Because their music falls somewhere between progressive rock and fusion jazz, the Dixie Dregs are an extremely unlikely Southern boogie band whose fun-loving high spirits help them avoid the generic pretensions of the former and the bombast of the latter. On Night of the Living Dregs, these guys use subtle counterpoints like middle-period Gentle Giant, generate some really unusual timbres and exhibit a perdurable instrumental skill. But they don't make their training or technique glaringly obvious. The group's most noticeable traits are ebullient power chording, the bluesy bending of notes and an unflagging rhythmic drive.

Part of their secret is that they've injected into the progressive/fusion mixture two other genres that call for an equal virtuosity: bluegrass and old-timey country music. Leading the Dregs are Steve Morse, a guitarist adept at both Chet Atkins and Al Di-Meola stylings, and Allen Sloan, who erases the distinction between "violin" and "fiddle." Country inflections seep out of the Stanley Clarke-flavored title tune, dominate a barn-dance romp called "The Bash" and continue to spice the rest of the record—especially side two, an awesome live recording from last year's Montreux Jazz Festival. (RS 297)

MICHAEL BLOOM