I have said it before and I will say it again, the Upstate of South Carolina, Spartanburg to be exact,  has some great music coming from that area of the state. Silver Travis is just another example of a solid band with the support of their fans. This time they have produced a CD called 'Take the High Road.'

Now, all of you Marshall Tucker Fans, me included, should be jumping for joy that this band has taken on the sound of that legendary band. You can definitely hear the influences, and Silver Travis has been honing the sound since they reunited in 2005, but they have their own sound. Well, it has worked and these guys are real smooth. I mean real smooth.

It is a known fact that they have worked with bands like .38 Special, George Hatcher Band, and have jammed with friends like Artimus Pyle (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and of course The Marshall Tucker Band.

In 2009 the band released their second album 'Take The High Road.'  They have the help of John Gillie (guitar and song writing), Tim Lawter and Rusty Miller (Marshall Tucker Band), and many others. Fans, there are some great musicians on this CD and you can hear the perfect sounds from them throughout the tracks. Rick Cash's voice is spot-on for Silver Travis.

Track one sets the stage and you can hear the excellent guitar play right off the bat from John Gillie. Trust me, you will hear plenty more in this CD. "You Done Me Wrong" is a solid track to lead off the CD. Rick sings it so well and those lovely background singers add a bit of spice to the tune.

"Wishing Well" gets your blood pumping and I love the cow bell. Got have more cow bell. This one just plain jams and he sings about wishing things would get better as the lyrics suggest "Broken like a two-dollar hammer, I don't see no end in sight."

The title track has that famous Marshall Tucker guitar twang that I love so much. "High Road" is excellent and there's some beautiful piano playing in this one. I would say this one is one of my favorites on the CD. A little short but to the point.

Want a southern jazzy sound that will get you loving them more? "El Segundo" has it all. Sax, piano, flute, nice guitar play and it should be blasted loud when played.

"Southern Poet" starts out with that sweet southern guitar play. If you like the sweet sound of southern guitar this one's for you to soak up. It is just bad-ass.

They do speed it up with "Honky Tonk Shuffle." I think it has some influence from Lynyrd Skynyrd or even a bit of lyrical influence from The Charlie Daniel's band. Either way, it is a fun, upbeat song that is typical of the southern rock bands of the past.

On most of the tracks John Gillie just tears it up with Randall Calvert. Rick sings excellent, Terry Collins has superb piano (organ) play and the drumming from Mike Satterfield is perfect. Oh, let's not forget the bass playing of Joey Parrish. The bass rhythm is a huge key to the sound. These guys compliment each other so well you'd think they had been together for a very long time. Well, I guess they have in a sense but for this album it just speaks veteran all over it. Get this CD! Go see them in concert! You will fall in love with the music and the band and won't be disappointed. Check out their information and CD at www.silvertravis.com.