Vanta Black Lalh

After three strong-selling albums in a row, Black Oak Arkansas released Ain't Life Grand to a somewhat cool response. The successes of the past seemed to have afforded the group better recording accommodations, as this 1975 offering sounds vastly superior to anything that preceded it. The material isn't improved, but the performances are tighter, and the mixes are punchy and clear. James "Jim Dandy" Mangrum still dominates the proceedings with his snarling vocals; however, the singer's more annoying ticks are softened a little, making this a very listenable record. Highlights include a decent cover of the Beatles' "Taxman," the uplifting closer "Let Life Be Good to You," and "Keep On," with its pronounced Grateful Dead shading. Outside of their two near-classics, Raunch 'N' Roll Live, and High On the Hog, this just might be the best effort from Mangrum and Black Oak Arkansas.

Black Widow's eponymous second album was a conscious attempt on the band's part to scale back the satanic trappings that had dominated its debut, and, in the process, redirect the media's focus away from the controversy and onto the group's music. Too bad their songwriting vision remained at worst unfocused, at best an enigma: a half-baked amalgam of progressive rock, folk music, British blues, and - least of all - a few very tenuous notions of hard rock and proto-metal that have since erroneously formed a common misconception of the band, due to their business ties to Black Sabbath and, of course, their on and off interest in the dark arts. The last is only really felt here in the creepy, gothic appeal of "Mary Clark," and the closest Black Widow come to really rocking out is with the refreshingly straightforward format of the driving "Wait Until Tomorrow"…