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NEWSLETTER #145
Second Time Around
 Vintage Rock 'n' Roll & Rockabilly
 

  

 

DVD
 
THE TEXAS TORNADOS New West 8013 Live From Austin, Texas ● DVD $17.98
78 min, essential
This is the complete performance recorded for Austin City Limits 10/16/90 with the all-star Tex Mex group led by Doug Sahm & featuring Freddie Fender, Augie Meyers & Flaco Jimenez. Look back in this issue a column or 2 to find my review of this performance on CD. If the CD was exhilarating, then the DVD is a true party! To be able to watch the band is great, & add to that 5:1 surround sound blasting & you can't help but feel joy! Sounds like the DVD is a little more complete, too, with more between song banter. (GM)

 

COMPACT DISCS
 
ART ADAMS Collector 4477 Rock Crazy Baby ● CD $16.98
30 tracks,59 mins, highly recommended
Art Adams is best known for his two classic singles on the Cherry label which are rockabilly of the highest order and have been reissued many times. Indefatigable rockabilly researcher Cees Klop of Collector has turned up tapes of Art and his band the Rhythm Knights rehearsing at Art's home in the 50s and as a result has added 22 more tracks to Adams' slim discography! The tracks on the rehearsal tapes are mostly rock 'n' roll favorites (Good Rockin' Tonight/ Mystery Train/ Blue Suede Shoes/ Let's Have A Party/ Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, etc) and some good Adams originals (Teeange Bum/ Down In Tennessee/ She's From Tennessee, etc). The rehearsal performances are, not surprisingly, pretty unpolished with occasional flubs, lyric mixups, etc. but rock like crazy with some fine guitar work from Eddie Weil and are a lot better than issued material by some other artists. Considering the circumstances of the recording the sound quality is excellent. There are also some alternate takes of his issued songs and a radio interview with Art & the band from 1959. The 16 page booklet includes informative notes, much of it in Art's own words and includes some great vintage photos. (FS)

 
DAVIE ALLEN & THE ARROWS Sundazed 6218 Blues Theme ● CD $12.98
13 tracks, 24 min, essential
CD issue of Tower 5078 from 1967. Davie Allen gets a real set of Arrows and turns from surf hero to King of the Fuzz Guitar. I'm prejudiced about this LP as it was a fave of mine in my teens - even was in a group that did covers of three of the tunes! Blues Theme (not a blues, but named after the character Blue in "The Wild Angels", whose soundtrack this originally was on) was a huge hit on the west coast & did well in the national charts. Action In The Streets was also instrumentally Make Love Not War on the Teenage Rebellion soundtrack. Other tunes include King Fuzz/ Fuzz Theme/ Sorry 'Bout That (whose demo is on the "Apache '65" CD) & great versions of Ghost Riders In The Sky/ Theme From Thunderball and William Tell '67. The three bonus tracks are fine never-issued covers of Theme From "A Summer Place"/ High Noon & Runaway. Liner notes by Deke Dickerson. (GM)

 
CHUCK BERRY Chess 01685 After School Session ● CD $9.98
15 tracks, 41 mins, highly recommended
Newly remastered version of Chuck's first Chess album 1426 originally issued in 1957 with three bonus tracks. All of Chuck's early albums were loaded with hits, later to become standards for millions of rock bands. In this case there's School Day/ Too Much Monkey Business/ No Money Down/ Brown Eyed Handsome Man. Then again you always have the lesser known tracks - Wee Wee Hours/ Havana Moon/ Berry Pickin', etc. To gild the lily the three bonus tracks are all classics - You Can't Catch Me/ Thirty Days (To Come Home) and Maybelline. Mastering is superb with Berry voice and groundbreaking guitar and Johnny Johnson's piano coming through clear as a bell. Booklet has original cover and back liner plus new notes and discographical info. (FS)

 
TOOTER BOATMAN Collector CLCD 4408 Rockin' ● CD $16.98
25 cut CD featuring one of the original Texas wildmen, Tooter Boatman, along with his great band from the late 50's, the Chapperals. This has most of the rockers from the 3 White Label LP's like Susie's House/ Life Begins At 4 O'Clock/ They Won't Let Me In/ Teenage Hangout , etc. and sweetens the pot with 10 alternate, previously unreleased versions plus a trio of previously unreleased instrumentals - Moonshot/ Tooter's Boogie/ Blow It Up Boogie . Plenty of crazy rockin' on this one with some outrageous hammering, lightnin' fast pickin' and scorching sax breaks. Beer Rock Pt. 2/ The Will Of Love/ Rock It Up/ Big Deal , etc. (AE)
TOOTER BOATMAN: Beer Rock/ Big Deal/ Blow It Up Boogie/ Depression Blues, take 1/ Gonna Come A Time/ Hey little Missy/ I'm With You/ Life Begins At 4 O'Clock/ Moonshot/ More And More/ Rock It Up/ Stagger Lee/ Susie's House/ Teenage Hangout/ The Other Me/ The Will Of Love/ They Won't Let Me In/ Thunder and Lightning/ Tooter's Boogie/ Uh!/ Wayward Wind/ When The Party's Over/ Who Dat/ Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

 
EDDIE COCHRAN Rockstar RSRCD 026 Portrait Of A Legend ● CD $21.98
35 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
Continuing Rockstar's preservation of the legacy of pioneer rocker Eddie Cochran comes this CD which is an expanded version of their 16 track LP of the same name from 1984 with 19 additional sides all drawn from the LIberty vaults including several items that have never been unearthed before though no new songs. Among the highlights are 12 tracks in stereo including a fabulous version of Cut Across Shorty with a more country feel. It also includes the master of this song (one of his best) at the original tempo (it was speeded up for single release). It includes the great bluesy instrumental Jam Sand-Witch, the British single version of Summertime Blues lacking added reverb and with the ending intact and the version of Somethin' Else is also minus the fade out. The disc also includes the undubbed version of Eddie's fine version of Ray Charles' Hallelujah, I Love Her So along with the stereo version of the version with string overdubs. Cochran helped spread the word about Ray on his European tours. The disc also includes the never before reissued backing tracks for My Way and Rock 'n' Roll Blues which are interesting but a bit redundant. As always with Eddie there are a few drab ballads (ballads were not his strong suit) but the majority of the set is fine and worthwhile even if you're not a Cochran fanatic. Sound is superb and the 8 page booklet includes detailed notes by Stu Coleman and some great photos including a priceless one of Eddie with Gene Vincent. For more on this great artist be sure to check out www.eddiecochran.info (FS)

