Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Doc Holliday - Modern Medicine (1983)

Doc Holliday formed in the late 70's in Macon, Georgia. Led by vocalist/guitarist, Bruce Brookshire, the band built a solid fanbase in the southeast from relentless touring of the region. They soon came to the attention of A&M Records who eventually released their self-titled debut in 1981. The album managed to enter the Billboard Top 40 in the states and soon the band were cultivating a strong cult following in europe. When their followup, "Rides Again" was issued the following year, the band had become celebrities overseas while their career began to wane in the US. This downslide only worsened upon the release of their third effort, "Moden Medicine", which saw the band employing modern hard rock & AOR elements into their southern flavored sound. The lack of response from their stateside following prompted the band to split at the conclusion of their tour in 1984.

Within two years, a restructured lineup resurrected the name and Doc Holliday resumed where they left off, producing five more studio albums and a live album over the next eighteen years. The band continue to tour on both sides of the Atlantic to this day, with their european following intact and still growing.

"Modern Medicine" is a clever balance of Molly Hatchet and Survivor (for lack of a better comparison), with the band modernizing their sound to bring wider appeal. It's less redneck and more arena rock, though Brookshire's voice still brings its southern charm to the mix. Production flaws aside, the album is a fairly consistent batch of AOR melodic rock with just enough muscle to keep the band's edge. With an opening track like, "City Night", one can't help but hear that the band is beginning to run out of original sounding material. This track, in particular, sounds an awful lot like Foreigner's "Head Games". The majority of tracks here, though, are ripe with melodic hooks and subtle new wavey soundscapes, making this a very unique sounding southern rock album. Taken on its own merits, "Modern Medicine" is a worthy effort and deserving of a listen. More Doc Holliday material to come in the coming weeks, but for now, enjoy this nugget from the dirty south.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ronnie , thx for good posts from the past 2 weeks . i've been cleaning up my attic this week and found some 'rare' vinyl's (I don't even know how they sound anymore after more than 20 years)anyway , i scanned and loaded the covers and backs up in a zip file . If you think there is anything intresting amongst them let me know and i try to get them on cd and upload them , greetings from Belgium. http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1BWX8MKE oh yeah , all albums are between 1976 and 82

micksguitar said...

great share j. you never fail to amaze me with your great lps. thanx so much. mick.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you made my day with this Doc Holliday post. EXtremely hard to find on the internet, i know i have been looking for months now, I came across a couple of their other discs and was not disappointed. Can't wait to hear this one, thanks very much for the great blog.

Anonymous said...

Without doubt, MM is DH's worst effort. Thank goodness they returned to form with 1986's blistering 'Danger Zone' album.

Anonymous said...

Hello Ronnie - As a Macon boy, I thank you very much for this.
I wonder if you are aware the mp3 for the last track, You Like To Rock, is bad ?
I d'loaded it twice to make sure, about half way through is computer static & pop.
Is it possible you have a good mp3 to repost of the song ?
Thanks again either way.
wayne
wainohg@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Is it possible to repost this? Track 10 is in bad shape.