Oora [Original recording remastered]

Edgar Broughton Band | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 10, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B0002ZUI8C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,833 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not quite genius, but....., March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oora (Audio CD)

Mention the name of the Edgar Broughton Band to anyone, even the music cognoscenti, and chances are you will be met with blank faces. The Broughtons were never chart-toppers, but made a following in the open-air concerts of the late 60s and early 70s, althought they kept recording into 80s. This album is one of their best, and is one of the finest recordings of the early 70's, in this reviewer's opinion. It's difficult to define, because it ducks in and out of genres - yes, there are some full-tilt rockers on the album (Hi-jack Boogie, Hurricane Man), some beautiful acoustic numbers like the sublime Green Lights, or Rock N' Roller, which wouldn't seem out of place on a similar era Neil Young album, and some mystical mantras, such as Roccococooler, which is trippy without going overboard - more a stream of consciousness. But for all it's diversity, Oora is a brilliant album for its sheer feel-good factor - it's a record for all seasons. What is music? It inspires you. It creates moods and feelings. This album does this perfectly, evoking in the listener a wide range of emotions, from the punch-the-air power chords of 'Things On My Mind' (which is guaranteed to have you singing along by the end), to the unimaginable, quiet understatement of 'Green Lights'(on a par with Neil Young's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart', surely). There's something for everyone here - and if you have a wide taste in music, then you should love it. Although the music speaks for itself, this works equally well as a time capsule of 70's creativity, with the use of backed effects to create added atmosphere reminiscent of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side Of The Moon' opus. But despite the occasionally sorrowful lyrics (for anyone who has ever lost anyone, 'Rock N' Roller' provides "Dark nights, golden lights/Hand in hand together/Sweet breath, fetid death/Nothing lasts forever", with unbearable poignancy), the album has a great sense of humour running through it and underpinning many of the songs, deriding the hippy culture and its inertia which actually gave the Broughtons their break ("You tried to change the world, but you got up far too late/They'd all gone back to bed before you reached the garden gate" - 'Oh!You Crazy Boy'), and blending social comment - slum clearances sung about on 'Eviction' and the dolly- bird models of the day on 'Pretty'. So why should you buy this album? Well apart from its rather impressive cover (the original vinyl on Harvest Records came in a printed plastic bag), if you are looking for an album which you can listen to on a joyously hot summer's day, and feel great to, or something to slide into your CD player in the depths of despair, and feel comforted - then this is the album. Quirky and original, you'll never hear anything quite like this on one disc. Distinctly English, without being as gleefully parochial as The Kinks, its appeal is universal. I've never taken it off the turntable without feeling at least ten times better than when I put it on. This album, and the band who made it, have been criminally underrated for the past three decades. Isn't it time the balance was redressed?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Rounded Jewel, February 13, 2010

By 

Steve Zubal "OXONOXO" (Pine Island FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oora (Audio CD)

This is Edgars' best in my opinion and one of 1973s most unsung albums. There's nothing radio freindly, exept mabye 'Green Lights', so this album got lost in the shuffle of so many great works' being produced at the time. Burried like a treasure! You'll hear alot of great acoustic guitar,...synth sweeps and bleeps on occasion, which is new...female chorus back-up singers...very trippy electric guitars and harmonica...weird/funny/mad/pirate/spacey vocals...like a British version of 'Beefheart' only cooler and warmer like track 6 which has a minstrel sound. Even Arthur Grant adds killer acoustic guitar to one song. It's all here including an all to real gaze into the crystal-ball on 'Hi-Jack Boogie where a 911 type event is eerily plotted. This band was waving a freak-flag with the word 'FREEDOM' written on it in blood! With groups like Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper etc. doing the same, it's a tragedy they never toured the U.S. They might-of turned the tide on the new-wave that 'as we all know' eventually dribbled in! How's this for a mental image 'The Edgar Broughton Band' chanting "Out Demons Out" on the white-house lawn! That gets my vote! I have all of Edgars work 'Inside Out' & 'Superchip' are my other favorites. But you gotta see their DVD 'At Rockpalast' 2006 an absolute must,..But be fore-warned you need to hear it loud! 'Screw the neighbors if they don't like it!...TRACK LIST: 1.Hurricane Man/Rock-n-Roller 2.Roccococooler 3.Eviction 4.Oh You Crazy Boy! 5.Things On My Mind : 6.Exibits From A New Museum/Green Lights 7.Face From A Window/Pretty/Hi-Jack Boogie/Slow Down 8.Capers (bonus)9.Sweet Fallen Angels(mix is a little loud on track 9)

5.0 out of 5 stars Oora for Edgar., June 4, 2010

By 

John Negro (Sydney,Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oora (Audio CD)

This album is a diamond lost in time.
Sure the production is a bit dated but hey it didn't come out yesterday and it is for selected tastes only.
But having said all that it is a wonderful collection of well crafted songs that tell interesting little stories about the war,school days,lost love etc.
Edgar Broughton, his brother and his band are all very capable musicians and it shows on this album in spades. Although the band only reached cult status in their day in my opinion they were as good as any in England during that time, I guess they didn't get the same breaks due to bad management.
If you do decide to buy this album get ready for a roller coaster of intricate melodies,stories,instrumentation and moods in the pop/rock genre.
"Oora is truly a unique album and one of their finest.