|
VINTAGE
ROCK 'N' ROLL & ROCKABILLY
The
A-Bones -> Frankie Avalon
| THE A-BONES |
Norton CED 219 |
The Life Of Riley |
● CD $14.98 |
It helps that the A-Bones' leaders Billy Miller(vocals) and
Miriam Linna(drums) own their own label but a record this good would find a
home anyway. As you might guess rockin' godheads like Link Wray, Esquerita,
Haze Adkins and the rest of the Norton stable are primary influences on the
A-Bones style, as well as a heapin' helping of trash culture. They blast
through some wild covers of tunes like Johnny Amelio's Jugue , Ray
Sharpe's Monkey's Uncle and Doug Sahm's She's Gotta Be Boss
powered by Bruce Bennett's blazin' guitar and the powerhouse sax of Lars
Espensen. The originals are fine too. I've Fallen (And I Can't Get Up)
, a demented doo-wopper, is destined to be a modern classic. El Kabong/
Button Nose/ Sham Rock/ Rough Cut , etc. (AE)
|
| THE A-BONES |
Norton CED 254 |
Crash The Party |
● CD $14.98 |
19 tracks, 51 mins, highly recommended
Billy Miller & Miriam Linna are (along with Lux & Ivy of The Cramps) the premier couple of wild
wild rock'n'roll, in print with the legendary Kicks magazines & live & on
vinyl 1st with The Zantees & later the A-Bones. Their 1st single (included
here) was a cover of rockabilly madman Benny Joy's Button Nose.
They'd do this live (also included here) & later try out many of his tunes
live & in the studio. The tunes here, recorded 91-94, were all written by
Joy &/or his guitarist Big John Taylor. Includes Spin The Bottle,
probably Joy's best known number, Money Money (with a cameo by Roy
Loney), Hey High School Baby live on VPRO, Holland, Gossip Gossip
Gossip put out on a single in '92 & of course the title track! Noisier
than a scratchy LP on White Label (who put out their fair share of BJ LPs!)
(GM)
|
| 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)
|
| ART ADAMS |
Collector 4490 |
Rockin' My Way Around |
● CD $16.98 |
New recordings by Indianapolis rockabilly performer who had
a couple of classic singles issued in the 50s. These plus a whole bunch of
unissued sides were issued on Collector 4477. Art has performed on and off
since his heyday and these recordings were made in 2004 with a good band
featuring lead guitarist Bill Stewart who first played with Art in the 60s,
slap bassist Michael Strauss and drummer Mark Cutsinger. Art is in pretty
good voice on a selection of remakes of his old classics, some new
compositions and rockabilly favorites - Tear It Up/ Wreck Of The Old 97/
Sweet Kandie Jean/ Big River/ She's From Tennessee/ Ramrod/ Canadian Lady/
Thirty Days/ Roberta, etc.
ART ADAMS: Big Midnight Special/ Big River/ Boppin The
Blues/ Canadian Lady/ Detour/ Down In Tennessee/ Flat Foot Sam/ Get With It/
Good Rockin Tonight/ Hangout/ Hello Josephine/ I Forgot To Remeber To
Forget/ I Wanna Hear It Again/ Memphis Dream/ My Baby Loves Me/ Promised
Land/ Ramrod/ Red Headed Woman/ Roberta/ She's From Tennessee/ Sweet Kandie
Jean/ Tear It Up/ The Wreck Of Old 97/ Thirty Days/ Walking The Dog/ We're
Getting Closer To Being Apart
|
| BILLY ADAMS |
Castle CMRCD 581 |
Rockin' Through The Years, 1955-2002 |
● CD $16.98 |
Excellent 27 track collection featuring all the the early
sides from the 50s and early 60s by this excellent rockabilly singer from
Kentucky. This set also includes a couple of previously unissued demos from
1959 and '64, three tracks from the album of mostly recent recordings issued
on Screen Door and a couple of recent live recordings.
