Here we have one of those special lost albums, something which should have been released when it was originally recorded and which fans of those involved will now grab due to wanting to hear what was going on and then will continue to play as it is just so much fun. The birth of this band can be traced back to 1983 when The Doobie Brothers were on hiatus and multi-instrumentalist John McFee and drummer Keith Knudsen decided to form a new band, so with singer Tim Goodman, keyboardist Glen Hardin, and bassist Jerry Scheff, they created Southern Pacific and signed to Warner Bros. Records. During the recording of their second album Scheff was replaced by Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival), but by 1990 the band was winding down but McFee, Knudsen and Cook had so much fun together they decided to work together on a new project as a trio with McFee providing everything apart from drums and bass. By 1992 the album was ready for their manager to shop around to labels, but sadly he pass away before that could happen, and the dream died with him. It took until 2009 for the album to finally make an appearance, but was soon unavailable again, and it is only now in 2025, more than 30 years after it was originally ready, that Liberation Hall have made it again available on vinyl, CD and digital.
If one were to imagine CCR being mixed with early Eighties Bryan Adams, but then brought up to date (the Nineties, remember) with solid production and a pop rock mentality then one will possibly get some idea of just what this album is like, and how good it is. Given the people involved I did expect it to have much more of a Doobie Bros feel, but there is a little Southern style to this whatsoever, and there is something about it which still feels modern and relevant today, and it is only showing its age due to the style as opposed to the production or arrangements. It really does feel as if there are multiple songs on here which should have been lifted as singles, and while record labels were seemingly ignoring all but grunge back in 1992, I am sure if this had got to the right people at the time it would have been a major label release, and a successful one at that. Fans of those involved, or the bands they have been part of, will undoubtedly grab this due to their involvement, but it really is an album which when played will put a smile on the face of the listener, and sometimes that is all we want from music.
Rating: 8/10