DIXIE DREGS
Jazz Rock/Fusion • United States
From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
Formed in Augusta, Georgia, USA in 1970 (until 1972 as "Dixie Grit" and since 1981 as "The Dregs") - As of 2017 keeps reuniting briefly for short tours
Formed and headed by composer/guitarist extraordinaire Steve Morse (KANSAS, DEEP PURPLE) in 1975, the DIXIE DREGS are a bunch of extremely talented musicians whose intricate style has a definite MAHAVISHNU flavour plus an off-beat, weird sense of humour. A perfect mix of power and finesse American style, they blend Southern boogie with lots of prog goodies thrown in such as funk-driven licks, fun country-style pickin' fusion, baroque acoustic classical bits, rockabilly metal, bluegrass and jazz - think of them as a more complex, instrumental version of KANSAS. They split up in 1982 but made a successful reunion again in 1992, gracing us with a total of seven studio albums, four live cd's and one standard 'greatest hits' type package ("Divided We Stand", '89).
"Free Fall" ('77) and "What If" ('78) are definite favourites although the more jazzy "Dregs of the Earth" ('80), "Unsung Heroes" ('82) and "Full Circle" are certainly worth checking out. "Industry Standard" ('82) isn't exactly bad but it does show the band taking on a slightly more commercial direction. The album "Bring 'Em Back Alive" ('92), recorded over two nights at Atlanta's Center Stage, is a must-have for all DREGS fans.
If you like hot, jaw-dropping fusion, you can't go wrong with these guys, especially with such albums as "Free Fall", "What If" and "Bring 'Em Back Alive". All are very highly recommended.
: : : Lise (HIBOU), CANADA : : :
See also: STEVE MORSE BAND
DIXIE DREGS Videos (YouTube and more)
Showing only random 3 | Search and add more videos to DIXIE DREGS
Buy DIXIE DREGS Music
-
DOUG LARSON IMPORTS — Buy prog rock music and rarities (Free shipping on orders over 10 CD's)
- AMAZON.COM — Best-selling prog vinyls
DIXIE DREGS discography
Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums
DIXIE DREGS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
3.63 | 31 ratings
The Great Spectacular 1975 |
3.78 | 100 ratings
Free Fall 1977 |
4.15 | 214 ratings
What If 1978 |
3.77 | 91 ratings
Night Of The Living Dregs 1979 |
3.81 | 86 ratings
Dregs Of The Earth 1980 |
3.42 | 60 ratings
Unsung Heroes 1981 |
3.36 | 66 ratings
Industry Standard 1982 |
3.13 | 37 ratings
Full Circle 1994 |
DIXIE DREGS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
4.60 | 46 ratings
Bring 'Em Back Alive 1992 |
3.74 | 13 ratings
King Biscuit Flower Hour [Aka: Greatest Hits Live / Aka: In the Front Row DVD-A] 1997 |
3.69 | 21 ratings
California Screamin' 2000 |
3.29 | 7 ratings
Night Of The Living Dregs 2002 |
4.49 | 7 ratings
Greatest Hits Live 2003 |
3.33 | 3 ratings
From The Front Row... Live! 2003 |
DIXIE DREGS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)
4.38 | 11 ratings
Live At The Montreux Jazz Festival 1978 2005 |
DIXIE DREGS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
4.00 | 1 ratings
Best Of The Dixie Dregs 1987 |
3.49 | 9 ratings
Divided We Stand 1989 |
3.00 | 3 ratings
The Millennium Collection 2002 |
DIXIE DREGS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)
0.00 | 0 ratings
Demo 1976 |
0.00 | 0 ratings
Take it Off the Top 1978 |
0.00 | 0 ratings
Punk Sandwich 1979 |
0.00 | 0 ratings
Pride O' the Farm 1980 |
0.00 | 0 ratings
Cruise Control 1981 |
2.00 | 2 ratings
Off The Record 1988 |
DIXIE DREGS Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by JazzFusionGuy
Anyway, the whole gang is back together on this culling of a three-nite-live-reunion jam-fest. Morse, Lavitz, Morgenstein, Sloan, and West -- are joined by LaRue, Goodman, and Dweezil Zappa. Everybody throws down, doing all the golden fusion/rock/country oldies. Even Zappa and the Allman Brothers tunes are covered. The riffs are flyin' like gravel slingin' from under a souped-up stock car runnin' down that there country road up yonder. Fun is the word here. Musicianship is stunning and the crowd loves it. My fav cuts were the dream-ridden, Mahavishnu-meets-Morse, soul-travel cuts; "Night Meets Light" and "What If" both from my fav Dregs release, What If.
