By 1981, Jacksonville rockers Blackfoot were well on the path to glory, having boosted their profile with the previous years’ effort ‘Tomcattin.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Blackfoot
ALBUM: Marauder
LABEL: Atco
SERIAL: SD 32-107
YEAR: 1981
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Rick ‘Rattlesnake’ Medlocke – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, bottleneck, acoustic and 12 string * Jakson ‘Thunderfoot’ Spires – drums, percussion, vocals * Greg T Walker – bass guitar, keyboards, vocals * Charlie Hargrett – lead and rhythm guitars
TRACK LISTING: 01 Good Morning * 02 Payin’ For It * 03 Diary Of A Workingman * 04 Too Hard To Handle * 05 Fly Away * 06 Dry County * 07 Fire Of The Dragon * 08 Rattlesnake Rock ‘n’ Roller * 09 Searchin’
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
By 1981, Jacksonville rockers Blackfoot were well on the path to glory, having boosted their profile with the previous years’ effort ‘Tomcattin’, albeit without a recognised single to promote the album.
Atco were giving them a big push and along with some heavyweight support slots, their name was bandied about left right and center. For the new album ‘Marauder’, things would go to a new level of popularity.
The Songs
‘Good Morning’ announces the band on the back of some chugging riffs and thumping rhythms, while Rick Medlocke could very well be the southern rock equivalent of Dave Lee Roth.
‘Payin’ For It’ sounds less southern rock than usual, more typical early 80’s hard rock than anything else. ‘Diary Of A Workingman’ is something different altogether, a perfect but lengthy ballad that is the absolute highlight of the album, well for me it is anyway. Every top southern rock band has its epic ballad moment; this is Blackfoot’s.
‘Too Hard To Handle’ is the next cab off the rank, bruising in nature, tough as old boots. And what’s with the mariachi trumpet solo? Lol. By contrast, ‘Fly Away’ is simplistic in structure but still carries a mean payload of southern sting. ‘Dry County’ is obviously not the place to be if you’re thirsty, and listening to this bluesy swagger won’t help your cause any. Another album highlight.
‘Fire Of The Dragon’ is a song about the consequences of drug addiction, then it shifts to ‘Rattlesnake Rock ‘n’ Roller’ with a Shorty Medlocke introduction that soon sees Blackfoot fitting on all barrels with a bluesy delivery guaranteed for maximum impact.
‘Searchin’ picks up where ‘Diary..’ left off. A ballad of optimism and hope among the rubble of despair. Probably not the sort of song you want to see end an album but it is what it is.
In Summary
Released in July 1981 the band hit the road in support of the album. First, they played a series of early summer dates with Ted Nugent and Krokus before heading over to England to play the 1981 Monsters of Rock Festival in August (22nd). They also played a high-profile gig in Germany the next day with Iron Maiden headlining.
They returned home to the USA and from September through to the end of the year they headlined with Def Leppard in support. ‘Marauder’ is considered the last true Blackfoot album of southern rock, because from this point on they gravitated to a form of AOR which really didn’t suit them that well. Read more about the rest of their albums by clicking the Blackfoot tag below.
Blackfoot on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
