Southern Fried differed little from other early
Hammond albums in its repertoire, consisting entirely of covers of blues and R&B songs. As usual, the Chicago sound came in for especially heavy tribute, with versions of songs by
Howlin' Wolf,
Muddy Waters, and
Chuck Berry, as well as a pass at "Mystery Train," though more vocal-oriented R&B got a nod with
Chuck Willis' "It's Too Late" and some of the other tunes. Where this might have a leg up on some other early
Hammond efforts -- and a leg up on blues cover albums in general -- is in the stellar band, featuring Muscle Shoals stalwarts like
Eddie Hinton and
Roger Hawkins.
Allman Brothers fans, too, will want to keep an eye out for it as it features
Duane Allman playing fine lead guitar on four tracks; certainly his peeling slide guitar solo on "Shake for Me" rates among his best work as a session man. Original the album isn't it, yet though
Hammond isn't a great vocalist or interpreter, these are indeed very solid and joyful blues-rock versions of classic '50s-style electric blues. Horns on four of the songs add some soulful variety and spice to set this a little further apart from the ordinary blues-rock album. ~ Richie Unterberger