 
THE COLLINS KIDS Bear Family BCD 15537 Hop, Skip & Jump ● CD $65.98
There are 59 tunes on 2 CD's plus a beautiful photo packed 20 page LP sized booklet. All but 16 have been issued on the 3 Collins Kids LP's by Bear (BFX 15074, 15106 & 15108). If you don't know, the Collins Kids were a brother and sister rockabilly act, originally from Oklahoma, who found a degree of fame and fortune after moving to the LA area and landing a big spot on Tex Ritter's TV show Town Hall Party. Unlike most rockabilly artists, the Kids were warmly recieved there and on many other national shows. Even though they had no hit records they hung on until the early 60's (when Larry's voice changed and Lorrie got married) because they were so exciting to teens and cute to adults. And they could be cutsie at times like on I Wish and Soda Poppin' Around but the great rock'n'roll tunes are very plentiful - Beetle-Bug-Bop/ I'm In My Teens/ Hop Skip & Jump/ Hoy Hoy/ Hot Rod , etc. Now let's see what's new. There's a session from 1961 with Lorrie singing 4 wonderful country tunes - Ain't You Ever/ What'cha Gonna Do Now/ Waitin' And Watchin'/ Home Of The Blues . With Larry on lead guitar and Ralph Mooney on steel, the backing band sounds a lot like The Buckaroos. There are a couple of instros by Larry - Fire Ball Mail and Spur Of The Moment with Harold Bradley's famous Nashville studio band. Three more tunes from Larry's solo country sessions (early 60's) are included. And a trio of Lorrie's tunes, done in a red hot mama vein, show a surprising maturity - Blues In The Night/ Another Man Done Gone/ There'll Be Some Changes Made . It's a shame she didn't continue in country because I think she would've given Wanda Jackson a run for the money. (AE)
 
JAN DAVIS Sundazed 11136 Boss Guitar ● CD $16.98
20 tracks,43 min, highly recommended
If like me, you said "Jan who??" you might know him for his hit Hot Sauce (not here) or the original version of Fugitive (this set's opener) that was a huge hit for The Ventures. You may also know of him as being B Bumble of the legendary B Bumble & The Stingers, & you've heard his voice screaming the intro of Dick Dale's Miserlou. What's here is 20 rare singles ('63-'66) from a multitude of labels, none of them hits, but all pretty "boss"! You can tell what's going on by the titles - Scramble/ The Time Funnel/ Watusi Zombie/ Boss Machine/ Man From Nowhere, & of course Snow Surfin' Matador, From labels big (RCA, A&M, Columbia) & small (White Whale, Holiday, Aljo). With full discographical info including an interview with Davis & a couple of previously unreleased sides. (GM)

 
RONNIE DAWSON Crystal Clear 9643 Rockin' Bones ● CD $19.98
34 tracks, 87 minutes, essential
This 2 CD set's a godsend, an expansion of the hard to get LP of the same name (No Hit 001). The Blond Bomber had a few 45s out in the late 50s, early 60s under a buncha names, & was brought back to the spotlight in the 70s when the Cramps & others covered his 2 wildest, Action Packed & the title tune. In the late 50s, early 60s, Ronnie was a member of the long-running western swing band the Light Crust Doughboys (great pics of the rockin' 16-year-old with the old swingsters), & LCD members Smokey Montgomery & Ken Cob are present on much of the material. Recording as Ronnie Dee, Ronnie Dawson, Snake Monroe, Commonwealth Jones & even The Levee Singers (with Ronnie on banjo for Ghost Riders In The Sky), there's both sides of Ronnie's 7 singles for such labels as Rockin', Swan, Columbia, Levee & Do-Boy. Even more amazing is the 20 unreleased tracks done from rough sounding acetates & slick demos, ranging from Ronnie's 1st recording from 57 (Straight Skirts/ Searchin' For My Baby), tracks featuring Delbert McClinton on harmonica, even an alternate take of the title classic! Includes a fine booklet with full discographical info & tons of photos. The best rockabilly ever by a guy who's voice hadn't even changed! (GM)

