Check Out The Rhino Release! - As several have stated, the original lp and this cd contain a condensed program of the original show. BUT, Rhino s Handmade series is a numbered, limited, 2 cd set of two complete shows! Yes, it s 2 nights of Raunch n Roll! Some songs are repeated, but there s plenty of additional material exclusive for each night. Unfortunately, it doesn t look as though Amazon carries the Rhino release, but I believe it s still available at Rhino Handmade web site.The remastering is quite good for what it is (Raunch n Roll), though I still prefer the sound of the orginal vinyl--hence the 3 stars. Forgetting the comparison to the lp, the Rhino edition is the best, and the one to buy!
Kick-Ass Rock & Roll! - Thank you BOA for releasing this on CD! Like an earlier reviewer, I too saw them on Don Kirshner s Rock Concert back in the day and ran out to buy this album. This is everything a live rock & roll record should be. You can almost feel the energy emitting from this this live collection. Tommy A. was simply on fire behind the kit during these shows! The only reason I gave the CD 4 stars instead of 5 is because of it s length. I agree with another reviewer that they really should have added some tracks. Atlantic Records (this was originally released on their Atco label) MUST have some additional live cuts collecting dust in a vault from this tour. I own a lot of well done live albums from the 70 s, but this one absolutely smokes from start to finish!
BEST LIVE ALBUM EVER!!! - I was lucky enough to see these guys live twice in the early 70 s and once in the mid 80 s. Always raw, always wild and lots of fun! Jim Dandy Mangrum s antics on stage always a blast to watch. This release comes as close as possible to the energy of being there. Every song on here blows the studio versions out of the water! Southern hills party rock at it s best. HOT AND NASTY never sounded so good, WHEN ELECTRICITY CAME TO ARKANSAS, and HOT ROD are true gems. I ve heard THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST, hailed many times as the best live album ever made, but for power, energy, and pure kick ass fun, I believe this one leaves the ALLMAN s offering far behind in the dust. And that is not meant as an insult to the ALLMAN BROTHERS, I have the afore mentioned album on c.d., and enjoy it. It just doesn t live up to this one. The only flaw with this c.d. is that it comes in at only a little over 33 minutes. Short by today s c.d. standards. But then again, I m not sure adding filler and fluff would have really been an improvement to an already great performance.Thanks,Tom
Follow me and find - your way back through time! - If you believe... OK, I ll admit it, there was a time back when I was but a wee kid, that my idea of rock and roll was stuff like Down By The Lazy River by the Osmond Brothers. Then, late one night, a miracle happened! I saw Black Oak Arkansas on one of the old Don Kirshner or Midnight Special concert programs and it changed my life. And yes, 30 some odd (!) years later I still say that was for the good.Raunch and Roll was one of the very first albums I ever bought (along with Machine Head and Band of Gypsies) and it still ranks as one of my all time favorite releases.This album is everything that rock and roll ought to be - it s loud, rude, crude, and socially unacceptable (to borrow lyrics from a later BOA song). These guys rocked, they may not have been the most accomplished of musicians, and while you can call me a backwoods uneducated mutant hillbilly, I ll take the guitar tandem of Stan Knight and Harvey Jett over those two guys in Aerosmith any day.BOA was one of the greatest live acts in rock history and this captures them at their peak. Jim Dandy set the standard for front men and, for those who may have only known of him from his days with Ozzy or Whitesnake (or Pat Travers, or Nugent, or Gary Moore, Vinnie Moore, Thin Lizzy, etc...) Tommy Aldridge s blueprint for his incredible drum solos was captured live here, first!Tom Dowd s production was stellar and, IMHO, is one of the biggest differences between RnR and their later (and lesser) live album, Live Mutha.The only thing wrong with RnR is that it screams for a full blown remastering job. Not that there s anything wrong with the sound quality. It s just that RnR went Gold, the fact that it hasn t been re-released with bonus tracks is a cryin shame.
Alllllll Riiiiiiiiiiiight! - One of the great party bands of the 70 s!! I saw them several times live in the early 70 s and the energy they dispayed on stage puts many of the acts today to shame. They might not have been the prettiest bands around but for good old Southern rock, they couldn`t be beat. Rock on Jim Dandy and the gang!!!