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I’ve got great news for you old, grizzled, hard-core southern rock fans! If you were a fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd and/or the Rossington-Collins Band, then the name Barry Lee Harwood certainly strikes a chord. Barry played dobra and mandolin on three of Skynyrd’s early releases and later was a guitarist, producer, and song writer for the post-crash remnants of Skynyrd, the Rossington-Collins Band. To avoid further delay, here is the news: Barry Lee has recently released a brand new collection of songs on his CD, Southern Part of Heaven.
This is not your typical dueling guitars, riff after riff of good ol’ down home boogie and jukin’ music with some country, bluegrass, and blues mixed in. Well, in a way it is. However, because of a change in the path Barry now follows in his life, these are songs that have a Godly message. Please don’t misunderstand me—to use the title of a Rossington-Collins song to make my point—it is not a Christian rock album, but it’s a collection of some wonderful songs by a Christian. The songs can be played in front of any audience, and you won’t have to worry about offending anybody, whether it’s covering up a young child’s ears or scaring your grandparents, thinking that the end of the world is in sight. This is simply a slice of Americana.
I’d summarize the music on this album as uplifting. The opening track, “No Regrets,” has a Skynyrd feel to it, and it’s surely autobiographical. There is some tasty slide guitar work on this track also. The third song, “Laid Back in the South,” creates a mood as if I were in Kentucky or Tennessee, sitting under a tree with rolling hills, green pastures, and rivers running by. “Rocky Top Flyer” is a humorous song, the type we’ve become accustomed to from the good old boys down south singing of love lost. Why, the woman in the song even took the dog! The other “train” song on the CD is a beautiful song entitled, “Anywhere a Train Can Go.” For me, it had an early Eagles feel to it, harkening back to when Bernie Leadon was still a member of the band.
I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Barry recently. He’s hard at work on another record, which he said will have a bit more of a harder southern rock feel to it. What was obvious to me from our conversation was the passion, conviction, and commitment that he put into Southern Part of Heaven. If you need a record that will make you feel good about yourself and life in general and help remind you of the blessings in life, this is it.