 
BILL HALEY Bear Family BCD 16509 Rock 'n' Roll Arrives ● CD $159.98
5 CD box set, 113 tracks, essential
Hey, cats, here's where it all begins! Yeah, yeah, I know about Jackie Brenston, Ike Turner, Hank Williams, the Clovers, the Treniers, Amos Milburn, yadda yadda. But those guys were - and are - all classifiable as R&B or country. On the other hand, there's Bill Haley, whose breakthrough records defied any race-bound categories. His Essex waxing of Crazy Man Crazy broke nationally in 1953, signifying an irreversible shift in American popular music. Pop music was changing, and the spit-curled Haley and his Comets were among the catalysts. Bear Family Records, which previously released box sets of Haley's benchmark Decca and lesser '60s sides, spent more than a decade gathering the singer's pre-Rock Around the Clock output. Recorded between 1946 and 1954, these recordings capture Haley's sputtering evolution from a cowboy yodeler into an early rock-and-roll icon. Disc One features Haley's 1948-50 commercial releases, mostly competent country covers for distribution around Philadelphia. Disc Two kicks off with his 1951 cut of Jackie Brenston's Rocket 88, often cited as the first rock-and-roll record. By then Haley's Saddlemen included lead guitarist Danny Cedrone, whose aggressive glissandi would later define the Comets' sound. The disc continues with other 1951-52 Holiday sides, the Saddlemen backing fiddler Curly Herdman and honky-tonker Lou Graham, and the Downhomers' 1946 Vogue picture records, which may or may not include Haley on rhythm guitar. Disc Three covers Haley's complete 1952-53 Essex output. The first Essex date produced 'The Big Bang' of rock and roll: a raucous cover of Jimmy Preston's Rock This Joint, driven by Marshall Lytle's slap bass and Haley's backbeat rhythm - and no drummer! Intended as the novelty 'B'-side of a country weeper, the track's high-decibel energy exploded from the speakers. From that point on the Saddlemen (soon renamed Haley's Comets) would rock like crazy. A drummer was hired in late 1952; a screaming tenor sax was added a year later, shortly before Haley signed with Decca. Discs Four and Five jump back to cover early Haley demos, both solos and acetates with his first bands. Disc Four also contains Haley's earliest known recording, a 1946 Downhomers aircheck from WOWO, Fort Wayne. The sound is generally excellent, though the demos reflect decades of mishandling and deterioration. Reissue producer Chris Gardner's insightful notes bring Haley's evolution into perspective. Easily one of the most significant reissues of 2006. (DS)
BILL HALEY & THE FOUR ACES OF WESTERN SWING: Too Many Parties, Too Many Pals/Four Leaf Clover Blues/Candy Kisses/Tennessee Border/The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along/Yodel Your Blues Away/Behind the Eight Ball/Foolish Questions/JOHNNY CLIFTON (BILL HALEY): Loveless Blues/Stand Up and Be Counted/BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN: Deal Me a Hand (I Play the Game Anyway)/Ten Gallon Stetson/Susan Van Dusan/I'm Not to Blame/I'm Gonna Drive Every Tear with a Kiss/Why Do I Cry Over You?/Teardrops from My Eyes/Loveless Blues/My Sweet Little Girl from Nevada/My Palomino and I/Rocket '88'/Tearstains on My Heart/Green Tree Boogie/Down Deep in My Heart/BILL HALEY & LORETTA GLENDENNING: I'm Crying/Pretty Bab/BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN: A Year Ago This Christmas/I Don't Want to Be Alone This Christmas/Juke Box Cannon Ball/Sundown Boogie/CURLY HERDMAN: Barnyard Special/Rose of My Heart/LOU GRAHAM: Two Timin' Blues/Long Gone Daddy/I'm Lonesome/Sweet Bunch of Roses/Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind/My Heart Tells Me (I'm Still in Love with You)/I'm Lonesome/Sweet Bunch of Roses/Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind/My Heart Tells Me (I'm Still in Love with You)/THE DOWNHOMERS: Out Where the West Winds Blows/Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone/Boogie Woogie Yodel/Baby I Found out All About You/BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN: Rock the Joint/Icy Heart/Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stockin')/Rocking Chair on the Moon/BILL HALEY WITH HALEY'S COMETS: Stop Beatin' Around the Mulberry Bush/Real Rock Drive/Crazy Man, Crazy/What'cha Gonna Do?/Pat-A-Cake/Fractured/Live It Up!/Farewell, So Long, Goodbye/I'll Be True/Ten Little Indians/Yes Indeed!/Yes Indeed! (alt)/Chattanooga Choo Choo/Straight Jacket/BILL HALEY & THE FOUR ACES OF WESTERN SWING: Rovin' Eyes/Candy and Women/My Mom Heard Me Cry Over You/Cotton Haired Girl/Wreck on the Highway/Yodeler's Lullaby/All I Need Is Some More Lovin'/Candy and Women/Yodel Your Blues Away/Red River Valley/Behind the Eight Ball/Foolish Questions/Easy Rocking Chair/I Wasted a Nickel/My Bucket's Got a Hole in It/Sunday Down in Tennessee/Behind the Eight Ball/BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN: Rose of My Heart/Within This Broken Heart of Mine/THE DOWNHOMERS: Down Home/Following the Sun All Day/She Taught Me How to Yodel/Cool Water/Baby, I Found out All About You/Open Up Them Pearly Gates for Me/Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone?/BILL HALEY: Arizona Cowboy Advert/Westinghouse and Twin Bars Advert/Rose of My Heart/Rose of My Heart/Cherry Tree Lane/Cute Little Brown-Eyed Gal/Sweet Bunch of Roses/Yodel Your Blues Away/BILL HALEY & THE FOUR ACES OF WESTERN SWING: Candy and Women/Behind the Eight Ball/Ages and Ages Ago/Honestly/I Dreamed of an Old Love Affair/Whispering/I Love You So Much It Hurts/Little Rock, Arkansas/Bundle of Kisses/Are You Teasing Me?/I Want You/Gotta Have My Baby Back/Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me/Candy and Women/BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN: Teardrops from My Eyes

 
BILL HALEY & FRIENDS Hydra 27128 Vol. 3 - The Story Of Rock Around The Clock ● CD $34.98
Two CDs, 63 tracks, highly recommended
From the label that loves Bill Haley comes a two CD set that will separate the men from the boys - or perhaps the sane from the insane! This set features no less than 63 recordings of Haley's most famous song Rock Around The Clock. The first disc features 31 versions by Bill himself or the Comets ranging from the original recording by him from 1954 to a 2000 remix of a 1966 recording by him made in Mexico (where he recorded quite extensively in the 60s). It includes studio recordings as well as live performances from various T.V. appearances and elsewhere. The second disc features 32 different versions of the songs by artists from around the world including a version by Swedish jazz violinist Svend Asmussen, British band Bubblerock Is Here To Stay who are a bit like The Bonzo Dog Band, Adriano Celentano, Eddie Cochran & Gary Lambert (a great duet guitar instrumental version), The Deep River Boys, Nilsson & John Lennon, Ted Herold, Finnish group Goran Odner & Matti I Viljasen Septetti, the great Yiddish parodist Mickey Katz, Buddy Knox (one of my favorite versions), The Sex Pistols, Puerto Rican band Los Hispanos, Renato Carosone, Sandy Nelson, Carl Perkins, The Platters, Belgian techno band Telex, Mae West (who was 81 when she recorded her version and sounds like she could still rock Bill's clock) and others including pre-Haley versions by Sonny Dae and co-composer Jimmy DeKnight. Comes with 48 page booklet with a history of the song, a discography of all the versions by Haley & The Comets and notes on all the versions on the second disc, lots of photos, label shots and other memorabilia plus a listing (probably incomplete) of 364 different recordings of the song. Rock Around The Clock fans (you know who you are!) will love this and even if you're not this is an ambitious and facsinating project. (FS)
 
BUDDY HOLLY Rev-Ola 174 Gotta Roll - The Early Recordings, 1949-1955 ● CD $15.98
26 tracks, 56 mins, highly recommended
While the bulk of Buddy Holly's unissued recordings is tied up in litigation this CD allows us to hear some of Buddy's early recordings made before he commenced recording commercially for Decca in 1956. It includes his earliest home recording from 1949 when he was 13 years old doing Hank Snow's Two Timin' Woman and showing his already impressive guitar skills. It also includes early 50s bluegrass flavored recordings with Bob Montgomery along with studio demos from 1954 and '55 many which were later overdubbed by The Fireballs - the versions here are undubbed - the earliest of these demos are straight country but by 1955 he'd seen and heard Elvis and from then on most of his material was rockabilly including a cover of Elvis's hit Baby Let's Play House as well as a bunch of original songs culminating with four songs Moonlight Baby/ I Guess I Was A Fool/ Don't Come Back Knockin' and Love Me which were sent to Decca and were followed shortly by his being signed by the label. While his singing hadn't fully matured his guitar playing on the rockabilly numbers is superb. This set also includes performances by associates Sonny Curtis, Jack Neal and Ben Hall with Buddy on guitar - interesting but not particularly compelling. Sound quality on some of these tracks is very rough and there is no discographical information though most of the relevant information is in Dave Penn's notes. The booklet features a number of photos including pictures of some of the acetates. This release is not for the casual listner but if you're a Holly fan it's indispensable unless you already have it on one of the many bootlegs out there. (FS)
BUDDY & BOB: Down The Line (#1)/ Down The Line (#2)/ Footprints In The Snow/ Gotta Get You Near Me Blues/ Let's Pretend (Aka "I'll Just Pretend")/ Memories/ Take These Shackles From My Heart/ You And I Are Through/ You And I Are Through (#1)/ SONNY CURTIS: Because You Love Me/ Dallas Boogie/ I'll Miss My Heart/ One In A Million/ Queen Of The Ballroom/ This Bottle/ BEN HALL: All From Loving You/ Rose Of Monterey/ BUDDY HOLLY: Don't Come Back Knockin'/ I Guess I Was A Fool/ I Wanna Play House With You (Aka "Baby, Let's Play House")/ Love Me/ Moonlight Baby (Aka "Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight")/ My Two-Timin' Woman (Edited Version)/ My Two-Timin' Woman (Unedited Version)/ JACK NEAL: I Hear The Lord Callin' For Me/ I Saw The Moon Cry Last Night

