Hayseed Dixie - A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC

By Wanda

Hayseed Dixie - A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC (Western Beat Entertainment/Dualtone)

Whether or not you believe the liner notes that come with Hayseed Dixie's cd, A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC" recounting the story of how some good ol' boys from Deer Lick Holler deep in the Appalachians came to discover AC/DC, whether or not you think that lead singer Barley Scotch has an annoying fake accent that sounds a little like Adam Sandler, whether you think that the glued on facial hair of "Barley Scotch" and "Einus Younger" is just plain hokey, or whether you think that AC/DC is sacred and should never, ever be covered, you'd have to agree that this novelty album is pretty damn good as novelty albums go.

Hayseed Dixie's A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC (which debuted in 2001) was lambasted in earlier reviews as being "bluegrass lite" (not serious enough for "real" bluegrass aficionados), too filled with irreverent humor (oinking and burping aren't everyone's cup of tea) and not funny enough ("they need to concentrate on the humorous rather than the music")

The reality is that the cd is all that and more. Would you put this on when you wanted to hear AC/DC? Would you put this on when you wanted to hear some ripping bluegrass banjo riffs? What if you wanted to hear both? The answer is right here.

Almost every one of AC/DCs big hits are here - "Highway to Hell", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Hell's Bells" and "Have a Drink on Me," as well as six others that you will definitely recognize. My personal favorites are "Money Talks," "Let's Get It Up," the slow version of "You Shook Me All Night Long," and the beginning banjo notes of ""Hell's Bells."

John Wheeler, mastermind of the whole project, dropped the personas of Barley Scotch and Einus Younger to confess in an interview with the e-zine EarCandy that he'd had the idea to record an album of bluegrass AC/DC covers for quite a while: "everybody that's my age - I'm 31 - when they were a kid, probably learned how to play guitar by listening to AC/DC records ... To me it doesn't get anymore roots rock than AC/DC. To me they're the quintessential "three chords and the truth" kinda band."

Wheeler says he paid his way through college playing at fraternity parties, where he'd throw out the occasional bluegrass version of an AC/DC song, and based on the response, had always wanted to record an album. According to Wheeler, "It started to occur to me that there is a whole lot in common with roots rock 'n roll and old school country and bluegrass. It's coming in alot of ways from the same place. With very unpretentious lyrics, singing about the experience of working class and blue collar people in America. And dancing on your pain, essentially." (EarCandy, August 16, 2001 http://earcandy_mag.tripod.com/haydixie.htm)

Despite mixed reviews, the band received positive reviews from Brian Johnston of AC/DC and was invited to play at bassist Cliff Williams' housewarming party - and you don't get much higher praise than that.

- Wanda 2/02