Let The Good Times Roll Flirtin With Disaster Beatin The Odds

Let the Good Times Roll Album: Flirtin' With Disaster (1979) track 10 fin
Flirtin' With Disaster Album: Flirtin' With Disaster (1979) track 6
Beatin' the Odds Album: Beatin' the Odds (1980) track 1
by Molly HatchetShow more

Heading east down Route 66
Flirtin' with Disaster is the second studio album by American band Molly Hatchet, released in 1979 by Epic Records. The album was re-issued in 2001 with four bonus tracks. It is their best-selling album.

Beatin' the Odds is the third studio album by Molly Hatchet, released in 1980 by Epic Records. The album is the first to feature singer Jimmy Farrar, who replaced original singer Danny Joe Brown.

The Globe and Mail wrote that "Molly Hatchet is little more than just another in a too-long line of senseless and unimaginative southern boogie bands, rehashing party-boogie licks and singing the joys of cheap booze and even cheaper women."

The Rolling Stone Album Guide deemed the title track "an obvious Skynyrd rip ... [that] possesses a certain rough charm."

The cover of Flirtin' is a painting by Frank Frazetta titled "Dark Kingdom."
The cover of Beatin' is "Conan the Conqueror" also by Frank Frazetta.

In this song, Flirtin' With Disaster, Molly Hatchet are careening out of control and can't seem to stop it. It's very much based on what was going on in their lives at the time. The group released their self-titled debut album in 1978, which went Platinum and took them to new heights. With cash in their pockets and a whiff of fame, they could indulge their desires, which they did, with some of the members getting heavy into drugs and alcohol. They were also touring constantly, which added to the temptation. "Travelin' down that lonesome road" has both a literal and figurative meaning.

You won't be surprised to learn that none of the six members from this lineup made it to 70, with most suffering from various health issues:

Lead singer Danny Joe Brown died in 2005 at 53
Guitarist Duane Roland died in 2006 at 53
Drummer Bruce Crump died in 2015 at 57
Bass player Banner Thomas died in 2017 at 63
Guitarist Dave Hlubek died in 2017 at 66
Guitarist Steve Holland died in 2020 at 66

"Flirtin' With Disaster" is Molly Hatchet's most popular song, a great example of their high-testosterone Southern rock with a three-guitar attack. They formed in Jacksonville, Florida, home of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was slated to work on their debut album when he died in a 1977 plane crash.

The song was the title track to their second album, which went Double-platinum, taking them to new heights but also dialing up the heat. The pace proved too much for frontman Danny Joe Brown, who left before their next album, setting off a wave of lineup changes. Brown returned to the group two years later but they never again came close to the heights they reached with "Flirtin'." By the mid-'90s, various offshoots of the band popped up, but the official group had no members from their classic lineup.

The song was written by Danny Joe Brown, Dave Hlubek and Banner Thomas. It was produced by Tom Werman, who at the time was one of the hottest producers in rock. His CV includes Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent, Dream Police by Cheap Trick, and Shout At The Devil by Mötley Crüe. He produced or co-produced the first five Molly Hatchet albums.

"I just liked the band," he said in an interview. "They were kind of like Skynyrd."

Regarding "Flirtin' With Disaster," he explained: "That was a song that they brought in, and I said, 'This sounds like a hit to me.' I had to use all three guys because of politics. Duane Roland was the very best, an unknown and underappreciated guy who was an incredible guitar player. Slick and syrupy. Never looked at the neck and doubled all his leads. He was pretty amazing. But I had to include the other two guys as well."

The band name comes from a woman of legend called Hatchet Molly. Some stories place her in the 1600s among the Salem witches, and others have her living during the Civil War. What's consistent in her story is that she got her name because she would chop the heads off of guys after making love to them. Molly is often said to be a prostitute who would sometimes chop off other parts before severing the head.

Flirtin' With Disaster shows up in these movies:
Monster (2003)
Suspect Zero (2004)
The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005)
Straw Dogs (2011)

And these TV shows:
King Of The Hill ("Queasy Rider" - 2003)
My Name Is Earl ("My Name Is Inmate #28301-016" - 2007)
iZombie ("Death of a Car Salesman" - 2019)

Molly Hatchet
Danny Joe Brown (Flirtin') Jimmy Farrar (Beatin') – vocals
Dave Hlubek – guitar
Steve Holland – guitar
Duane Roland – guitar
Banner Thomas – bass guitar
Bruce Crump – drums

Additional musicians
Tom Werman – percussion
Jai Winding – keyboard