 
THE IMPACTS Collectors' Choice 0525 Wipe Out ● CD $11.98
11 track, highly recommended
Reissue of Del-Fi 1234, a cornerstone of Surf music. The Impacts were an early 60's Southern California surf band led by the blazing guitar of Merrell Fankhauser. The Impacts weren't just a band fronted by a guitar wizz though. The band was very tight, powered by Steve Metz's drumming and Jose Rose's great sax work. Jose could honk & scream or give you a fat ballad sound. They even had a steel guitar player, Wayne Brown. Wipe Out (they had the original of this classic surf tune which was a big hit for The Surfaris)/ Fort Lauderdale/ Impact/ Church Key, etc. Newly remastered in stereo from original tapes and annotated with quotes from Fankhauser. (AE/ FS)

 
DELBERT MCCLINTON New West 6099 Live From Austin, Texas ● CD $16.98
15 tracks, 60 min., highly recommended
Another in the series of Austin City Limits releases from New West, this show from December 18, 1982, finds McClinton at the top of his form, blending blues, soul, and honky tonk with his graveled, world-wearied voice. Having scored his first national hit with 1981's Giving It Up For Your Love, McClinton wouldn't find popularity like this until his "rediscovery," which recently yielded a Grammy a mere 25 years after he deserved one. In this made-for-teevee show, the DM approach is applied to such fan favorites as Randall Bramblett's Plain Old Makin' Love, Otis Redding's I've Got Dreams To Remember, Shaky Ground, The Jealous Kind, Going Back To Louisiana, Mess Of Blues, A Fool In Love, and Al Green's Take Me To The RiverLess familiar McClinton moments include the Jesse Stone-penned winner Lipstick, Powder and Paint, Bobby Blue Bland's classic Turn On Your Love Light, the lyically clever Let Love Come Between Us, and others. The addition of a horn section pumps up an already impressive energy level. Great stuff. Also available on DVD (New West 8027 - $17.98) (JC)
 
MERRILL MOORE Bear Family BCD 15505 Boogie My Blues Away ● CD $41.98
This two-CD set brings together every Capitol recording, 45 tracks, by the legendary San Diego-based country boogie singer-pianist who recorded for Capitol from 1952-1958. All the Moore standards, "Corrine Corrina," "Bell Bottom Boogie," "Fly Right Boogie," his version of Julia Lee's "Gotta Gimme What You Got" and "Rock-Rockola" still stand on their own. But so do his vocal versions of pop and swing numbers like "King Porter Stomp" and "Yes Indeed." His versions of "Down The Road Apiece" and "Cow Cow Boogie" show the admitted influence of Freddie Slack. However, a little of Moore's vocals can go a long way after a few listens. And in many ways the most interesting material here are the superb instrumentals, including the ones previously unissued, like his boogie woogie version of the pop tune "Nola" (two versions included here) and the 12 songs recorded at his final sessions for a projected Capitol instrumental LP that was never released. Backing included some of Capitol's (and southern California's) best musicians, among them Speedy West, Roy Lanham, Jimmy Bryant and a very young Howard Roberts. (RK)
MERRILL MOORE: Back Home Indiana/ Barrel House Bessie/ Bartender's Blues/ Bell Bottom Boogie/ Big Bug Boogie/ Boggie My Blues Away/ Buttermilk Baby/ Cooing To The Wrong Pigeon/ Corrine, Corrina/ Cow Cow Boogie/ Doggie House Boogie/ Down The Road A Piece/ Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue/ Fly Right Boogie/ Gotta Gimme What'cha Got/ Hard Top Race/ House Of Blue Lights/ I Think I Love You Too/ Jumpin' At The Woodside/ King Porter Stomp/ Lazy River/ Moore Blues/ Music, Music, Music/ Nobody's Sweetheart/ Nola Boogie/ Nola Boogie (ep Version)/ Nursery Rhyme Blues/ One Way Door/ Red Light/ Rock Island Line/ Rock-rock Ola/ Saddle Boogie/ Sentimental Journey/ Shanty In Old Shanty Town/ She's Gone/ Snatchin' And Grabbin'/ Somebody Stole My Gal/ South/ Sun Valley Walk/ Sweet Georgia Brown/ Sweet Jenny Lee/ Ten, Ten, A.m./ Tuck Me To Sleep In My Old 'tucky Home/ Yes Indeed

 
JOHNNIE RAY Bear Family BCD 15450 Cry ● CD $21.98
Before Elvis Presley there was Johnnie Ray - a young white singer strongly influenced by black blues and rhythm and blues who performed his material in an emotional and uninhibited manner. Although producer Mitch Miller sanitized Ray's music for an early 50s pop audience with orchestras and choruses the basic power of Ray's singing still shines through. This disc is a fine cross section of Ray's recordings for Okeh and Columbia between 1951 and 1960 though unlike some Bear Family productions is not quite the definitive collection it could be as it leaves out his important first recording Whiskey & Gin and such early hits as Please Mr Sun/ Walkin' My Baby Back Home and All Of Me. We do however get both sides of his monster first hit Cry/ The Little White Cloud That Cried which also went to number 1 in the rhythm & bleus charts. Included are his provocative (for the time) Such A Night, some fine versions of blue and R&B songs - Flip, Flop & Fly/ Just Walkin' In The Rain (his biggest hit) /How Long, How Long Blues/ Endlessly along with pop standards, country songs, duets with Frankie Laine and Doris Day and even a version of Sister Rosetta Tharpes' Up Above My Head. Sound quality is, of course, superb and there is a 24 page booklet with biographical information, much of it based on an interview with Johnnie, photos and discography of all the tracks on the disc. This is not really rock 'n roll but with stripped down production it most certainly would be. It's futile but interesting to speculate what would have happened if Johnnie's recordings had been produced by Sam Phillips rather than Mitch Miller! Johnnie died early this year - another loss of a pioneering performer whose importance deserves re-evaluation. (FS)

