LINER NOTES
"A Platter Full" is a carefully blended recipe of tasty morsels
from previously recorded Rocky Mountain Oysters albums. Three entrees are
drawn upon to make this new, premium quality, combination platter. Carefully
prepared, these selections show why the Rocky Mountain Oysters became a
South Dakota delicacy.
1979 was a fine year for Rocky Mountain Oysters. It was a good growing season
and saw the Oysters start to cut loose. The smooth blend of Tim Coates,
John Donahoe, Jr., Neil Isaacson, Tom Schaefer and Charlie Smith made for
a robust mixing of talents, creating songs and instrumentals unique to the
Rocky Mountain Oysters. Mixed with original ideas, international flavorings
of celtic, bluegrass, classical, folk, jazz, pop and reggae, the Oysters
simmered on ballads only to turn to a full boil on a fiddle tune.
The first packaged Rocky Mountain Oysters were served to the public in 1980
with the release of "Oyster Stew." Wrapped in plastic they stayed
fresh and could be left out for days! Some preferred them live, so served
on virgin vinyl in a generic cover, they were once again made available
as a take-out item in 1982. To show no compromise on the commercial market,
the album was subtitled, "Contains No Hit Single."
Mike Balak replaced John at harvest time in 1984. Joe Erickson took Tom's
place in January the following year. As supplies of packaged product became
scarce, the final dish was offered before the freeze in '85. "Oysters
In The Shell" was tastefully done and marked the end of a band that
could dish it up just about any way you could want it.
The Rocky Mountain Oysters were featured at many clubs and events throughout
the state of South Dakota and surrounding region, sometimes for a nominal
cost and other times served "on the house." People developed a
hunger for them and asked for extra helpings. The 1982 World's Fair requested
a special serving in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Sioux River Folk Festival,
Black Hills Bluegrass Festival, South Dakota Public Broadcasting and South
Dakota Arts Council asked for a steady diet of Oysters. Not afraid of new
combinations, the Oysters did three highly successful concerts by concocting
gourmet cooking styles with the Dakota String Quartet and one with classical
guitarist Chris Johnson. Chris is an important ingredient in two songs on
"A Platter Full."
Since the first release of prairie pearls from the Rocky Mountain Oysters,
new technologies have been developed. The current technology turns this
compilation of tasty tidbits into a platter that's better than the original.
"A Platter Full" shows that some things do get sweeter with age.