Search - Blackfoot :: Flyin' High

Pure Blackfoot

D. Thorpe | 05/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Plain and simple, this cd sounds like the purest form of the Blackfoot sound. It's raw...not alot of production. It's guitars, bass, drums, and kickin' vocal. There's not alot of spit n' shine polish...and I like that. As soon as I popped it in and Medlocke started wailing, I began to smile. "Feelin' good" is very Synyrd-ish...up tempo and groovin'. "Flyin' high", "Dancin' man", and "Junkies dream" all have wonderful, powerhouse guitar riffs...I loved all three. "Try a little harder" is ballad like and as soon as I heard it, I thought, THAT is the classic Blackfoot sound. It's a great piece of music. The weakies here are "Stranger on the road" and "Mother". Other than that, there's not alot on this cd to skip over. All in all, if you liked "Strikes" and "Marauder" then step up to the plate for another fine serving of Blackfoot. "Flyin' high" wont leave you disappointed."

Flyin' High SOARS!!

R. Long | 02/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I always thought that 1979's Blackfoot Strikes was this band's first record. I have two copies of this album on vinyl, and I also have the cd. This is an extremely satisfying record. I can listen to it over and over again. When I play this record I tend to CRANK IT LOUD to hear the AMAZING Guitar solos, thos AMAZING guitar TONES. Rickey Medlocke's vocals are far from being shabby as well. This record also came out on Epic Records, way back in 1976, the year Skynyrd released Gimmie Back My Bullets. The thing I like about this record is that it is not a weak record with a couple of great tunes. This record is a GREAT record with understated classics. The greatness of the album is the way it subtly takes you away. It's true that a couple of songs are not as captivating as others, but all in all Flyin' High is a tremendously ROCKING cd. My favorite tracks are Island of Life which has one of those tremendous opening solos, and Junkie's Dream. And I find it more than a coincidence that Blackfoot wrote an anti-drug song, in the same tradition as some of the classic Skynyrd anti drug anthems. Anybody remember That Smell or The Needle and the Spoon, or how about JUNKIE from the box set--- 1970!! put together shortly before Rickey and Gregg T. Walker helped to record Skynyrd's Muscle Shoals demo album? Junkie is credited to Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant, but I bet Rickey heard that tune before we did. This album is just so good and understated from start to finish. Never in my life have I heard such pure and tight and BALLSY guitar solos. The tones at times are absolutely amazing.



I think the most fault that I find on the recording would have to be the rather constant shouting wail of singer Rickey Medlocke. He needs song vehicles to take his voice to different places. But I don't find any fault with this record. Why talk about what this record is not. There is no Train, Train classic on this record, but taken as a whole, the SUSTAINED guitar, bass, drum garage sound makes this a VASTLY SUPERIOR record when compared to Blackfoot Strikes. And I don't know how to properly evalute what might have been accomplished in the studio, but for my money Blackfoot's Flyin' High SOARS HIGHLY over the Strikes record. The Strikes record has lame covers, such as the FREE song Wishing Well. I Got a Line on You also appears to be a cover song, as does Pay My Dues.



The thing you discover when listening to Strikes and Flyin' High is that Train, Train and Highway Song sound as if they belong on Flyin' High. If those two songs had been on this classic 1976 record, Blackfoot would have been rivaling Skynyrd. Clearly this is a great record. I feel good knowing that Ronnie must have known what a great record Rickey and company had produced. And just think if those two songs had been on this record. If that had happened, THEN, Flyin' High would be the CLASSIC that Strikes became. And everyone knows by now that routine covers on albums can be just that. I mean, who did Rickey think Blackfoot was, The Allman Brothers? And I didn't enjoy the Blackfoot bootleg that I got years ago. Actually I trashed it. But to be fair, the recording was filled with pops, but it seems the band live was just WILD and relentlessly wailing. Flyin' High feels more like ART!!!!!!!! GET IT!!!"

Southern rock so tough you can work out to it

R. Long | 08/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"out of the whole cd I enjoyed the title track but it does not compare to the hard riffs on ISLAND OF LIFE,JUNKIES DREAM,and MADNESS. Although the song Mother is a ballad-like softy it is acousticly brilliant."