 
BILLY LEE RILEY Charly SNAP 176 Red Hot ● CD $13.98
26 tracks, highly recommended
Repackaging of Charly 8138 in digipack with picture label. Why Red Hot was not a huge national hit for Mr. Riley will forever be a mystery. A person could start riots or level buildings with the energy in that thing. Likewise, Rock With Me Baby/ Trouble Bound/ Flying Saucer Rock & Roll/ One More Time all deserved a better fate than they received. These 26 Sun sides show Riley at his most talented as well as at the hands of producers in search of a quick money record--how else can the somewhat embarrassing Down By The River Side/ Swanee River Rock be explained? Among the stuff here that Sun never bothered to issue is a worthy cover of the Coasters' Searchin' and a rocked up take of Chuck Willis' Betty & Dupree. A vocally strained work up of Let's Talk About Us (and a couple of others) is for fans only. The guy should have been a star. (JC/FS)
BILLY LEE RILEY: Baby Please Don't Go/ Betty And Dupree/ Billy's Blues/ College Man/ Come Back Baby (one More Time)/ Dance With Me Honey/ Dark Muddy Bottom/ Down By The Riverside/ Flying Saucers Rock And Roll/ Folsom Prison Blues/ Got The Water Boiling/ I Want You Baby/ Let's Talk About Us/ No Name Girl/ Pearly Lee/ Red Hot/ Rock With Me Baby/ Saturday Night Fish Fry/ Searchin'/ Swanee River Rock/ Sweet William/ That's Right/ Trouble Bound/ When A Man Gets The Blues/ Wouldn't You Know/ Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash

 
JACK SCOTT Castle CMEDD 669 Baby's She's Gone ● CD $22.98
Two CDs, 50 tracks, 117 mins, highly recommended
I've always had a great fondness for the early recordings of Jack Scott (no, he's not related!). With his distinctive sombre baritone voice, catchy and highly repetitive songs (mostly written by Jack himself), his solid acoustic rhythm guitar, sturdy backing by his group and vocal support from the appropriately named Chantones he produced memorable music that really gets under your skin. With the exception of the five CD box set on Bear Family this is the best retrospective of his early recordings (1957 to 1964) and features all his hits with the exception of a couple of Capitol tracks which, presumably, were unavailable for licensing reasons. It features recordings made for ABC Paramount, Carlton, Top Rank, Guaranteed and Groove and includes such classics as Leroy (and an early unissued version called Greaseball) his intense ballads My True Love, With Your Love and What In The World's Come Over You (which meant a lot to me when I was a teenager about a thousand years ago), the pounding gospel Save My Soul, the incessant Geraldine, the wonderful minor key and very Italian sounding Bella (Scott's real name is Giovanni Scafone), the great Groove rocker Wiggle On Out and lots more. A few of the later tracks are less rewarding with occasional excessive strings and syrupy chorus but those in the minority. Includes a fold out booklet with informative notes by Bob Solly, photos and other memorabilia. (FS)
JACK SCOTT: BABY BABY/ BABY MARIE/ BABY SHE'S GONE/ BELLA/ BURNING BRIDGES/ COOL WATER/ CRUEL WORLD/ FANCY MEETING YOU AGAIN/ FLAKEY JOHN/ FOUND A WOMAN/ GERALDINE/ GO WILD LITTLE SADIE/ GOOD DEAL LUCILLE/ GOODBYE BABY/ GREASEBALL/ I NEED YOUR LOVE/ I NEVER FELT LIKE THIS/ I PRAYED FOR AN ANGEL/ I'M DREAMING OF YOU/ I'M SATISFIED WITH YOU/ IS THERE SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND/ IT ONLY HAPPENED YESTERDAY/ IT'S MY WAY OF LOVING YOU/ JINGLE BELL SLIDE/ JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE/ LEROY/ LONESOME MARY/ MIDGIE/ MY KING/ MY TRUE LOVE/ NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW/ OH LITTLE ONE/ OLD TIME RELIGION/ PATSY/ SAVE MY SOUL/ SO USED TO LOVING YOU/ TAKE MY HAND, PRECIOUS LORD/ THE GOSPEL TRAIN/ THE WAY I WALK/ THERE COMES A TIME/ THERE'S TROUBLE BREWING/ THOU SHALT NOT STEAL/ TRUE LOVE IS BLIND/ TWO TIMIN' WOMAN/ WHAT A WONDERFUL NIGHT OUT/ WHAT AM I LIVING FOR/ WHAT IN THE WORLD'S COME OVER YOU/ WIGGLE ON OUT/ WITH YOUR LOVE/ YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR

 
SHADOWS OF KNIGHT Sundazed 11013 Raw 'n Alive At The Cellar - 1966 ● CD $16.98
13 tracks, 43 min., essential
Exact repro of the LP, with maybe an extra photo or two, this is the live document of the American mid-60's garage sound by one of the greatest bands of the era. Recorded in late '66, at the home of some of Chicago's wildest rock bashes, this finds the Shads on the heels of their greatest (though not commercially) releases their incredible second LP "Back Door Men" and its follow up single "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" playing to an unresponsive audience but baiting greasers to make up for it. But the performance is electrifying, with Joe Kelly's lead guitar much to the fore on I Got My Mojo Working/Oh Yeah/ Gospel Zone/Hey Joe/Spoonful. They also do a couple of unrecorded soul numbers (including Wilson Pickett's Don't Fight It) and finish with an atonal extension of their first and biggest hit Gloria, predicting the MC5 by a couple minutes. The excellent recording quality will make you wonder why it took over 25 years to be released. Raw and Alive! (GDR)

