Even though the album’s flow goes quickly into a ballad after the rocking opener, it fits here without distracting the audience. The guitar solo, along with the strong piano by Ron Oates, is heard more in the mix. Duane Allen is vastly underrated on these ballads and shows his vocal talents with smoothness and a soulful sound the listener can feel the emotion whenever he sings on these tracks. “I Wish You Were Here (Oh My Darlin’)” slows the record down to a ballad sound, with producer Ron Chancey’s signature style with his work on the Oak’s ballads at this time, combining an adult contemporary flavor with the strong orchestration which would have fit on pop radio as well as the country stations. Never the less, this is a great opening song for the album, giving a nod to the early 1950s and 1960s vocal groups that made the pop charts, where more of this would be coming on later tracks. The B-side, “Live In Love” was did not get placed on the album, which is a shame, because it is one of the finer rare songs of the group. This single was played on rock radio stations as well, and was a favorite in my junior high music class, where each week students got to bring in a song, either by a 45 record (remember them?) or pick one song from an album to play. The strong saxophone solos throughout the song is a nice touch, shying away from a guitar solo each time, which the listener may expect.
They would not be disappointed hearing the vocals of all the members of the band, starting with Duane Allen and Joe Bonsall, with William Lee Golden coming in on the second parts of the verses, with Richard Sterban joining in at the end to lead into the chorus. The rock rhythm shines for the fans who may have not been country music fans but started to follow the band after the last album’s success. The title track opens with a solid drum beat and electric guitar solo, giving the audience a strong start from the beginning. How do artists recover after putting out a major mega-selling album when they go back into the studio? The group was no strangers to having topping hits in the country market, but with the mainstream music fans waiting for the follow-up to their cross-over album, could the group still deliver, as well as keeping their normal fan base without being viewed as pop “sell outs?” Bobbie Sue answered the questions by a resounding yes in terms of putting out another quality album. The Oak Ridge Boys was known to many on the country charts by the 1980s, but was crossing over onto the pop charts by 1982 with their hits “Elvira” and “I’m Sitting Fancy Free,” which helped the group reach a more mainstream audience and selling out major arenas around the U.S. You can see reviews in that genre written by me in the Retro Review section on the webpage, or see all my published work at my online portfolio at Most will not be in the hard rock/metal genre, but may be on occasion.
Some of these will be well known, and others may have been passed by under the radar. Produced by Ron Chancey.įrom time to time I will be reviewing a release from my childhood or musical past that made an influence on me. Country Albums Charts and #20 on the Billboard 200 charts. Bobbie Sue was released on February 10, 1982, on MCA Records.
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