Hayseed Dixie is back with their unique brand of rockgrass on Weapons of Grass Destruction. The band started with A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC, in which they played AC/DC tunes in a bluegrass style. They have branched away from AC/DC covers, but still blend cover songs with original tunes.The band kicks off this album with "Holidays in the Sun" and follows it with "Devil Woman," made famous by Cliff Richard. Perhaps you never took the time to wonder how a Cliff Richard song might sound in a bluegrass style. I can tell you, it sounds pretty freaking good. I have to say that this is my favorite cover on the album. If that's not a good enough example of how the band has branched out, this album also includes covers of "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Breaking the Law" (Hayseed Dixie does Judas Priest
this rocks) and "Paint it Black." And all of these adaptations are great. In fact, they close their version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" with a bit of "Cotton Eye Joe," something I bet The Beatles never did.
Hayseed Dixie also mixes a fair amount of humor into their songs. Take for example "She Was Skinny When I Met Her." This song includes the lyrics, "She was skinny when I met her. I used to buy her lingerie, now I wish she'd wear a sweater." Another great example of the band's humor is in "The Rider Song." This isn't about a motorcycle rider, or even a reference to sex. No, this is a song about their performance rider. I'm telling you, contracts never sounded so good.
Oh, and did I mention that the four members of Hayseed Dixie are awesome instrumentalists? In other words, this band does everything well. I haven't had the pleasure of catching one of their live performances yet, but if they ever come out my way, I'll be sure to check them out. After all, in "The Rider Song," Barley Scotch sings that they are an acoustic band, but they play "f---in loud." How could I possibly pass that up? If you want to see what happens when some of your favorite classic rock songs are performed with a bluegrass twist, then you should check out this band and this album.
