Black Oak Arkansas

Black Oak Arkansas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 25, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B00004SW9P
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,003 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #88 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Classic Rock

Track Listings

1. Uncle Elijah

2. Memories at the Window

3. The Hills of Arkansas

4. I Could Love You

5. Hot and Nasty

6. Singing the Blues

7. Lord Have Mercy on My Soul

8. When Electricity Came to Arkansas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars guilty pleasure, September 1, 2003

By 

L. E Strickler - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Oak Arkansas (Audio CD)

I first purchased this album on cassette way back in 1971 shortly after it was released. The main reason was AM radio was playing "Lord Have Mercy on My Soul" and it really captured my attention. Back then stuff like "Every Picture Tells a Story", "Abraxas" and Jim Morrison's death were the big thing but there was just something about these guys from Black Oak Arkansas.

This first album is pretty good and offers up some good ole southern rock and roll, but I kept going back to the standout song - LHMOMS. Over 30 years later that song still gives me goose bumps and probably will another 30 years hence...if I don't peel off that is. The song wasn't much more than a minor hit and quickly faded into, obscurity. However, BOA later went on to make piles of money with "Jim Dandy to the Rescue" which put these guys and the town they came from (about 600 people?) on the map. And as they say: "the rest is history."

Shortly after the release of this self titled album I was turned on to the likes of Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Tull and a host of other prog rock royalty. But for what its worth, this album, pure and simple as it is will always be one of those guilty pleasures that makes rock music such an enjoyable experience.

Have yourself a little fun, its Jim Dandy!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Debut Album., March 4, 2002

By 

Richard D. Cappetto "RickDC" (Moodus, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Oak Arkansas (Audio CD)

Black Oak was an interesting mix of Hard Rock, Folk, Blue Grass, Southern Rock, Sex, and Religion. They also were a very talented band, Jim Dandy though criticized as a singer has a unique voice that cannot be duplicated by anyone and no one can say otherwise. Rickie Reynolds and Harvey Jett are very good Guitar players, Pat Daugherty a fine Bass player. and Wayne Evens good on drums. These guys laid down [such great] music and Jim Dandy provided the cockiness and showmanship that completed the band (Ask David Lee Roth). This album Black Oak Arkansas was There Debut and is very very good, Highlights are Uncle Elijah Elijah, Hot N Nasty, Lord Have Mercy On My Soul and When Electricity Came To Arkansas. All became concert favorites.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Album that Put Black Oak on the Map, May 9, 2000

By 

TrueBlueBrewCrew (Crystal Lake, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Oak Arkansas (Audio CD)

This is Black Oak Arkansas' rookie effort. It is helped by Mike Pinera's and Lee Dorman's (both ex-Iron Butterfly) excellent production -- in fact, given their past experiences, this is a surprisingly crisp and clean mix. This isn't really southern rock -- this is southern boogie. I know Rolling Stone years ago said that they had three lead guitarists which didn't even add up to one, and that lead singer Jim Dandy sang with marbles in his mouth, but, ( ), I like this album. Starts out with an upbeat stomper in "Uncle Lijah", which has the infamous line "...he jumped in bed with his ma and pa, and told 'em that the devil was in Arkansas." Poe it is not, but in the rock context its pretty good. "Memories at the Window" is probably the only tune in Black Oak's career Dandy really tries to "sing". And not too bad at that. The gut of this album comes on side 2. "Hot and Nasty" has that classic drum intro, and the lead guitars effortlessly slide in and out. "Lord Have Mercy" is an eerie, lost rock classic. The intro monologue actually is entertaining more than self-serving. Finally, "When Electricity Came to Arkansas" is a good, rousing instrumental finale. Remember, Dandy played the scrub-board, and it is in full glory here, as the entire group gets into some real wild banchee screaming and boogieing. Overall, not as good as the live "Raunch and Roll", but quite impressive for a rookie effort.