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THE OAK RIDGE BOYS GREATEST HITS
The Oak Ridge Boys have been with MCA Records for 3+ years and they already have enough hits to fill a greatest hits compilation! And these are legitimate hits, not just songs picked off of the records. The Oak Ridge Boys have had a fantastic run since their first country album in 1977, and this collection proves it.
From the fantastic opening song "You're The One" to "Dream On", "Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight", "Come On In", "Sail Away" and "Y'all Come Back Saloon", plus others, this album is an absolute can't-miss!
The Oak have established themselves as a superstar country act, with quality songs and dynamite harmonies....a combination many country acts cannot boast. That is why the Oak Ridge Boys have been so successful and will continue to be for many years to come.
Outstanding Cuts:
all
Cut Outs:
none
---Edward Wille
The Oaks had some mega-success with MCA for their first three years there, so
it was imperative that the label released their first Greatest Hits album in
1980. This album is not to be confused with the Greatest Hits: Vocal Group of
the Year album from 1978, which was released by Harvest House Publishing in
the wake of the Oaks winning Vocal Group of the Year, and had many songs in
partial.
This album features all of the Oaks’ U.S. #1 hits up until this point. (“Easy" was not on here since it was not released as a single in the U.S., though it was a Top 40 Pop hit in Australia. “Beautiful You" was not yet a hit when this compilation was released, and it made “Greatest Hits 2“ four years later.) To go into reviews of all these songs would be rather redundant, as I have gone into reviews of these songs on their album’s pages. However, there is not a bad song on this compilation, and all ten of the songs on this album were huge hits for the Oaks from 1977-1980.
“Greatest Hits” went Gold on February 4, 1981, and then went PLATINUM on April 15, 1982. It was a huge Country Album Chart success, reaching #3 on the Cashbox Country Albums Chart, and #5 on the Billboard Country Albums Charts. This compilation also did quite well on the Pop Albums Charts, reaching #47 on the Cashbos Pop Albums Chart, and #99 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart.
This is a CD that can be found for cheap on eBay and Amazon, isn’t a bad one to purchase, if you want a decent review of the Oaks’ early ABC-MCA years. However, if you are looking for a more thorough review of the Oaks’ MCA years, I would suggest purchasing the double album, “Gold”, which, as Ed says, is the best overview of the Oaks’ MCA years, though you will pay a little more for it.
My Favorite Tracks:
All of them are great
Tracks I Didn’t Care for Much: Try finding one on a Greatest Hits album
---John Vairin (johnvairin@live.com)