Featuring 11 songs clocking in at around 31 minutes in length, let's begin this review with the first track, "Gator Bait"! Ken describes this as a take-off of the theme song from the film "White Lightning", and it has sort of a down and dirty southern rock flavour that honestly does sound like it could be the theme for a southern action film set in a swampy wetlands area. Sort of hard to describe, but it sets the tone well for the score as a whole! That's followed by "Sheriff on the Hunt", which Ken says is a "funky 60's style track", and despite what I said about the first song, this is the one he mentioned having a bluesy swamp feel. Personally, I find the first song better matches that, and I don't really get a "sheriff on the hunt" vibe from it either, but the songs has thematic similarities, and the guitar picking and bluesy tone don't hurt either! This song also feels like a fuller composition that would be better suited to live performance, and if intended for that environment, it works!
Song #5 is "Bootlegging", which no doubt follows closely in the intended script with the third track, and I'd argue that this song feels the most like a song from one of his traditional albums out of anything so far! It has some nice backing effects, including snake rattles and howls, but the rest is a mid-tempo blues rocker that doesn't necessarily feel like it was meant to be on a score. Good guitar and bass work, effective tone, but I'd be interested to hear the song with vocals and a heavier overall style. The album's shortest track is next, namely "Caught in the Act", and it takes a definite turn from earlier tracks with more of a techno vibe, odd considering the police implications of the title. In it's own unique way, the keyboard parts give some ominous vibes, but the song ends too abruptly, and if it wasn't for the score's overall intent, I'd say it felt like a filler track.
Next is "On The Run From The Sheriff", whose title gives away the intended point of the script. Desptite the title alluding to a chase from police capture, the song feels more like it's the backing music for a tense jailbreak or escape. It has some unique effects and sound-bites, including some catchy drumming, but the guitar's certainly not at the forefront here, and to me at least, it's just an interesting diversion to change the pacing of the score. Eighth up is "The Swamp at Night", which Ken describes as "kind of a spooky track" wherein you can picture yourself in a dark swamp. Given the tones and background noise, this at times feels like you're on a submarine rather than a swamp (albeit, a submarine with a rattlesnake), but it does have a spooky disconnect at times, and fits along with earlier tracks where the guitar takes a back seat to other musical effects!Ninth is "Smugglers & Runners", in what you could call the third song of the moonshine trilogy on "Gator's Bayou". In another example of a song featuring mismatched elements compared to it's title, a computer-like siren effect is frequently heard here, despite not referencing a chase or escape from the law like earlier songs had. That said, I love the marching drum beat, and it has an overall cool sound that suits it's effects and post-production, even if the title doesn't seem right, and it's my favourite of the score's less guitar-driven songs! The penultimate song is "Just Before The Crossroads", which ends the more experimental stretch of the album by returning us to the general sound of the opening 5 tracks. The song has the bluesy feel of the first half, complete with some foreign musical touches, and while it's not a "heavy" track, it's nice to get back to the basics, more or less!
The album and score wrap up with "Gator's Bayou - Main Theme", which is fittingly the album's longest song, and presumably the intended song for the credits if this was used in a movie. Aside from some added effects and snake rattles, this track is a nice and casual blues number that's drawn out without dragging on, and it wraps up the score well in familiar territory!
