Even if you are a new country music lover you are already sure to know about Charlie Daniels – an American icon. Charlie has serenaded the world for 50 years and is especially well known for the “Devil Went Down to Georgia”, “Long Haired Country Boy” and the “South’s Gonna Do It Again”.

He has over 47 albums and this newest one is a compilation of 13 earlier hits about America and the patriotism he stands for and 2 newly re-recorded tracks this year. The entire CD is pure Charlie Daniels and includes an additional verse to his popular “(What This World Needs Is) A Few More Rednecks” and a re-recording of “Iraq Blues” which honors the military and was written during a tour in Iraq.

My favorite song on this album is “(What This World Needs Is) A Few More Rednecks” and is about just what the title says – needing a few more rednecks to stand up to what is right in this world. It’s about pickup trucks, flags, southern fried chicken, catfish, Rambo movies and John Wayne. The NFL and Nascar are also a part of the song and the gist of this song is the redneck way of life and needing a little more respect for the Lord and the law and the working man.

Another song on the CD, “Simple Man” is filled with the best instrumentals of the Charlie Daniels Band and is about crooked politicians, panty-waste judges who let crooks and drug dealers go, and an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth. It’s about the simple man who believes in the Bible, a drugless society and no excuses for rapes and abuse. He has an answer for all of the horrible sins of the world in this song and the “Good Book” is mentioned many times as Charlie Daniels is a “simple man” with a huge belief.

“The Summer of ‘68” is a song about a young man being drafted to Vietnam to fight a war he didn’t know what he was dying for. It’s also about Martin Luther King’s assassination and the flower generation who thought they could change the world but got lost somewhere along the way. The ‘60’s were turbulent years with draft card burning, drugs and draft-dodgers who moved to Canada and of course the controversial Vietnam War.

This CD is a powerful compilation of Charlie’s own beliefs about politics and our very own America. He leaves no doubt where he stands on issues and has no problem singing or writing about them. You can read 10 years of Charlie’s blogs at his website www.charliedaniels.com and you can follow him on MySpace and Facebook as well. If you believe in an America that stands for what our founding beliefs of this country were then this is the perfect CD for you and a must-have for any Charlie Daniels fan!

Calamity Annie – CMTT Music Contributor
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