Silver Vinyl (Limited to 300)
Side A
1. Mable
2. Wasn’t Very Long
3. Gabriel
4. Cheated
Side B
1. Give It Up
2. Chance
3. Thinkin’ Bout You
4. How Do You Feel
Of the plethora of touted “private press hard rock monsters” out there, very few live up to the swaggering riff-fury of west coast blasters ODA. Commonly known as the “Black Album,” the first clobbering platter by the quartet was released on their own tiny Loud Phonograph Records imprint and now commands large sums–but is actually worth the heavy hype. The band naturally centered around Randy Oda, a multi-talented ax shredder and keyboardist, and the lineup was filled out by his brother Kevin on drum assault, Art Pantoja on lead bellows and rhythm guitar, and galloping bassist Kyle Schneider.
The Oda brothers were born in Alameda County, California, attending Kennedy High School in Richmond, and started the band while still teenagers at the beginning of the 70s. ODA was influenced by hard UK rockers like Deep Purple, Zep, Free, and the Who, and they gigged all over the Bay Area, with Randy garnering comparisons to Jeff Beck’s molten six-string mastery. Their 1971 self-titled LP (aka the Black Album) fully displays their blistering talents, but despite some local airplay on KSAN radio, the band packed it in by ’73.
This would not be the end of the Oda story, as Randy joined CCR’s Tom Fogerty in the outfit Ruby afterwards, laying down his licks on two LPs that flirted with the mainstream, while staying true to his highly electric guitar muse. In 1983, ODA actually reformed for one more LP on Loud Phonograph, entitled Power Of Love. The comeback album delves a little deeper into radio friendly power pop, which makes sense, as in ’82 Oda co-wrote “Think I’m In Love” with Eddie Money (which, let’s face it, is Money’s best song by like a mile). Randy would also collaborate with Fogerty as a duo, and the posthumous Sidekicks album (released after Fogerty passed) listed the clearly-integral Randy Oda as “arranger, composer, guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), keyboards, primary artist, and producer.”
In the 2000s, Randy would start another band with his brother called OPO which means “to lay a foundation” in Hawaiian, and ODA would reform to play a benefit in 2015 along with other obscure and heady/heavy Bay Area rockers like Savage Resurrection and Country Weather (some live footage of the event shows the band still rocking hard).
At last, Riding Easy is legitimately reissuing ODA’s first smoking, gargantuan LP with bonus tracks, so crank this one up in your 70s Camaro with the windows open, and some dirt weed joints a-blazin’.
MABLE cranks up right out of the friggin’ gates with some bellowing meat n’ potatoes hard rawk. Sporting a proto-punkin’ Sonic Rendevous brand of efficient rock bluster, the tune’s infectious, clanging riff is indeed on par with Michigan rokkers like thee 5 or Grand Funk, or maybe the UK’s Megaton or mighty Quo. Randy owns the cut with healthy doses of screaming solo sizzle, and Pantoja’s urgent but melodic vocal sends it home.
WASN’T VERY LONG displays even more cokk-rokkin’ swagger, fueled by a metallic lick not unlike the Pink Fairies’ “I Wish I Was A Girl” played by Cactus. The tune has a build-and-release dynamic that almost places it in the progressive realm, as the southern-fried vocal and screaming guitar rippage gives way to mellow sections of leslie-d and psyched-out intonations.
GABRIEL has a bad ass, guttural Budgie-trudge, but wildly delayed vocal trails and some complicated changes elevate the track to a veritable head anthem, wielded in the way bands like Mournin, Morley Grey, or even Montrose could.
CHEATED oscillates between some sick boogie crud-rock and one dang melodic chorus– in some perfect world, it coulda been a chart topper alongside “Paranoid” or “Strutter.” Even more surprising, it sports a funky, horn-addled break that sounds like Terry Kath and crew at their Chi-towne peak.
GIVE IT UP displays more varied colors from the band, with some rootsy organ and a pleading lyrical delivery. Truly an earworm slice of rural, dirt floor classic rock, somewhere between Crazy Horse and Highway.
CHANCE is another catchy hard rock nugget with snappy drumming, which goes off the tracks into one tranced out middle section. The number is completed by a molten, fuzzed out solo that would make Eddie Van H (or maybe his hero Harvey Mandel) take notice….all in 3:15 perfect pop single time!
ABOUT YOU shows a more sensitive but mournful side of ODA, as it has nearly a garage band bummer-ballad feel (aided by a more “real people” vocal and mellotron-like key textures). The paean culminates in a pained guitar rave up of Stone Harbour-playing-“Freebird” proportions.
HOW DO YOU FEEL (bonus not on vinyl) is dual-creamy-lead nirvana for fans of the mighty Lizzy and Wishbone Ash, but with a punky “stick it to da man” attitude. Darkly deep lyrics also grace the intense and tricky composition.
HARD TIMES (bonus not on vinyl) is a “Stranglehold”-ish cyclic riffer, and betrays a serious Paul Rodgers blooz-bluster oral influence. Its wicked ZZ choogle goes into overdrive, and gives Randy plenty of room for abstract shreddage.
ONE MORE TIME (bonus not on vinyl) surprises with yet another side of ODA, as they attempt a more benign jangly number, with a “doot doot da doo” chorus? It works surprisingly well with Oda’s jazzier guitar moves (and hella phasing), sounding more like a strange outsider-pop private press ala Ryan Trevor or George-Edwards Group.
I GOT A MIND TO GIVE UP LIVING (bonus not on vinyl) is slow burning, bloozrock sizzle of the Freddie King school, laid down with absolute purity ala Peter Green’s Mac. Naturally, the Paul Butterfield cover serves as a showcase for Randy’s adept post Hendrix/Alvin Lee 6-string moves, which display both excess and taste, and some eye-wateringly beautiful tone.
ALL I WANT TO DO (bonus not on vinyl) also has a bluesier feel, and spreads out nicely, placing ODA in the realm of great Bay Area jammers. Accented with spare piano and soaring dual-ax-work, the lament acts as a delightful if not downer finale to one diversely rockin’ LP.
Words by plastic crime wave.
| Pressing: Repress. |
| Original Release: 1973. |
| Genre: Rock. |
| Sub-Genre: Classic / Hard / Progressive. |
| Catalog No: EZRDR-166. |
| Size: 12" Single Record. |