Dale Hawkins CD: Back Down to Louisiana on Plumtone - Posted 5/30/07 - By Jeff Hannusch There's a little bit of everything in this one including a whole lot of Dale Hawkins. Not a straight out retro-sounding rockabilly disc, there's some more contemporary rock here, some country and even some lounge-y material. Back Down To Louisiana doesn't get off to a flying start though as the opener, "New Generation," features an overloaded guitar and ends with a patriotic speech that could have been a quote from George W. Bush's State of the Union address. New Orleans' Johnny J. writes or co-writes a number of songs on the album including "Bang Bang," an up-tempo raver that gets things back on track. The title track is a retrospective tune that documents the beginning of Hawkins' career over in Shreveport, after which the CD bogs down a bit with some average ideas. "Do the Thang," though, ends the album on a positive note, a mid-tempo tune that shuffles along briskly. There are not a lot of 1950s rock 'n' rollers still around, and very few that still have it. We're very lucky to have Dale Hawkins around because he's definitely still got it. Back to the "Take Note" Main Page