Marauder

By the time of 1981's Marauder album, Blackfoot's career had effectively stalled in America, as the band's hard rock sound evolved further and further from the Skynyrd-derived Southern rock sound of their successful 1979 opus, Strikes. Still, while continuing to rely on hard-driving numbers such as "Good Morning" and "Dry County," Marauder also saw Blackfoot attempting a compromise with the dramatic "Diary of a Workingman." Though it showcased the band at their melodic Southern rock best, the track failed to chart in America and Blackfoot decided to concentrate their touring efforts in Britain and Europe, where their popularity continued to skyrocket. As for the album, Shorty Medlocke makes his by-now-expected contribution to the intro of "Rattlesnake Rock 'N' Roller," which goes on to feature some upbeat piano tinkling and a horn section. Likewise, the unexpected breakdown (with Mexican horns and tango guitar rhythms) in the middle of "Too Hard to Handle" makes it one of the band's best hard rockers to date, and "Searchin'" is another Southern rock hit that might have been. Unfortunately, mounting inner-band tensions and record company indifference marked this as the last great Blackfoot album.