Ozark Mountain

The debut album of a folk-rock band from Bergen, formed in 1971. The name of the group has to do with a gang of criminals from the American Wild West. “Hole-in-the-Wall” - the so-called mountain pass in the county of Johnson (Wyoming), where the criminals had their own shelter. The band’s music is an interesting blend of American country, folk, rock’n’roll and psychedelia. Folk component is emphasized by active use of acoustics and typical violin passages, but at the same time in many tracks there are various keyboards and blues guitar. The frontman of the band Rune Walle later became a member of Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and also played with The Flying Norwegians. In 1978, with a new composition, the band recorded the second album “Rose Of Barcelona”.

Sounds of the Seventies was a 40-volume series issued by Time-Life during the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s, spotlighting pop music of the 1970s. Much like Time-Life's other series chronicling popular music, volumes in the "Sounds of the Seventies" series covered a specific time period, including individual years in some volumes, and different parts of the decade (for instance, the early 1970s) in others; in addition, some volumes covered specific trends, such as music popular on album-oriented rock stations on the FM band.

The series was revived as "AM Gold" in 1995, with a different cover design (early volumes had an artist's drawing of a pocket transistor radio, with later volumes bearing a "gold record" with the year or era spotlighted emblazoned over the top). The first 20 volumes were re-titled issues of volumes from the former "Super Hits" series with identical track lineups, while new volumes covering the mid- and late-1970s (including individual volumes for each of the years 1974-1979) were included.

The series was revived as "AM Gold" in 1995, with a different cover design (early volumes had an artist's drawing of a pocket transistor radio, with later volumes bearing a "gold record" with the year or era spotlighted emblazoned over the top). The first 20 volumes were re-titled issues of volumes from the former "Super Hits" series with identical track lineups, while new volumes covering the mid- and late-1970s (including individual volumes for each of the years 1974-1979) were included.

Sounds of the Seventies was a 38-volume series issued by Time-Life during the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s, spotlighting pop music of the 1970s. Much like Time-Life's other series chronicling popular music, volumes in the "Sounds of the Seventies" series covered a specific time period, including individual years in some volumes, and different parts of the decade (for instance, the early 1970s) in others; in addition, some volumes covered specific trends, such as music popular on album-oriented rock stations on the FM band. Each volume was issued on either compact disc, cassette or (with volumes issued prior to 1991) vinyl record.

Follow-up volumes appeared in 1993 and 1996, extending the time period to 1979 and with additional songs from the 1972-76 period, available on cassette or CD (ALL 25 volumes were issued in both formats). Each volume has twelve songs. Despite the greater capacity of compact discs, the running time of each of the volumes is no longer than the limit of vinyl records in the 1970s, from 38 to 45 minutes long.

It may not be the "ultimate" collection of hits from the 1970's, but this ten disc set does indeed offer 198 of the songs that helped define the decade. Happily, they are all original recordings by the original artists, as they were heard on the radio. True, in a few cases that means the selections are "radio edits" (Rod Stewart's 1971 hit "Maggie May", for example, is missing the 30 second instrumental introduction that was included on the original album, but rarely played over the airwaves), but why quibble? The songs, though not necessarily remastered, all sound great, and the set includes some genuine treasures that have not (yet) been offered on other compilations. Highly recommended!

Wayne Berry - Home at Last (1974) {2016 RCA Japan, SICP 4969}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 236 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 45 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2016 RCA / Sony Music Japan | SICP 4969
Rock / Country Rock / Southern Rock / Country / Folk Rock

'Home at Last' is the solo debut album by Wayne Berry, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter and former member of the folk-rock group Timber. This is arguably one of the greatest "lost" singer-songwriter albums of the 1970s, featuring guest appearances by Johnny Gimble, Charlie McCoy, Ned Doheny, and none other than Jackson Browne. The style of this album can be described as laid-back country rock in the vein of bands like Cowboy or The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Berry is backed by an amazing all-star band of session musicians including, among others, Steely Dan's Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Gordon, David Briggs, Shane Keister, David Paich, Reggie Young, and most of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.