Lost Cabin Sessions

Ozark Mountain Daredevils

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 21, 2003)
• Original Release Date: October 21, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Fontana
• ASIN: B0000DD53V
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,751 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A polished cache of early demos, November 26, 2003

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

A few years before they hit the big time with "Jackie Blue," the Ozark Mountain Daredevils were a group of friends who gathered together to make music in a Springfield, Missouri pizza parlor. With surprising quickness the aggregation turned into a group and found themselves in a local 8-track studio recording some very polished demos. From the start the band operated democratically, giving several members an opportunity to contribute songs and lead vocals. Even still, they forged a unified country-rock sound, taking in the smoothness of Firefall, but with a hint of Southern boogie and a bluesy, hippie edge ala Brewer & Shipley.

Titles such as "Chicken Train," "Leatherwood," "Keep on Chrunin'," "You Know Like I Know," and "Fly Away From Home" would turn up in re-recorded form on the Devils' subsequent albums for A&M, but many of these songs never made it past this demo stage. Calling these "demos" is a bit misleading, given their finished arrangements and impressive production quality. As the band demonstrated across their later catalog, they brought together a broad range of influences, from the folky guitar strumming of "Rainbird" and the softer pop sounds of "You Know Like I Know" (shades lot of Todd Rundgren's "Hello It's Me" period), to the San Francisco ballroom blues of "Feelin' Good."

It's hard to imagine many bands (then or now) having this many good songs (not to mention the good taste to cover "A Satisfied Mind") so early in their career; not to mention the talent to record such fine sounding demos. Fans of the band's better known albums will positively love this release, and those familiar only with "Jackie Blue" may very well become fans after a spin through these tracks.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Message From The Reissue Producer, November 14, 2003

By	Cary E. Mansfield (Studio City, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were among the most popular of mid-'70s country-rock bands, slotting in chronologically between The Eagles and Firefall. As exponents of '70s country-rock, the group rode a wave of success for five years on A&M Records with hits such as "Jackie Blue," "Following The Way I Feel," "Fly Away Home" and "If You Want to Get to Heaven." This collection features long lost recordings that were made during their early days together. Sometime during that period, they assembled a little eight-track studio in Springfield, and recorded 28 songs over a thirteen-hour day. The recordings on this CD represent that period, many from that very day--before the band even had a name. These are the recordings that impressed A&M Records enough to sign them to a long-tem contact. Fans have often requested these legendary Lost Cabin Sessions over the years, but up until now have been unavailable. This collection was compiled with the full cooperation of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Six of the 18 tracks were later re-recorded for some of their best selling A&M albums. All 18 tracks have never been available on CD.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally Surprised and pleased, April 8, 2005

By	G. Rogers "railgeek" (DeepInTheHeartOf, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I grew up in the home town of the Daredevils, and I was going to college at SMSU when the Daredevils were just getting things together. American Artists Studios, where this was recorded, was a small but effective recording studio in Springfield, and it was the only thing that artists had in the area. (American Artists also did things like local HS Band concerts, and the like.) However, that sure didn't hurt the sound quality of this compilation.
"Pilot" music such as this first compilation is usually somewhat scant with good cuts scattered about. I was somewhat surprised by some of the songs on this album that never got otherwise released. It's full, with 18 cuts, and almost every one has some value. Some of the cuts became big releases, and it's interesting to hear how they originally did them. Others that didn't get otherwise released will really surprise you in how good they were.
This will be enjoyable music to Daredevil fans, new and old. If you are a OMD fan, you won't want to miss out on this one that has quite a bit of good music that even many die hard Daredevil fans might not have even heard yet.