OUTLAWS
''GHOST RIDERS''
1980
39:39
1/(Ghost) Riders in the Sky
Stan Jones/5:52
2/White Horses
Freddie Salem/3:53
3/Angels Hide
Hughie Thomasson/5:45
4/Devil's Road
Freddie Salem/4:50
5/I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)
Billy Nicholls/4:21
6/Wishing Wells
Hughie Thomasson/3:35
7/Sunshine
Mike Duke / Bill Jones/5:38
8/Freedom Walk
Bill Jones/5:45
Rick Cua /Bass, Guitar, Vocals
David Dix /Drums, Percussion
Bill Jones /Guitar, Vocals
Gary Lyons /Keyboards, Producer, Vocals
Freddie Salem /Guitar, Vocals
Hughie Thomasson /Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
By Brett Adams
The Outlaws' early penchant for country rock is non-existent on 1980's Ghost Riders, a hard-rocking album with the thunderous three-guitar attack of Hughie Thomasson, Freddie Salem, and Billy Jones. The songwriting ranks somewhere between average and above-average, but that's not the focus here; the guitar army is the main attraction. "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" is a fantastic cover of the Stan Jones-penned song, which was a huge hit originally for Vaughn Monroe in 1949. The Outlaws hit the Top 40 with that piece, but the edited single is no match for the blistering gallop of the six-minute album version. Thomasson's acoustic guitar work — both arppegiated lines and full-tilt rhythm strumming — is the perfect counterpoint for the lead electric guitars. Bassist Rick Cua and drummer David Dix provide a rumbling, no-nonsense foundation for the six-string histrionics. "White Horses" is best described as a guitar-based Southern rock ballad. The dynamic guitar work on "Angels Hide" includes everything from in-your-face solos to carefully woven interplay. The full-throttle hard rock of "Devil's Road" relies on the monstrous crunch created by unleashed guitar and bass riffing. Pleasant acoustic guitar strumming supports the ballad "I Can't Stop Loving You." The peppy chorus and vocal harmonies stand out on "Sunshine," but once again, when the guitars take over, everything else is left in the dust. "Freedom Walk" closes the album with an all-out guitar assault.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
Southern rock unit the Outlaws were formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1972 by singers/guitarists Hughie Thomasson and Henry Paul, bassist Frank O'Keefe, and drummer Monte Yoho. With the 1973 addition of guitarist Billy Jones, the lineup was complete, and after a year of intense touring the band became the first act signed to Arista under Clive Davis; the Outlaws' self-titled 1975 album spotlighted their Eagles-influenced harmonies and Allman Brothers-like guitar attack, yielding the Top 40 hit "There Goes Another Love Song."
In the wake of 1977's Bill Szymczyk-produced Hurry Sundown, both Paul and O'Keefe exited, with guitarist Freddie Salem, bassist Harvey Dalton Arnold, and second drummer David Dix signing on for the 1978 concert set Bring It Back Alive and the studio effort Playin' to Win. The lineup shuffles continued when Arnold announced his departure following 1979's In the Eye of the Storm, with bassist Rick Cua recruited for the next year's Ghost Riders in the Sky, which netted a Top 40 entry with its title track, a rendition of the Vaughn Monroe favorite. Yoho left to rejoin Henry Paul soon after, and with the subsequent exit of Jones, only Thomasson remained from the original Outlaws roster -- not surprisingly, the group disbanded upon completing 1982's Los Hombres Malo.
A year later Thomasson and Paul formed a new Outlaws lineup, adding guitarist Chris Hicks, bassist Barry Borden, and drummer Jeff Howell; after issuing 1986's Soldiers of Fortune, Paul again quit the band, with the remaining quartet returning in 1993 with Hittin' the Road. While Paul resurfaced in 1994 in the chart-topping contemporary country band Blackhawk, Thomasson later toured with the re-formed Lynyrd Skynyrd while continuing to lead the Outlaws, releasing So Low in 2000.
Sadly, Jones and O'Keefe died within three weeks of one another in early 1995. In 2005, original members Thomasson, Paul, Yoho, and David Dix reunited as the Outlaws, rounding out the lineup with three members of Blackhawk, guitarist Chris Anderson, bassist Randy Threet, and keyboardist Dave Robbins. Paul and Robbins departed a year later to concentrate again on Blackhawk, while Thomasson, the only original member of the Outlaws to make it through all of the band's configurations, kept things going, reportedly finishing a new studio album, Once an Outlaw, before his death from a heart attack in 2007.
