O.A.R. Album: “34th & 8th”

This was the first O.A.R. cd I bought after listening to a few live songs by them in the car with a friend. It was the last cd on the shelf, and I was looking for one of their live ones anyway so i grabbed it. It was possibly one of the best decisions i ever made.

The first track immediately caught my attention as it kept building up more and more until finally Marc came in singing "darlinnn!" at the top of his lungs. I was hooked from that moment on. I listened to the entire album, both discs, all the way through, and I was completely blown away. These guys are amazing, and if you don't hear it, I feel sorry for you. Every single one of these musicians is incredibly talented, and they all get plenty of chances to show off. I love a good saxaphone though, so for me every time their sax player, Jerry Depizzo played one of his solo's, he completely stole the show.

I bought three more of their cd's within a week, and after listening to all of them, i'd have to say this is still my favorite, followed closely by Any Time Now. You need to check these guys out. You won't regret it.

I love this band to death. They are my favorite band, I've followed them since day 1 and have been to numerous amount of live concerts. THIS CD IS AMAZING. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! DVD is just as great! I hope they're around for another 20 years.

STANDOUT TRACKS: POKER, MR. BROWN, SO MOVED ON, RIGHT ON TIME, KING OF THE THING, CITY ON DOWN/DELICATE FEW, OLD MAN TIME.

O.A.R (Of A Revolution), started out around 1997 as a frat house rock band in Ohio, now in 2004 here they are w/ their 6th album and already their 2nd double disc live album. I find this to be quite a feat by today standards considering sometimes there are 3 or 4 year waiting periods between albums. They dont rely on MTV or radio spinning their singles 24/7, they got to where they are by word of mouth by playing college after college and club after club, kids would tell their friends and they'd bring them the next time and that cycle just keeps going on and on

Now for the record..Disc 1 starts w/ "Dareh Meyod"...very cool tune, which leads into "About Mr. Brown", which is a huge fan favorite". "Wonderful Day" is a song only heard live and we can only anticipate when they finally lay this track down on studio tape. "Black Rock" another great song. "Missing Pieces" is a song that simply rocks here and is a fun song. "Ran Away To the top of the world today" and "old man time" keep the party going and then to close out the cd, they kick through an amazing version of "City on down/delicate few"

Disc 2 kicks off w/ "Right on Time", a good song that makes a lot of sense (just listen 2 it). They pull out some older songs which still manage to please nonetheless like "Someone in the road", "king of the thing", "here's to you", and "Toy Store". "whose chariot" takes on a whole new life live. "Patiently" is another on of those "cant wait to hear them record a studio version of this song". "i feel home" and "that was a crazy game of poker"....i wont even TRY to describe those songs

All in all a great record, as always there are songs id love to have on here like hey girl, destination, coalminer, revisited, conquering fools but no complaints here. These guys are AMAZING live, i saw them w/ some good friends this summer (j.n, s.c, c.l, j.e, p.d, b.m), 2,000 people outside for a couple of hours having the time of their lives w/ the fine music of O.A.R, but enough from me....LISTEN TO THE RECORD

I finally went and saw the band O.A.R. the other day at San Diego State University. I had been hearing about this band all year from my friends, but have only heard a handful of songs off the good old iPod. As a fan of jam bands I was impressed by O.A.R.s stage presence and posititive attitude. They were a little weak instrumentally, but overall I had a great time! Anyways this review is about the album 34th & 8th. After seeing the band live I let this album pop my O.A.R. CD collection cherry. After listening to it a bunch something sounds like it is missing. There are not many exciting songs and I swear the singer is going to ruin his vocal folds. I enjoy the album every now and then, but will not add it to my top albums to play. I think the playlist is lacking and I wish the lead guitarist (not the singer) would be less timid, both live and on the album. If you want an awesome Jam band, try Umphrey's McGee or the fathers of it all, The Grateful Dead.

I think this CD is their best live release yet. The quality of the sound is exceptional, and this band is amazing live. When you combine great quality with a great live band you get an exceptional CD. This would be a great present for anyone over the holidays.

David