 
THE SHANGRI-LAS RPM 506 Myrmidons Of Melodrama ● CD $17.98
32 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended
According to the dictionary a myrmidon is an unquestioning follower so I'm not sure I understand the context but it sounds good. The Shangri-Las were one of the top girl groups of the 60s featuring the exciting lead vocals of Mary Weiss, the Spectorish flavored productions of George Shadow Morton and the wonderful melodramatic stories of teen angst - often from the pens of Morton and Brill Building stalwarts Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. All their hits are here including the classics Leader Of The Pack/ Remember Walking In The Sand/ Give Him A Great Big Kiss/ I Can Never Go Home Anymore/ He CRied and others as well as obscure B-sides, LP tracks and both sides of their first single for Smash in 1963. Several tracks are presented in stereo for the first time and the set ends with four brief radio spots - two advertising Revlon makeup and two with Mary giving tips on gift receiving and dating courtesy! Includes fold out booklet with 4,800 word essay by Mick Patrick along with photos and other memorabilia. (FS)

 
THE TEXAS TORNADOS New West 6083 Live From Austin, Texas ● CD $16.98
19 tracks, 74 min, essential
I had the pleasure of seeing the Tornados doing an evening at the legendary Palomino Club in N. Hollywood over 15 years ago for one of the most rewarding nights of music! The group, with "Sir" Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez, Freddie Fender & Augie Meyers, augmented by a band including ex-Sir Doug musicians Luis Ortega & Speedy Sparks on a live Tex-Mex jaunt originally broadcast on Austin City Limits. This set covers the best material from the careers of the four principles, including Sir Doug's Mendocino/ Who Were You Thinking Of?/ She's About A Mover, Flaco's Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio, & Freddies two biggies Before The Next Teardrop Falls & Wasted Days & Wasted Nights, as well as fine covers of 96 Tears (with a slightly different organ riff), Butch Hancock's She Never Spoke Spanish To Me & Cookie & The Cupcakes' Mathilda. And as great as this is, this is also available on DVD (see review) so you can watch as well as listen to the excitement. You may want to get both if you can't play your DVD in your car! (GM)

 
THE TRASHMEN Sundazed 11006 Live Bird '65-'67! ● CD $16.98
Who woulda thunk it, after all these years the Sundazed crew have unearthed and released some primo vintage Trashmen captured live in their Midwest habitat. Land locked they might have been but The Trashmen certainly didn't let the lack of surf stop them from churnin' up a tidal wave of super wet, reverb-drenched surf tunes. The first 8 tracks are from a '65 gig at Proaches Popular Ballroom. They blast through Dick Dale's Let's Go Trippin' as well as surfin' standards like Baja and Malaguena . Jerry Lee's Lovin' Up A Storm gets the full treatment and of course they can't fly the coop until they've ruffled a few feathers with Surfin' Bird , all 5 minutes and 49 seconds worth! Bird Dance Beat and King Of The Surf were recorded in '66 at a girls reform school (the mind boggles) and Mashed Potatoes and Ubangi Stomp at St. Paul's version of Whiskey A Go Go. Throw in a couple more from a '67 gig and some short interviews and you've got one essential collection. (AE)
 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Ace CDCHD 442 Boppin' Tonight ● CD $18.98
22 tracks, 50 minutes, recommended
This fantastic collection features 22 rockabilly tunes from Eddie Shuler's Goldband Studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana, done between 1955 and 1960. Who better to start off with than the great Al Ferrier blasting away on 5 tunes including the title cut, Honey Baby/ No No Baby . Wild and rockin' 'billy music at its best, although I do have a quibble with the takes used here. Little Billy Earl isn't in the same league as Ferrier but he gets 5 tunes as well, really shining on Go Dan Tucker and I Never Had The Blues . Larry Hart isn't a very good singer but some of his tunes are interesting. Things pick up considerably with the last 6 tunes. Bill & Carroll sing a pair of good ones, Ray Vict rocks mightily on Bop Stop Rock , Jay Chevalier bops Cubano style on Castro Rock and Johnny Jano is dynamite on Mabel's Gone and High Voltage . This could've been essential with a little more effort on Ace's part, but it's darned close as it is. (AE)
BILL & CARROLL: Bluff City Rock/ Hold Me Baby/ JAY CHEVALIER: Castro Rock/ LITTLE BILLY EARL: Couple In The Car/ Go Dan Tucker/ Honey Baby-o/ I Never Had The Blues/ Who's Baby Are You/ AL FERRIER: Honey Baby/ Let's Go Bopping Tonight/ My Baby Done Gone Away/ No No Baby/ What Is That Thing Called Love/ LARRY HART: Coffins Have No Pockets/ Come On Baby/ Flashiest Classiest/ Freight Train/ I'm Just A Mender/ Never Run Out Of Love/ Oh Nellie/ JOHNNY JANO: High Voltage/ Mabel's Gone/ Oh Baby/ RAY VICT: Bop Stop Rock

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Bear Family BCD 15972 That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 13 ● CD $19.98
The  thirteenth volume in this great series of rockabilly reissues has finally been issued featuring 30 tracks recorded in the mid/late 50s for the ABC label including Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones,  Ronnie Haig, Jackie Lee Cochran, Jay B. Loyd, Jerry & Wayne Newton (yes, that Wayne Newton!), George Hamilton IV, Jack Scott,  Joey DuAmbra, etc. State of the art remastering and a 48 page booklet with extensive notes including details on every performance.
JOE BENNETT AND THE SPARKLETONES: Black Slacks/ Cotton Pickin' Rocker/ JO ANN CAMPBELL: Boogie Woogie Country Girl/ JACKIE LEE COCHRAN: Buy A Car/ I Want You/ DANNY DILL: I'm Hungry For Your Lovin'/ JOEY DU'AMBRA: Come Back A Little Mama/ THE DUSTERS: Pretty Girl/ VINCE EVERETT: Baby Let's Play House/ I Ain't Gonna Be Your Lowdown Dog No More/ RONNIE HAIG: Don't You Hear Me Calling, Baby/ GEORGE HAMILTON IV: Everybody's Body/ If You Don't Know, I Ain't Gonna Tell/ BILL HAYES: Bop Boy/ AL HENDRIX: Go Daddy Rock/ Rhonda Lee/ JOHNNY JANIS: Later Baby/ JAY B. LOYD: Cross My Heart/ You're Just My Kind/ CLINT MILLER: Bertha Lou/ Doggone It Baby, I'm In Love/ JERRY & WAYNE NEWTON: Baby, Baby, Baby/ THE SATELLITES: Linda Jean/ Rockateen/ JACK SCOTT: Baby She's Gone/ Two-timin' Woman/ RONNIE SELF: Pretty Bad Blues/ DEBBIE STEVENS: If You Can't Rock Me/ RONNIE TOTH: Miss Lazy/ WAYNE WALKER: All I Can Do Is Cry

