Black Oak Arkansas
Hot & Nasty 
The Best Of Black Oak Arkansas (1993)

Southern rock veterans Black Oak Arkansas never quite achieved the level of success enjoyed by contemporaries like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, but have remained a cult band thanks to their raw, primitive energy and the testosterone-fueled antics of lead vocalist/showman James "Big Jim Dandy" Mangrum. Named for Mangrum's hometown, Black Oak Arkansas eventually built up a solid following through incessant touring and enjoyed a run of ten charting albums between 1971 and 1976. The band also found itself with a Top 30 single in their raunchy cover of a LaVern Baker R&B hit called "Jim Dandy to the Rescue," which became Mangrum's signature song. When album sales dried up, Mangrum re-formed the band with more musically skilled veteran players and continued to tour, although the group's glory days were past.

Channels:		2 (stereo)
Sample Rate:		44.1 KHz
Sample Size:		16 bit
Bit Rate:		320 kbps

Audio Quality:		Very High (Lossy)
Encoder:		LAME 3.98r
Encoder Settings:	Constant Bit Rate 320 kbps (Insane)
Contains:		Album Art, ID Tag [ID3v2.3 (ANSI) & ID3v1.1]

Format:			Mp3
Genre:			Rock		
M3U Playlist:		Yes

Although Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band remain better known today, Black Oak Arkansas was once an important group in the Southern rock scene. This generous compilation provides a solid thumbnail sketch of the group's career, including all their hits and radio favorites plus a generous assortment of album tracks. Black Oak Arkansas were often criticized by the music press for their cartoonish hillbilly image (especially frontman Jim "Dandy" Mangrum's strangled vocal style), but Hot & Nasty: The Best of Black Oak Arkansas reveals that the group's tunes hold up pretty well: their big hit "Jim Dandy" remains a tub-thumping slice of country-rock, and "Keep the Faith" mines similar territory to an equally listenable effect. The group also shows off a surprising funkiness on tracks like "Mutants of the Monster," presented here in a smoking, wah-wah guitar-drenched live version, and "Hot and Nasty," which has a hard-grooving drum beat that's begging to be sampled by a hip-hop group. Other tracks show off the group's chops on country sounds: "When Electricity Came to Arkansas" starts off with a convincing, old-fashioned hoedown (complete with washboard) before moving into its hard rock portion and "Everybody Wants to See Heaven (Nobody Wants to Die)" is a solid slice of country philosophy driven home by an effective bluegrass-style acoustic arrangement. The listener's tolerance for this music will most likely depend on what they think of Jim "Dandy" Mangrum's vocals, but anyone who enjoys the heavier side of country-rock will most likely find something to enjoy on this entertaining, one-of-a-kind disc.

01.Mean Woman (If You Ever Blues)
02.Uncle Elijah
03.Hot And Nasty
04.Lord Have Mercy On My Soul
05.When Electricity Came To Arkansas
06.Keep The Faith
07.Fever In My Mind
08.Hot Rod
09.Gravel Roads
10.Mutants Of The Monster
11.Jim Dandy
12.Happy Hooker
13.Son Of A Gun
14.Dixie
15.Everybody Wants To See Heaven Nobody Wants To Die
16.Diggin' For Gold
17.Taxman
18.So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star


Cheers!