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''GHOST RIDERS''
1980
39:39
1/(Ghost) Riders in the Sky
Stan Jones/5:52
2/White Horses
Freddie Salem/3:53
3/Angels Hide
Hughie Thomasson/5:45
4/Devil's Road
Freddie Salem/4:50
5/I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)
Billy Nicholls/4:21
6/Wishing Wells
Hughie Thomasson/3:35
7/Sunshine
Mike Duke / Bill Jones/5:38
8/Freedom Walk
Bill Jones/5:45
Rick Cua /Bass, Guitar, Vocals
David Dix /Drums, Percussion
Bill Jones /Guitar, Vocals
Gary Lyons /Keyboards, Producer, Vocals
Freddie Salem /Guitar, Vocals
Hughie Thomasson /Guitar, Vocals
REVIEW
By Brett Adams
The Outlaws' early penchant for country rock is non-existent on 1980's Ghost Riders, a hard-rocking album with the thunderous three-guitar attack of Hughie Thomasson, Freddie Salem, and Billy Jones. The songwriting ranks somewhere between average and above-average, but that's not the focus here; the guitar army is the main attraction. "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" is a fantastic cover of the Stan Jones-penned song, which was a huge hit originally for Vaughn Monroe in 1949. The Outlaws hit the Top 40 with that piece, but the edited single is no match for the blistering gallop of the six-minute album version. Thomasson's acoustic guitar work — both arppegiated lines and full-tilt rhythm strumming — is the perfect counterpoint for the lead electric guitars. Bassist Rick Cua and drummer David Dix provide a rumbling, no-nonsense foundation for the six-string histrionics. "White Horses" is best described as a guitar-based Southern rock ballad. The dynamic guitar work on "Angels Hide" includes everything from in-your-face solos to carefully woven interplay. The full-throttle hard rock of "Devil's Road" relies on the monstrous crunch created by unleashed guitar and bass riffing. Pleasant acoustic guitar strumming supports the ballad "I Can't Stop Loving You." The peppy chorus and vocal harmonies stand out on "Sunshine," but once again, when the guitars take over, everything else is left in the dust. "Freedom Walk" closes the album with an all-out guitar assault.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
Southern rock unit the Outlaws were formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1972 by singers/guitarists Hughie Thomasson and Henry Paul, bassist Frank O'Keefe, and drummer Monte Yoho. With the 1973 addition of guitarist Billy Jones, the lineup was complete, and after a year of intense touring the band became the first act signed to Arista under Clive Davis; the Outlaws' self-titled 1975 album spotlighted their Eagles-influenced harmonies and Allman Brothers-like guitar attack, yielding the Top 40 hit "There Goes Another Love Song."
In the wake of 1977's Bill Szymczyk-produced Hurry Sundown, both Paul and O'Keefe exited, with guitarist Freddie Salem, bassist Harvey Dalton Arnold, and second drummer David Dix signing on for the 1978 concert set Bring It Back Alive and the studio effort Playin' to Win. The lineup shuffles continued when Arnold announced his departure following 1979's In the Eye of the Storm, with bassist Rick Cua recruited for the next year's Ghost Riders in the Sky, which netted a Top 40 entry with its title track, a rendition of the Vaughn Monroe favorite. Yoho left to rejoin Henry Paul soon after, and with the subsequent exit of Jones, only Thomasson remained from the original Outlaws roster -- not surprisingly, the group disbanded upon completing 1982's Los Hombres Malo.
A year later Thomasson and Paul formed a new Outlaws lineup, adding guitarist Chris Hicks, bassist Barry Borden, and drummer Jeff Howell; after issuing 1986's Soldiers of Fortune, Paul again quit the band, with the remaining quartet returning in 1993 with Hittin' the Road. While Paul resurfaced in 1994 in the chart-topping contemporary country band Blackhawk, Thomasson later toured with the re-formed Lynyrd Skynyrd while continuing to lead the Outlaws, releasing So Low in 2000.
Sadly, Jones and O'Keefe died within three weeks of one another in early 1995. In 2005, original members Thomasson, Paul, Yoho, and David Dix reunited as the Outlaws, rounding out the lineup with three members of Blackhawk, guitarist Chris Anderson, bassist Randy Threet, and keyboardist Dave Robbins. Paul and Robbins departed a year later to concentrate again on Blackhawk, while Thomasson, the only original member of the Outlaws to make it through all of the band's configurations, kept things going, reportedly finishing a new studio album, Once an Outlaw, before his death from a heart attack in 2007.
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