|
| BILLY ADAMS |
Screen Door 0200 |
Legacy |
● CD $14.98 |
17 tracks, 44 mins, recommended
Back in the 50s Kentucky
born Billy Adams recorded a handful of excellent and highly collectable
rockabilly 45s with his band The Rock-A-Teers. In 1959 he and the band went
their separate way and Billy mostly concentrated on country and gospel in
the 60s and 70s. In 1997 Billy entered the Sun studios in Memphis and
accompanied by an excellent trio re-recorded four of his 50s songs, did
twelve new songs he had written and a sterling cover of Fats Domino's I'm
Walking. After forty years Billy still has a fine and soulful voice and
the band of your musicians do spot on accompaniments with particular nice
lead guitar work from James Lott. (FS)
|
| THE ADDRISI BROTHERS |
Varese 66250 |
Never My Love - The Lost Album Session |
● CD $11.98 |
11 tracks, 29 min, recommended
Dick & the late Don Addrisi
started out as (what else) a brother duo on such early 60s labels as Del-Fi
& Valiant. While at Valiant, they hooked up with a group called The
Association & wrote some tunes for them, including the soft (schlock?) rock
classic Never My Love, which landed them a recording deal. At the end
of '70 (can't forget the time just look at them on the cover with their Neil
Diamond haircuts, gold chains & low-cut shirts to show off chest hair!) they
worked on an album for Warner Bros (new home of The Association), but by the
time they finished it, the Warners president who'd signed them was gone &
the new guy turned it down. What we have is some classic soft rock, in the
vein of early Van Dyke Parks as well as Harry Neilson, who appears here on
background harmonies. Interestingly, their own take on Never My Love
is not hymnal like The Association, but as a finger-snapping Sandler & Young
type tune! 2 years later, the bros had a big hit with We've Got To Get It
On Again, which let them put out an LP on Columbia, where several of
these tunes were re-worked. (GM)
|
| HASIL ADKINS |
Dee-Jay Jamboree 55025 |
Chicken Walk |
● CD $18.98 |
30 tracks, 75 minutes, essential
The Haze's original
Virginia shack recordings are about as primeval as primeval gets, and if
that's the way you like your rockabilly, then look no further.This set
includes his immortal 50's singles She Said/ Is This The End, She's Gone/
The Hunch, Chicken Walk/ She's Mine, and Duncens/ Jenny Lu, as
well as the awesome I Need Your Head. The rest of the material sounds
of equal vintage, but with the Haze's timeless raunch, 1988 sounds just like
1958, as demonstrated by his '83 B-side Miami Kiss, which fits in
here nicely! Slight overlap with the Norton LP's "Out To Hunch" and "Peanut
Butter Rock & Roll", this is probably as sure-fire a single-disc collection
as you could want -- after 75 minutes you might find yourself stripped down
to a loincloth and howling at the moon! Don't say we didn't warn ya! (GDR)
|
| HASIL ADKINS |
Norton CED 203 |
The Wild Man |
● CD $14.98 |
18 tracks, highly recommended
Now on CD with four bonus
unissued tracks and one track previously only on 45 rpm. Is the wild man
calming down in his old age? This 1987 recording from the folks at Kicks
sounds almost calm and country in spots, especially a fine version of
Merle's Turning Off A Memory . Billy & Miriam's A-Bones back up Haze
on Matchbox & Wild Wild Friday Night, other covers are
Haunted House and an incredible Foggy Mountain Top. Wait'll you
hear Haze yodel! Also - Punchy Wunchy Wickey Wackey Woo/ Chicken Flop/ Do
The Scalp/ Big Red Satellite, etc. Includes lavish booklet. (GM/FS)
|
| HASIL ADKINS |
Norton CED 232 |
Look At That Caveman Go!! |
● CD $14.98 |
17 tracks, 53 minutes, good
The West Virginia wildman is
back again, mangling some rock classics into submission - Good Golly Miss
Molly/ Reelin' And Rockin'/ Walkin' The Dog , etc., even Merle's
Today I Started Loving You Again . He's at his best when he just lets
his mind run free on original tunes. The one man band (vocal, guitar, drums)
sets up some amazing syncopation on tunes like She Goes Like This/
Chicken Walk/ Boo Boo The Cat/ Shake That Thing/ Devonna Rock , etc. All
14 tunes were recorded live (recently) at various East Coast dives and the
sound quality is so crude it makes his studio stuff sound like Phil Spector
productions. But so what, it's fun and it'll teach you what true grunge is
all about.... AE
|
| HASIL ADKINS |
Norton CED 281 |
Poultry In Motion |
● CD $14.98 |
Collection of chicken songs from this rockabilly madman.