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Big Beat CDWIKD 159 "GS I Love You" - Japanese Garage Bands Of The 1960s ● CD $18.98
28 tracks, 76 minutes, highly recommended
The beat boom hit Japan a little later than the rest of the world, so that by the mid 60s there was still a lot of bands sounding like early 60s Beatles, but with the current technology, they were doing it with wild fuzz guitar! Known as "Group Sound", the 3 biggest influences of GS were Mersey beat, country, & surf music (especially the Ventures), with mixtures of all 3 heard here! The bands here are Japanese garage bands who recorded for the Japanese indie labels Crown & Teichiku. There's plenty of covers of western rock tunes ranging from The Swing West doing Fire by Arthur Brown to The Burns' fuzz laden version of I Saw Her Standing There, though my faves are The Out Cast which does Everything's Alright & Long Tall Sally. There's plenty of surf instrumentals, The Spiders, Wipe Out, Dynamite, & even a few Japanese language tunes that have titles sung in English. Complete discographical info incl band photos from the 1st in a series promising to explore garage bands from around the world. (GM)

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Buffalo Bop 55026 Mean Mean Daddy ● CD $18.98
30 tracks, 68 mins, highly recommended
Those Buffalo Bop folks seem to really know how to pick 'em with yet another terrific collection of extremely hot and extremely rare rockabilly and rockin' country. As always, most of the artists only recorded a handful of songs for small local labels and the only names here that I recognize are Bill Browning, Ben Hall and Curley Griffin. Among the highlights here are the hot opener I'm A Mean Mean Daddy by Paul Carnes, Haskell May's funny Party Line, Bo Baxter's weird Flea Circus (how many songs have you heard where the spurned lover is going to join a flea circus?!), Danny Darren's sensational acoustic reworking of Hank Williams' Fool About You and others by Jerald Boykin,  Johnny Dove,  The Hodges Brothers and more. No saxes and very few pianos on these tracks but just about every song has a hot guitar solo. What are you waiting for? (FS)
LONNIE ALLEN: You'll Never Change Me/ AL BARKLE: Jumpin' From 6 To 6/ BOBO BAXTER: Flea Circus/ JERALD BOYKIN: If You Call That Love/ Walking Talking Baby Doll/ BILL BROWNING: Sinful Woman/ PAUL CARNES: I'm A Mean Mean Daddy/ GLEN COOPER: Just Rockin'/ Sugar Mama (Daddy)/ BILL COX: I Can't Wait Till Saturday Night/ DANNY DARREN: Fool About You/ BOB DINGUS: Somebody's Lovin' My Baby/ LEE DORN: Rockin' Daddy/ JOHNNY DOVE: I Gotta Go/ BOBBY EDWARDS: I'm A Long Gone Daddy/ ROLAND FAULK: My Baby's Gone/ CURLEY GRIFFIN: Got Rockin' On My Mind/ You Gotta Play Fair/ BEN HALL: Moo Mama/ RALPH HODGES AND BROTHERS: Honey Talk/ THE HODGES BROTHERS: I'm Gonna Rock Some Too/ JACK KING: I Just Learned To Rock/ HASKELL MAY: Party Line/ CURLEY MILLIKIN: Rock And Roll Country Boy/ CHANDOS McRILL: Money Lovin' Woman/ Poor Me/ SID SILVER: Bumble Bumble/ HOYT STEVENSON: 55 Chevy/ VIC THOMAS: You're Gonna Change/ DALLAS WILSON: Hi-Steppin' Daddy

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Buffalo Bop 55098 Rockabilly Cats ● CD $18.98
Fine selection of 30 sides, some with a country flavor. Includes Jim Oertling, Hal Goodson,  Bill Ellis, Vern Pullens,  Jimmy Keller,  Custer Bottoms, Don Feger, Tex Harmer, Orville Couch, etc.
HAL ANDREWS: Brown Eyed Girl/ LEON BASS: Come On Baby/ Love-a-rama/ CUSTER BOTTOMS AND BILL WOOD’S BAND: Stood Up Blues/ BUDDY BRUCE & THE WESTWINDS: Rolling On/ HOLLIS CHAMPION & THE SECRETS: Old Red Devil/ ORVILLE COUCH: Five Cent Candy/ I Will If You Will/ DONALD DAFFRON: Walkin‘ And Cryin‘/ JOHNNY DENTON: Topsy-turvy/ BILL ELLIS: Mississippi Boogie/ JIMMY EVANS: The Joint‘s Really Jumpin‘/ DON FEGER WITH THE EMBERS: Look Out Baby/ HAL GOODSON: Who‘s Gonna Be The Next One Honey/ DON HAGER & THE HOT TOTS: Bebop Boogie/ TEX HARMER: She Called Me Baby All Night Long/ WES HOLLY: Shufflin‘ Shoes/ BOYD INGRAM: When I Flirt/ JERRY IRBY: Clickety Clack/ JIMMY KELLER: Brush Pile Burn/ DICK MARQUIS: Let Me Hold You Tight/ JIM OERTLING & THE BAYOU BOYS: Old Moss Back/ CLYDE OWENS: Swing It, Little Katy/ VERN PULLENS: It‘s My Life/ THE ROUND UP BOYS: Rock And Roll Baby/ SHELBY SMITH: Rocking Mama/ CLYDE STACY: Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor/ E.B. WHYLAND: Rock And Swing [unissued]/ SLIM WILLET: I‘ve Been A-wonderin‘/ REX ZARIO: It‘s Nobodys Fault But Your Own

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Buffalo Bop 55152 Choo Choo Bop ● CD $18.98
30 tracks, 73 mins, highly recommended
The railroad is an endless source of musical inspiration in American vernacular music and this is Buffalo Bop's second compilation of rockabilly and rocking country songs on the subject (the first is Buffalo Bop 55012 "Hobo Bob") and is a winner. It opens with R&B singer Lloyd George's rocking down home blues with harmonica Come On Train and swiftly charges into rocking hillbilly in Clyde Arnold's Black Smoke & Blue Tears and continues on with Phil Bo's bluesy Mr. Train. There are a few big names - Johnny Cash with Hey, Porter and Blue Train, Bill Haley with a version of Chattanooga Choo Choo and Harold Jenkins (aka Conway Twitty) with his great early recording Long Black Train. Norman Sullivan does a great cover of Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, there are a couple of fine unissued Sun cuts from O.C. Holt and Warne Perdie and Larry Harvey and Johnny Six do uncanny imitations of Hank Snow on their cuts. Lots more fine stuff from Ken Patrick, Benny Martin, Eddie Bond, Tommy Faile, Ray Scott and others and the set ends with actual train sounds. Excellent sound and booklet has artist photos and label shots. (FS)

