 3/5 |

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