Originally recorded in Ohio in the early ’90s, this previously unreleased session is an informal get-together featuring the formidable talents of Dave Schramm, Jeb Loy Nichols, Ricky Barnes and Hank McCoy. While the four men had all recorded individually on the (now-defunct) Okra label with bands such as the Schramms, the Fellow Travelers, the Hoot Owls and the Dead Ringers, their creative strength as the Okra All-Stars was mainly applied to covers of classic country songs.
On the band’s interpretation of “Don’t Laugh”, Jeb Loy Nichols and Hank McCoy approximate the Louvin Brothers’ harmonies with excellent results. Nichols, McCoy and Barnes all do a decent job on “One Of These Days”, with Jeb Loy sounding a great deal like George Jones in his prime. A particularly soulful and expressive singer, Nichols takes the lion’s share of lead vocals here, including his clever reading of Buck Owens’ “I Wouldn’t Live In New York City”.
While Schramm is an ace guitarist and plays brilliantly on every tune, his voice is not nearly as strong as those of his Okra bandmates. Still, he turns in credible vocal performances on tunes such as “She’s Taken All My Toys Away” and “Conqueror’s Song”.
Since this session was something of a free-for-all, Schramm, Nichols and McCoy each take a verse on John Scott Sherril’s much-recorded chestnut “Wild And Blue”. For a rousing finale, the Okra All-Stars stretch the boundaries of convention with their bluegrass version of Prince’s “Purple Rain”, which is actually quite convincing as a country song.
A talented group of singers who clearly knew how to work together without letting their egos get in the way, the Okra All-Stars sound like they were relaxed and having plenty of fun when they made this record. So, how about another one?