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Buffalo Bop 55173 Sugar Doll ● CD $18.98
30 more obscurities from female rockers - includes Lou & Ginny, Dianne Holtz, Sharon Lee, Pat Parker, Nona Rae, Dorothy Minor, etc.
JOYCE ALLEN: Baby Oh Baby/ BEVERLY BEA: Sugar Plum/ CAROLE BENNETT WITH THE SATISFIERS: He's Coming Back/ JACKIE LYNN BLEVINS, JOYCE DOUL AND THE SKY ROCKETS: Devil Doll/ NANCY DAWN WITH THE HI-FI GUYS: Glue Me Back Jack/ LIBBY DEAN: Full Time Lover/ BETTY FOLEY: Old Moon/ MAUREEN GRAY: Come On And Dance/ EVELYN HARLENE: I Wanta Be Free/ DIANNE HOLTZ: I Got The Hurt/ JUDY JAE AND THE MOONGLOW'S: Scrapbook Twist/ JUDY JAE AND THE MOONGLOWS: Twisteree/ SHARON LEE: Rockin And Washing Sue/ LOU & GINNY: Do I Do Right/ BARBARA LEE MAC: Big Fat Mama/ DOROTHY MINOR: Bye Bye Baby/ PAT MOLITTIER: The Usa/ NONA RAE: You Can't Get Away From Me/ NORMA AND LINDA: Do Dee Oodle Dee Do I'm In Love/ PAT PARKER: Boy Watcher/ NEDRA PRICE AND THE MOONGLOWS: Let's Have A Party/ NONA RAE: Real Kool Kitty/ JO ANN REYNOLDS: Ring A Ding Dong Dandy/ CHERI ROBBINS: Please Don't Call Me Lonesome/ LINDA SCOTT: I've Told Every Little Star/ SALLY STARR: Rockin In The Nursery/ MARY JO TRAPE: What Would Johnny Say/ UNKNOWN ARTIST: Mama's Alibi/ PENNY WEST AND THE LUCKY PENNY TRIO: Needle In A Haystack/ EVELYN WHITE: Mind Your Own Business

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Buffalo Bop 55176 Stuck Up ● CD $18.98
Another fine collection of rockabilly and rock 'n' roll - mostly from the 50s. About half of the tracks are new to CD. The CD opens with Hi Ho Little Girl by The Terrigan Brothers which features a truly dull vocal and truly hot guitar. Also featured are Jimmy dale (the superb, previously unreissued Crazy Over You), Jack Bailey & The Naturals, Ed Fox & The Twilighters, The Royal Rhythms (a fine rockin' cover of The Clovers' Lovey Dovey), John Hampton (the great Shadow Blues), Curtis Wilson, Johnny Buckett (a fine version of Tampa Red's blues Let me Play With Your Poodle), Howard Crockett, The Holidays, Duane Schurb and more.
JACK BAILEY AND THE NATURALS: I Cried/ JOHNNY BUCKETT: Griddle Greasin Daddy/ Let Me Play With Your Poodle/ JIM CARAWAY AND JUMPIN JACKS: Cry Little Boy/ STEVE CARPENTER: The Big Hit/ HOWARD CROCKETT: Trudy Brown/ JIMMY DALE: Crazy Over You/ KEN DARROW: Everytime/ HUELYN DUVAL: It's No Wonder/ HERBIE ELSWORTH: Ferdinand Brought Elsie Home/ THE FIREFLIES: Stella Got A Fella/ ED FOX AND THE TWILITERS: Let Em Talk/ JOHN HAMPTON: Honey Hush/ Shadow Blues/ THE HOLIDAYS: To Me/ CURT JENSEN: Meet Me St.louis Louis/ THE JIVE KINGS: Johnny Machine/ Preacher Man/ JOHNNY AND THE JAYS: Baby Do/ ARLIE MILLER: Lou Ann/ BOB PAPOTNIK AND THE RAIDERS: Miss You Baby/ THE PARAMOUNTS: Judy/ Paramount Rock/ THE ROYAL RHYTHMS: Lovey Dovey/ BILLY SANDLIN: She's Mean/ DUANE SCHURB: Rolly Polly/ EMIL SPAK WITH THE ENCORES: Stuck-up/ THE TERRIGAN BROTHERS: Hi Ho Little Girl/ WALLACE WATERS: Holiday Hill/ CURTIS WILSON: Wanted Dead Or Alive

 
VARIOUS ARTISTS Collector 4419 Rockin' & Boppin' ● CD $16.98
30 tracks, 68 minutes, essential
A very solid collection of 50's rockers that you can pretty much play from end to end. Most of these sound like late 50's (post rockabilly) recordings, many with hot guitar and sax. If they sometimes verge on tunelessness that usually is made up for in raw energy. There are loads of great instros like Curfew by the Scavengers, Flying Saucer Rocket by Ferrell Duncan & his Rockers, Four On The Floor by the Shut Downs, Stompin' by the Viscos, etc. There's an alternate take of the classic Teenage Partner done by the Super-Phonics, Richie Deran's wonderful Girl And A Hot Rod , Jessie Lee King and his Crowns do a pair of cool rockers - Rock And Roll Rover & Nervous Wreck and Pete Cummins and the Redeemers Four split their trousers trying to do The Surfin' Freeze . Lots more by Avon & the Rave-Ons, Ray Doggett, Lyle Collins & the Rebel-Aires, etc.(AE)
AVON: Honey, Honey/ Teen Queen/ ULYSSES L. BAXTER: Mother, Congratulate Your Son/ MARV BLIHOVDE: Cigarette & Coffee Blues/ PELL BROTHERS: Let's Rock Tonight/ PATSY CLARK: Watcha Do To Me/ LYLE COLLINS: Flamingo Rock/ Good Joe/ Johnnycake Mountain/ Let My Lover On The Corner/ Unleash Me/ THE COUNTRY LADS: I Asked Her/ Salty Tears/ PETE CUMMINGS: Surfin' Freeze/ BIG DADDY G: Big Berry/ RICHIE DERAN: Girl & A Hot Rod/ Little Willie/ RAY DOGGETT: No Doubt About It/ FERRELL DUNCAN: Flying Saucer Rocket/ Little Susie/ BILLY FRIZZELL: Out Of The Clear Blue Sky/ RONNIE HANSON: Teen Age Partner/ JESSIE LEE KING: Nervous Wreck/ Rock And Roll Rover/ THE SCAVENGERS: Curfue/ THE SHUT DOWNS: Four In The Floor/ CARL SMITH & THE JIVE KINGS: Johnny Machine/ Preacher Man/ EDDIE VINEYARD: Bo Peep Rock/ THE VISCOS: Stompin'