Black Oak Arkansas

B.O.A. weren't the most successful Southern rock band but they were easily the most inventive. Highlighted by their signature R&B cover, "Jim Dandy," High On the Hog features the super-funk opener "Swimmin' In Quicksand," which sports the great, hillbilly sleazeball vocals of Jim Mangum and a more authentic "country" feel than most anything by their peers.

Black Oak Arkansas are what you'd logically expect were the Allman Brothers to become
fatally delirious. The band's lead singer, Jim "Dandy" Magnum, is possessed of a voice truly
unrivaled in the animal kingdom, and BOA's other five members do a competent job of
marking time for him. With High on the Hog the band flaunts its hillbilly roots, but alas, the
combination of corn pone and backwoods "musicianship" should prove a mite to... More >

For two years, BOA has toured harder than any band in history, with the biggest booking agent in the country breaking a trail of busted chops in front of them, and they still can't sell out the Academy of Music on a Saturday night. Why might that be? Because unlike most similar bands they have never achieved competence--they are actively untalented, incapable of even an interesting cop. (Grade - D)