Customer Reviews

Golden Classics

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Best Black Betty cover since the original Led Belly. Everybody has heard someone try to redo this rock steady/southern rock style of Black Betty, but nobody has yet come close to making a version this cool in over 20 years. The rest of the songs... well, they're okay, but they are a one hit wonder. I heard an improbable rumor that the 404 error that you see when your browser encounters an obsolete website link was originally coded by a Ram Jam fan. Unlikely, but amusing!

Golden classics gives you a chance to hear BB all you want, but if you stop there, you're missing out! Far as I know, Ram Jam only had two albums - the self-titled debut and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram. Both were good and both were overlooked. Here, you get what I think were the marginal Let It All Out, Right On The Money, 404, and I Should Have Known. They're OK - but that's 4 of 11 that are OK. The rest are at least good..

All For The Love, High Steppin, Hey Boogie Woman, and Overloaded are good. The rest are pretty much barnburners. You know about Black Betty. Keep Your Hands On The Wheel and Too Bad On Your Birthday round it out.

What ever happened the these guys? By not listening beyond Black Betty, we lost out on what could've been a spectacular hit-producing machine! And not one that followed all the rules, either. That was what stood out about them - and maybe what ultimately killed them.

This album (CD, release, whatever they're called now) as with ANY Ram Jam release is AT LEAST four-and a half out of five stars!

Thank goodness for the internet, is all I have to say. I MAY have not otherwise ever found all the info I need to know about Ram Jam. Was it just me or did any of you ever 'always' assume their sole hit "Black Betty" was a Black Oak Arkansas song? Anyway, most of these eleven tracks appear to be off their self-titled 1977 debut album. They had a follow-up after that, 'Portrait Of The Artist' in 1978, then I guess they simply called it a day. Tunes here that I liked best are the previously mentioned "Black Betty", "Let It All Hang Out", "404" and the jamming "Hey Boogie Woman". Basically, just all around decent '70's hard rock. Nothing special, but okay. Line-up: Myke Scavone - vocals, former Lemon Pipers member Bill Barlett - guitar, Howard Blauvelt (R.I.P.) - bass and Pete Charles - drums. Might appeal to fans of Foghat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Oak and maybe The Sweet.

i bought it for black betty....bill bartlett was with a band in ohio, indy, etc in the 70's , called Starstruck....iwatched him and (them) play it for years and then he went with a band that called themselves Ram Jam and heard it on my way to New Orleans.....wonderful....just wonderful....it is fantastic! There is no other song quite like it and the way they play it...different from led belly.....

For the same money buy the not yet released "very best of Ram Jam" that not only gives you this cd's 1977 recording, but the better 1978 recording.

The first recording (Tracks 1 - 10) have good songs to back up the hit Black Betty. The second recording has superior songs throughout. Much harder, better played and varied.

Overall the cd sounds like 70's Aerosmith, Nugent with a touch of Paul Kossoff (FREE) type guitar thrown in on tracks 11

By the way, why does Amazon include a 'NO' in 'was this review helpful to you?'. People are only human and don't like opinions that differ from themselves, thus the 'NO' makes it too easy express such displeasure.

Are they trying to discourage negative reviews, hence not purchase the CD. Such reviews only help a person in not being dissatisfied a product that received positive reviews

I only bought this cd for the one song, "Black Betty" but was suprised when I heard a few other really good songs. Overall I was pleased with this purchase and I would buy from this seller again.

I had this album years ago and alwas liked it! But I had not been able to find it on CD untill I looked here. If your around the 40 year mark and like rock thats a little off the beaten path I think you wiil like this. My freind and I still use some of the sayings from this album such as ( to bad on your birthday)

Black Betty is a song probally everyone has heard in the 70's but nobody knows its name or who sung it. Its definately a one hit wonder. It might be worth checking out the rest of the album just for that.