This is a great "meet-the-Dregs" CD for newbies or a decent live "best-of" but if you already own many other Dregs releases or Morse-related CDs, this CD will be merely an altered echo versus a disc of new revelations. For a great new taste of Morse, I highly recommend his 2000 release, Major Impacts. All-in-all, a superb release by matchless musicians.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Warthur
Prog Reviewer
Maybe it's the down-home Southern-ness of it all, but I just find the Dregs' music an impressively intricate way to express absolutely nothing, a crystal-clear example of how technical chops don't save your compositions from being just a little trite. I won't rate it below three stars, because it's clear that there's some real skill being applied here, but I think this is one where you'll either love it or find yourself entirely unable to see what all the fuss is about,
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
The studio material shows the band following a more conventional style of playing, now offering lots of happy tunes and pleasant melodies, but the performances are still kept in a good level, featuring again some sudden breaks, American-styled rockin' grooves and impressive violin work by Allen Sloan.''The Riff Raff'' actually sounds more like an American Folk interpretation, based exclusively on acoustic guitars and violin, while the rest of the studio tracks suggest again Dixie Dregs' strong influences by MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA and Country Music.The guys produced emphatic, jazzy music with a good bunch of interplays and tight structures, somewhat misdirected by their love for rural flavors.
Live tracks are coming in the already familiar style of the Fusion band, maybe sometimes with a more pronounced Southern Rock/Country taste like on ''The bash'' or ''Patchwork'', but tracks like ''Leprechaun promenade'' and the eponymous one show Dixie Dregs' love for dense, instrumental Jazz/Fusion, led by powerful drumming, instrumental interactions and a constant change of tempos.For the first time some nice keyboard parts, including Moog synthesizer and Hammond organ, come in evidence, and the personal sound of the band is displayed with great energy.
Not exactly up there with thr fantastic ''What if'', still this well-played Jazz/Fusion with soaring violin and rich instrumentals, developing from enjoyable themes to complex ideas.Recommended.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
WHAT IF is the absolute perfect place to start. This was love at first listen with only the first and third tracks taking me several listens to appreciate but now they have weaseled their way into my soul and are stuck there until the great decomposition of body and mind occurs. This album is absolutely phenomenal in how progressive it is. It is labeled as jazz fusion and to be fair there is plenty of that going on particularly in a Mahavishnu Orchestra type of way but there are classical guitar pieces, bluegrass, Kansas type rockers and moments of calmness. Every track is impressive and my favorite idiosyncrasy of this band is how they play out a passage by alternating instruments to finish riffs and fills. A kind of lightning fast call and response that serves as the backbone for the melodic whole. Impressive album indeed that I never get tired of. It just keeps getting better after repeated listens. A perfect marriage of melody and technicality.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by jhelm_waterw
This album DOES follow a sort of pattern in the mix of song types. A few Rockers, a Bluegrass song, one or two fusion Jazz songs, a classical guitar peice.... But, they did these extraordinarily well. Even though you may say... "oh... this is the country song"... it did not sound like "the country song" on the last album.
I won't break down each song, but... Hereafter is simply one of the greatest, deepest, most powerful songs ever written. Period. It is a masterpiece of chamber arrangement for rock band. Even if one were to completely put aside Steve Morse's virtuosity, it is his songwriting that I find stunning and almost heartbreaking.
This album actually stays in my car's 6 disk changer at all times.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
This is a very energetic Prog/Fusion album, reminiscent of Dixie Dregs' passionate approach on rich, instrumental compositions, with lots jazzy and a few of Classical references, with the group sounding even closer to KANSAS on this album, though the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA influence is still the major leading guide.The two long tracks of the album are really fantastic with impressive breaks and changes, going from Classical-inspired violin parts to jazzy interplays and full-blown proggy battles with nice use of keyboards, while it is doubtful if you'll find a more accomplished rhythm section than the one of Andy West and Rod Morgenstein.The shorter tracks are more straight but far from easy-going.Here the group can divide its influences to separate tracks, from the groovy Boogie Rock of ''Take It Off the Top'' to the light Jazz-Rock of ''What If'' anf from the superb Fusion of ''Travel Tunes'' to the funkier rhythms of ''Ice Cakes''.However the performance of Dixie Dregs will remain always on a very high level with lots of changing climates, technical playing and rich delivery all the way, while a few smoother passages are added for good measure in an attempt to keep things balanced.
