"All songs on Omar’s Picks represent a snapshot of influences and heroes throughout my career and are special to me for one reason or another."

 

Release date: October 2011

 

Release Notes:

My career has been a long and rich journey from the time I began playing at twelve years old until the present day. It has been a blast from 1962 until now. All songs on Omar’s Picks represent a snapshot of influences and heroes throughout my career and are special to me for one reason or another.

My CD, Courts Of Lu Lu, was named after a Blues laundromat in my hometown of McComb, Mississippi. We would gather there do to laundry, eat turkey legs and socialize with the locals. Do It For Daddy and I’m Wild About You were selected because they remind me of those days from my childhood, even though the songs were written many years later.

Muddy Springs Road, released in 1995, is the name of the road in Magnolia, MS, where my parents lived most of their later years in life. I picked Life Without You because I like that song a lot and it pinpoints some of the loss and emptiness in my life that I have had to deal with.

I co-wrote Sugar Ditch from World Wide Open (1996) with Michael Dan Ehmig, who is one of my all-time favorite co-writers. Our collaboration led to Muddy Springs Road and Stone Cold Blues which are both included in this collection. I chose Work Song from Swing Land (1999) because recording with David “Fathead” Newman was one of the greatest highlights of my career.

Two of my favorite songs, Girl’s Got Rhythm and Wall Of Pride, were co-written with my friend and manager, Kevin Wommack. Wall Of Pride is about the pride I have in my family heritage amd my southern Mississippi roots.

Built For Comfort by Willie Dixon was recorded in Denmark with my friends Rock Nalle and Magic Slim. I identify with the lyrics of the song because I’m 300 pounds of muscle and joy and I’m certainly not built for speed!

The Essential Omar & The Howlers Collection includes songs that are considired my biggest hits combined with songs that 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. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I enjoyed selecting the material

Omar Dykes

 

Tracklist:

DISC 1 – Best Of…

1. Magic Man

1. East Side Blues
2. Border Girl
3. Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty
4. Bad Seed
5. Wall Of Pride
6. Mississippi Hoo Doo Man
7. Big Chief Pontiac
8. Tears Like Rain
9. Monkey Land
10. Snake Oil Doctor
11. Muddy Springs Road
12. Boogie Man
13. You Made Me Laugh
14. Jimmy Reed Highway

 

DISC 2 – Omar’s Picks

1. I Want You
2. Snake Rhythm Rock
3. Burn It To The Ground
4. Got My Heart Set On You
5. Work Song
6. Alligator Wine
7. Do It For Daddy
8. I’m Wild About You
9. That’s Your Daddy Yaddy Yo
10. Stone Cold Blues
11. Girl’s Got Rhythm
12. Life Without You
13. World Of Trouble
14. Sugar Ditch
15. Built For Comfort