"Mississippi Moon" by King's X

King's X were poised to hit it big as the 80s came to a close, but their diverse musical styles created a lot of confusion among marketing types. They were hard rock, funk, pop, and progressive rock all rolled into one. A lot of their work has religious overtones. One of the singers sounds like Jimi Hendrix while the other sounds like John Lennon. One track will be a plodding piece with crushing guitars and the next track will be a sunny song featuring glorious harmonies.

Hard rock was thriving in the late 80s, and King's X leveraged their heavy sound to gain airplay with great tunes like "Goldilox" and "Over My Head," a rocking tribute to a grandmother's lullaby. The band took a sharp turn into pop rock with the Beatles influenced "It's Love" in 1990, which is probably their best known tune. But then they took another turn, away from the radio-friendly stuff with 1992's grungy "Black Flag," and it cost them dearly.

Regardless of never having a single on the Top 100, the band has made a dozen studio records and the members have been heavily in engaged in solo efforts and side projects like the one we've recently noted, Jughead.

There's a little something for everyone in the band's catalogue, you just have to find the songs that cater to the musical style you like best. I dig the variety, but I think the band shines the most when they showcase their impressive harmonies and knack for melody, like in "Mississippi Moon," which comes from their 1996 album, "Ear Candy."