Superb follow-up to the otherwise very good ''''Free Fall''.Passionate Prog/Fusion of high quality with tremendous both individual and team performances.Highly recommended.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
FragileKings
Prog Reviewer
Musically, the album is really good. These guys know how to play what they play and they do it well. Every member contributes his skill right from jazzy drum rhythms, wicked bass grooves, searing fiddle playing, groovy keys, and of course, Morse's flying fingers on the fret board. There are no vocals. Every track is purely instrumental.
But what kind of music is this? It sounds to me as though the jazz band at my old college donated the tablatures for the music they played to various artists from the Windham Hill New Age/Folk collection (later Windham Hill was Morse's label!), the Rankin Family, the Alan Parsons Project, and some very talented young guitarist. Fortunately for me, I have albums by everyone mentioned above except the jazz band of my old college. Taking a moment to adjust, I was able to appreciate the music on this album. Particular favourites are "Refried Funky Chicken" and "Holiday", but other tracks are good too. There is this wonderful quirky sense of humour in the music when it gets a little wild, but it keeps its shirt tucked in for the more beautiful and sentimental pieces.
As great an album as I think it is, this is not my usual taste and so I really don't listen to it much. There's a bit too much jazz and down home fiddlin' here for me. But as I said, Dixie Dregs do a remarkable job of playing everything they write. Maybe not quite essential, but better than "good".
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Chicapah
Prog Reviewer
Sometime in 1979 they played a set for the widely syndicated King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program, thus spreading their unique sound into unsuspecting ears the world over and enhancing their reputation. As were many of those tapings, it remained confined to bootleg status for a long time until it was packaged properly and released on CD in 1997. It's a good thing, too, because the concert captures their unbridled spirit quite well. The recording is very intimate and close up, eschewing studio tricks and embellishments that would often make less-talented bands appear to be better than they actually were. This is more like sitting in a tiny bar, being dazzled by the eclectic combo set up on the little stage in the corner.
After a brief introduction, some reassuring feedback leads to "Freefall," an incredibly tight, progressive jazz/rock fusion tune that will pin your ears back against your noggin. You are immediately struck by the level of individual virtuosity this ensemble possesses in spades. Rod Morgenstein's frantic drums start "Country House Shuffle," an engaging song owning a playful melody that rolls around in your head like a mental whirlwind. The playing is so tasteful it makes you drool. For "Moe Down" Rod's inventive drumming provides a great change of pace moment early on in the show. The group incorporates a combination of bluegrass and Irish folk influences into the number with highly satisfying results. There's a mirthful �lan surrounding this tune that's irresistible. "Ice Cakes" follows and it's one of those instrumentals that's impossible to label, it's that eccentric. Morse's style has so many affectations in it, garnered from his noble heroes and mentors, that it's an adventure just listening to him perform. It's obvious that they were admirers of the stupendous Mahavishnu Orchestra but they weren't a copycat band at all. They had their own way of doing things. "Travel Tunes" is next, a rocker with entertaining quirks that give it a spunky character. Steve shreds like an electric sander on a quilt.
They then play a rousing version of "Night of the Living Dregs." It's one of their signature numbers and they tear it up with glee. Andy West's bass solo is exceptional and I really get a kick out of how Morse and electric violinist Allen Sloan work in tandem with each other on the central melody line. "Night Meets Light" is so good it's not to be missed. This song shows that they had a softer, more delicate side but don't worry, there's nothing pretentious about it. You can tell there's a genuine cooperative imagination present amongst the members. Sloan's violin and T. Lavitz's synthesizer conjure up a very serene atmosphere during the first half, while the latter section achieves true magnificence as the instruments dance around each other in an intricate aural choreography. "Punk Sandwich" marks a return to their more rowdy, hard-driving instincts. Everyone gets to get their ya-yas out on this one but I'm most intrigued by the fact that they don't have to rely on ear-splitting volume to get the job done. "Cruise Control" is another highlight. It's hot rock & roll poured over a funky bass line that'll twist your curlies. As a unit they zip right along at light speed but they fudge nary a beat as they take turns glamming the folks in attendance and out in Radioland. You gotta admit that there's some pretty damn astonishing stuff going on between these guys. They end with "Take It Off the Top," a killer encore tune that touches every conceivable base.
In essence, if you're a fan of impossible-to-duplicate jazz/rock fusion and also enjoy hearing it played expertly in a live setting then this is your ticket to Nirvana. These boys took a back seat to no one and they consistently fed off of each others' enthusiasm as they pushed the limits of what they could accomplish every time they alit on the stage. At least that's what it sounds like to me as evidenced by this scintillating performance caught for posterity. 4.3 stars.
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by Mr. Mustard
3/10
Dixie Dregs Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by Mr. Mustard
This is a decent album at best. I would not recommend it unless you're a Dregs fan already.
5/10