Widespread Panic

Ball is the Panic's Eat a Peach. As with the Allman Brothers back in 1972, the band was coping with the loss of its leader and chief songwriter, Michael Houser. With guitarist George McConnell stepping in, Widespread Panic unleashed a thick chunk of Southern blues-rock and funk. It's the heaviest the group has ever sounded; "Sparks Fly" even sounds like Drive-By Truckers. "Counting Train Cars," in contrast, recalls the country-fried travelin' music of early albums like Space Wrangler. Widespread Panic took an extended break after Ball and never sounded quite like this again.

Time was when southern rockers lived only to jam, swill beer and kick hippie ass.
Nowadays, rednecks and freaks alike converge at corporate music festivals where the
bands mix southern boogie and San Francisco jam rock. With their eleventh album, Ball,
perennial Georgia jam band Widespread Panic find a reason to make it mellow. Losing
founding member Michael Houser to cancer in 2002 has impacted the band, whic... More >