"Dregs of the Earth" by Dixie Dregs (1980)

Fun Fact: That is some freaky-ass cover art

Fun Fact #2: ...and it is totally misleading

View the Premise & Ground Rules for Revisiting Vinyl

Filed between: Dire Straits and Doctor Hook & The Medicine Show

My Overall Rating of the Tracks Separately:
Average (2/4 stars).  It's sad, there are some really good hooks and some true musicianship in "Dregs of the Earth," but most of the tracks aren't innovative or interesting enough to stand alone as instrumental pieces.  Several of the the songs could have really benefited from even mediocre lyrics and vocals.

Songs that Could Have Really Benefited from Even Mediocre Lyrics and Vocals:
Road Expense, Hereafter, Broad Street Strut

Key Track:
I'm Freaking Out isn't my favorite track, but it does prove the Dregs have the ability to do a song that doesn't have any need (or even any room) for vocals.

My Favorite Track:
Pride o' the Farm does a good job of swapping off the solos among the guitar, keys and fiddle and always keeps you interested.  To me, that's the key factor for any instrumental that's not ambient or house.

Obvious Filler & Swings-and-Misses:
Twiggs Approved and The Great Spectacular both fall flat on their faces when it comes to being interesting.

So, is it an album?  No.  It turns out that instrumental pieces are much harder to gauge, but I'm going with "no" on this one.  While each song is clearly a composition, there's nothing among all of the tracks that ties them together in any way, shape or form.

Up next, we continue our recent exploration of the music scene circa 1978 with "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick.