For better than three decades now, the Austin-based Omar & the Howlers have thrilled audiences worldwide with their high-octane blend of roots-rock, hard-edged blues, and Texas soul. While the band enjoyed a brief notoriety during the Stevie Ray Vaughan-led blues-rock boom of the 1980s with the major-label release of 1987's acclaimed Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty, they've mostly gone the independent route since, releasing a dozen studio and live albums on labels like Bullseye Blues, Black Top Records, Watermelon Records, and most recently, for Ruf Records.
On February 14, 2012 Ruf Records will release Essential Collection, a two-disc, 30-song compilation album that takes a look back at the lengthy career of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Omar Kent Dykes and his band the Howlers. The album is essentially a career-spanning retrospective, beginning with the songs "Magic Man," "Border Girl," and "East Side Blues" from the band's 1984 sophomore album I Told You So, and running through 2004's Boogie Man, their last studio album.
The first CD of the set features 15 fan favorites, including the aforementioned three songs as well as gems like "Hard Times In The Land of Plenty," "Muddy Springs Road," and "Jimmy Reed Highway," from Dykes' 2008 collaboration with guitarist Jimmie Vaughan. The second CD of Essential Collection offers up 15 of Omar's favorite moments with the band, songs that "represent a snapshot of influences and heroes throughout my career and are special to me for one reason or another," says Dykes in a press release for the album. Among those faves are tracks like "Snake Rhythm Rock," "Stone Cold Blues," and "Alligator Wine." The performances on the two CDs have been culled from both studio and live albums.
"My career has been a long and rich journey from the time I began playing at 12 years old until the present day," says Dykes in the album's liner notes. "It has been a blast from 1962 until now. The Essential Omar & the Howlers includes songs that are considered my biggest hits combined with songs I believe to be some of my best work. The collection compiles my entire life's work in the music industry: writing, recording, touring and making the blues rock for over five decades."
Related content: Omar Kent Dykes and Jimmie Vaughan - On The Jimmy Reed Highway CD review
Photo courtesy Ruf Records
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