In The Land Of FREE we still Keep on Rockin'

It's Not Dark Yet

Plain and Fancy

Music gives soul to universe, wings to mind, flight to imagination, charm to sadness, and life to everything.

Plato

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Black Oak Arkansas - The Complete Raunch 'N' Roll (1973 us, great southern rock, double disc live set)



It can't quite be said that 1973's Raunch 'N' Roll Live is the album that made Black Oak Arkansas -- it did not chart as highly as records that immediately followed it, nor did it have a hit; in fact, it was released a year before they had their first hit single in "Jim Dandy" -- but it is the definitive BOA album, the one that is widely regarded to capture the essence of the band.

That's because it did what all good live albums should do: it boiled the group's erratic studio albums down to the best songs, and then it presented the band in full flight. And Black Oak Arkansas was always a band known for its live shows, due as much to the antics of proto-David Lee Roth frontman Jim Dandy Mangrum as due to the group's dirty Southern boogie. It wasn't to everybody's taste -- some loved the sleaze the group spit out, some thought Jim Dandy was jive, some just wished they were as nasty as they wanted to be -- but Raunch 'N' Roll Live was the place to decide whether you liked the band or not.

The same could be said of Rhino Handmade's 2007 expanded double-disc reissue of the album, but this deluxe set, now titled The Complete Raunch 'N' Roll Live, ain't for neophytes, it's for those who have loved the album for decades and want to hear some more of where that came from. And that's what this set provides: it contains the entirety of the two gigs -- a show in Portland, OR, on December 1, 1972, and a show in Seattle the following night (oddly enough, both concerts were given at venues called the Paramount Theatre) -- that provided the raw material for the initial single LP, which is a whole lot of boogie.

This kind of sprawl takes away from one of the chief appeals of the original Raunch 'N' Roll Live -- namely, that it was a lean-and-mean, down-and-dirty LP. Now, it takes its time, with more booze and blooze and Jim Dandy patter, which may wind up having the effect of wearing out all but the most ardent fan. But for those fans, this is sure to be something close to a dream come true.
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine


Tracks
Over Here
1. Gettin' Kinda Cocky - 4:04
2. Fever in My Mind - 4:04
3. Uncle Lijiah - 4:11
4. Keep the Faith - 3:58
5. Mutants of the Monster - 6:08
6. Hot Rod - 3:21
7. Lord Have Mercy on My Soul - 5:45
8. Full Moon Ride - 4:19
9. When Electricity Came to Arkansas - 5:28
10.Dixie (Traditional) - 4:00
11.Hot and Nasty - 4:34
12.Up - 15:27
13.Movin' - 5:35


Way Over Yonder
1. Gettin' Kinda Cocky - 3:55
2. Fever in My Mind - 4:04
3. Uncle Lijiah - 3:27
4. Gigolo - 3:49
5. Mutants of the Monster - 6:26
6. Hot Rod - 5:41
7. Movin' - 4:37
8. Full Moon Ride - 4:09
9. When Electricity Came to Arkansas - 8:34
10.Hot and Nasty - 4:27
11.Up - 12:23
All songs by Black Oak Arkansas except track (from Disc-1) #10.Dixie.

Black Oak Arkansas
*Tommy Aldridge - Drums
*Jim Dandy - Scrubboard, Vocals
*Pat Daugherty - Bass, Vocals
*Harvey Jett - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Rick Reynolds - 12 String Guitar, Vocals
*Stanley Knight - Lead Guitar, Vocals

1971 Black Oak Arkansas
1973 High On The Hog
1976 Balls Of Fire 

Free Text

7 comments:

  1. As many people,i have this on vinyl, but this expanded version is very welcome.I'm a great fan of Black Oak Arkansas, all their records are good (until "Race with the devil"), but my favorite studio album is "Keep The Faith".Many Thanks MARIOS for the sharing.
    PS: For fans, i strongly recommend the DVD " The Early 30 Years", with Extracts video of early period and great concert in London Royal Albert Hall '75 (later reissue in a CD+DVD), it shows a overview of their great live performance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent live album and their best release. Thanks Marios for the expanded version.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Many thanks"MARIOS"for this expanded live album of one of my favourite band.I'm glad to finaly listen to this...

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you very much for the blog and safety of links. GOOD LUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for this one. The account for this link doesn't work anymore -- can you please provide the download password?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Horst, "Black Oak Arkansas - The Complete Raunch 'N' Roll", updated...

    ReplyDelete