Charlie Daniels Fire on the Mountain [Digipak]

1974's FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN wasn't the Charlie Daniels Band's first commercial success--they'd had a hit with the hilarious longhair-paranoia story song "Uneasy Rider" the previous year--but it was the album that defined their early career. The belligerent hit "The South's Gonna Do it Again" remained a pickup-truck anthem for years, as did the archetypal "Long Haired Country Boy." Of the lesser-known tracks, "New York City, King Size Rosewood Bed" is a winner, as is the spirited jam "Feeling Free." However, the album's best song--and one of the finest tracks of the Charlie Daniels Band's entire career--is a scorching country-rock take on the bluegrass standard "Orange Blossom Special" which lets Daniels' smoking fiddle do all the talking. Later albums might have had more crossover success, but none have this album's outlaw spirit. Principally recorded at Capricorn Studios, Macon, Georgia. Charlie Daniels Band: Charlie Daniels (vocals, acoustic, electric & slide guitars, banjo, fiddle); Barry Barnes (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Joel DiGregorio (keyboards, background vocals); Mark Fitzgerald (bass); Fred Edwards, Gary Allen (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Richard Betts (dobro); Jamie Nichol (congas).