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OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS – Whippoorwill (Music Video Tribute)

3 September 2010 4 Comments


Ozark Mountain Daredevils “Whooppoorwill” The Car Over The Lake Album A&M Records ~A Music Video Tribute~ They did it again with their third release, and again with David Anderle at the producer’s console. There are some problems – - the two tracks which originally were the album-side openers (“Keep On Churnin’” and “Thin Ice”) are perfunctory exercises in both performance and intention. And it seems they front-loaded the album a bit, as tracks two through six play like a best-of sequence: five absolutely astonishing songs, parading gloriously one after another. Randall Chowning’s “Leatherwood” is peerless, a beautiful countrified paeon to the easy life, with a gorgeous harmonized chorus and an instrumental break straight out of the woods. And when Chowning teams up with Steve Cash for the harp-and-yodelling, oboe-flavored fourstep “Gypsy Forest”, hey – - go on and levitate. I do, every time I hear it. Cash’s and Larry Lee’s airy “If I Only Knew” should have been as big a hit as was “Jackie Blue”. THE CAR OVER THE LAKE ALBUM flags a bit as it goes on, though. The last half isn’t quite as strong as the first but again, it’s relative as all the songs are at least very, very good. The original LP closed with Chowning’s stately, arresting elegy “Whippoorwill”, a fitting closer if ever there were one. The three bonus tracks, originally a flexi released with the LP, aren’t exactly essential and mitigate the closure. They hold up well enough on their own though, so it’s nice to

4 Comments »

  • manfromearth said:

    This may be my favorite OMD song…hmm, but there is Spaceship Orion, Standing on the Rock, Fly Away, Beauty in the River, Gypsy Forest, Look Away, It’ll Shine When it Shines, Walking Down the Road, Lost Cabin, True Believer,,,,ok, it’s one of my favs! The Ozarks were completely unique and that’s why their fans of yesterday still play their music and remember their essence with fondness.

  • pilot9781 said:

    I’ve heard many songs…many….But, I dont think a song has ‘moved me’ as much as this one has……..Amazing, especially the ending of the song…..

  • ozarkmountainregion said:

    This song, among some others, proved the Daredevils to be much more than one of their worst songs – Jackie Blue

  • Ewest1 said:

    Nice visuals that don’t detract from
    the music. A totally unique song.

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