Album review: Blackfoot, Siogo (1983)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 24, 1983

By Steve Newton

Former Uriah Heep keyboardist Ken Hensley has become the fifth Blackfoot member on their fourth studio album, Siogo. While I was a little worried that the overpowering organ sound he’d often wielded in his former band might drown out the gritty guitars of Rickey Medlocke and Charlie Hargrett–the heart of this southern-fried metal band–I must say that Hensley fits well in the group. Siogo holds its own when compared to their earlier riff-riddled LPs Marauder, Tomcattin’, and the explosive debut Strikes.

The album kicks off with a bang on “Send Me An Angel”, one of the three tunes Hensley cowrote for it. Red-hot chord blasts and searing lead licks highlight this gripping tale of loneliness and isolation that never lets up. “Crossfire” follows, along the same raunchy lines–it seems there’s no end to the kind of desperation-drenched solos lead guitarist Hargrett can wrench out of a Marshall-powered Hamer. And as if Medlocke and Hargrett weren’t handy enough themselves on six strings, Hensley steps in to deliver some metal madness of his own via slide guitar on the album’s final cut “Drivin’ Fool”.

If you like the idea of a band that rocks out in the gutsy style of Molly Hatchet but tempers their noise with a slightly more commercial touch, then Blackfoot may be well worth checking out.

To hear the full audio of my interview with Rickey Medlocke from 1997, shortly after he rejoined Lynyrd Skynyrd, subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on nearly 300 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:

…with hundreds more to come