Pot Liquor-Levee Blues (1971)

Pot Liquor was a short-lived band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who released several albums with a distinct boogie blues and southern rock sound during the early 1970s. Their initial lineup consisted of George Ratzlaff on keyboards and vocals, guitarist Les Wallace, drummer Jerry Amoroso, and bassist Guy Shaeffer. After their debut album, "First Taste", released in 1970, which was well-received in the southern states, they released "Levee Blues" a year later. Considered their best work, this album expanded their characteristic southern rock sound with elements of country, blues, and gospel. Ratzlaff's vocals and organ, along with the inclusion of a group of female backing vocalists, lend a unique gospel touch to the album's closing tracks. The lively tracks “Cheer”, “River Jordan”, “The Train”, and “Chattanooga”, along with the heavy, hypnotic blues of “Rooster Blues” and the magnificent covers of The Beatles’ “Lady Madonna” and Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good”, are the highlights of an interesting but forgotten album of the best Southern rock. However, despite its quality and exquisite production, it failed to achieve the desired commercial success. Nevertheless, the band continued to perform concerts for quite some time throughout Louisiana, enjoying a good reception from the public, something that didn't do much to ensure the band's continuation, and Pot Liquor finally disbanded a few years later.

Pot Liquor-First Taste (1970)

Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Potliquor was a band that released two excellent albums focused on Southern rock, which, however, never received the recognition they deserved due to competition from many more prominent national bands of the time. Their beginnings date back to 1969, when singer George Ratzlaff, who also played guitar and keyboards, joined bassist Guy Schaeffer, guitarist Les Wallace, and drummer Jerry Amoroso to found Potliquor. Shortly after, a well-known manager from the Baton Rouge area named Jim Brown began representing them and secured them a contract with a local label called Janus Records, with whom they released their first album, "First Taste", in 1970. Produced by Jim Brown himself, this debut showcased Potliquor's early Southern boogie-rock style with hints of the rawer sounds of American rock and touches of blues and gospel. This debut album contains a series of commendable and interesting tracks, such as the opening southern boogie rock song “Down The River Boogie”, where they showcase their rich vocal harmonies. In “Ol’ Man River”, the band embraces their religious upbringing with a superb gospel performance. Rock and roll infused with Creole sounds appears in “Riverboat”, and the heavy sound of organ and blues is present in the hallucinatory instrumental “Toballby”, which features exuberant percussion in the purest Santana style. The lysergic and acid sounds emerge with “The Raven”, undoubtedly one of the album's highlights, an epic song of dark, psychedelic sounds. The heavy blues rock, infused with soaring gospel choirs, featured on tracks like "You're No Good", the sublime "Price 20 Cents a Copy", and the Stones-esque "Driftin' ", resulting in an album that was well-received and led to a second album three years later, titled "Leeve Blues". This second album followed a similar path but with a slightly more bluesy focus. However, these godfathers of Southern rock would not release another album, although they remained active until the late seventies, performing concerts throughout Louisiana, where they had a large and devoted fanbase.