|
| STEVE ALAIMO |
Henry Stone Music 25003 |
50s-70s |
● CD $16.98 |
2 CDs, 33 tracks, good
Reissue of Steve's Anthology CD on
Hot Productions from '97, with two additional tracks. Steve's best known as
the host/co-producer of the 60s Dick Clark show "Where The Action Is" (he's
the guy that looked like an early-60s greaser), but what's probably not
known about Steve is that he helped bring ska & reggae to the foreground by
opening a studio in Jamaica for recording Johnny Nash, Also (I didn't know
this!) he was co-owner with Henry Stone on the TK labels!. The only review I
can find of Anthology states there's no liner notes or recoding info & as
far as I know the same is here. Steve's biggest hit, Every Day I Have To
Cry is here, with a lot of tunes sound like Sinatra/Darin pop or plain
early 60s pre-Beatles teen pop. Music is OK, but would like to know when
it's from! (GM)
|
| JOHNNIE ALLAN |
Jin 9044 |
Swamp Pop Legend - The Essential Collection |
● CD $15.98 |
25 tracks, 61 mins, highly recommended
Wonderful collection
of swamp pop from one the masters of the genre. Well just what is "swamp
pop"? It's a South Louisiana mixture of rock 'n' roll, R&B, country and cajun music blended together with heartfelt vocals to make an immensely
appealing brew. There are few better exponents than Johnnie Allan who has
been performing since the 40s. This collection of recordings, mostly
spanning the 50s through the 70s, is about 50% duplicated on Ace 380.
Johnnie wrote half the songs here including such fine items as Angel
Love/ Lonely Days And Lonely Nights/ Do You Love Me So and the terrific
Let's Go Get Drunk. There are some great covers here including his
reworking of the Johnny Horton hit North To Alaska as South To
Louisiana, a driving version of Chuck Berry's Promised Land with
cajun accordion and Merle Haggard's Today I Staretd Loving You Again.
Lots of other great music here including a new song Just Remember
celebrating his daughter's marriage that show what a fine stright country
singer he is. Johnnie is not only a fine musician he is also an amabassador
for Louisiana music and has written several excellent books on the subject.
(FS)
|
| JOHNNIE ALLAN |
Jin 9052 |
The Ultimate Louisiana Experience |
● CD $15.98 |
16 tracks, 48 mins, very good The "Promised Land" man is
back for this fine set of cajun, swamp pop & country sides which range from
new originals to a couple great Clifton Chenier covers (I'm A Hog For You
Baby/ You Used To Call Me). Originals range from pure French Cajun (Gone
Pacan) to stuff that sounds like Johnnie's been listening to a lot of
Jimmy Reed (Demon Woman) & cookie & The Cupcakes (Melinda) (GM)
|
| DAVIE ALLAN & THE
ARROWS |
Sundazed 11138 |
Devil's Rumble: Anthology '64-'68 |
● CD $26.98 |
2 discs, 40 tracks, essential
Fuzz guitar legend Allan had 2
things going for him - tremendous talent & the fact that his close
friend/keyboard player was Mike Curb. When Mike got into the record business
he used his buddy as much as possible - on his own Sidewalk label & on
numerous soundtracks issued on Capitol Records' Tower subsidiary. This is
the first ever anthology of Allan's original recordings, which consisted of
4 LPs, appearances on 20 soundtracks (as the Arrows & as The Sidewalk
Sounds) as well as non-LP singles. Allan was known for having different
versions of the same songs with different titles & different overdubs - some
of the wilder versions were singles only! Includes his best known tune -
Blue's Theme from "The Wild Angels", soundtrack tunes like Theme From
The Wild Angels/ The Born Loser's Theme & Hellcats, and wild LP
tracks such as the unbelievable Cycle-Delic plus Apache' '65/
Action On The Street/ Mind Transferal. Detailed liner notes including
statements from Curb, Allan & past members of the Arrows. (GM)
|
| DAVIE ALLAN & THE
ARROWS |
Sundazed 6217 |
Apache '65 |
● CD $12.98 |
14 tracks, 28 min, excellent
CD issue of Tower 5002 from
1965 with 2 bonus tracks. The convoluted history of guitarist Allan &
keyboard player/producer/boy wonder Mike Curb gets started here on this
first LP issued as The Arrows. Allen & Curb would play together (since high
school) & record under numerous phony names, they worked on sessions as by
The Hondells (often with no real Hondells on them) until Mike's Sidewalk
Productions got an in with Capitol's new Tower subsidiary. Starting with a
remake of Jorgen Ingman's Apache, they made this phony group have a
similar American Indian name & called it The Arrows. Here are the early
sides with no real group yet, but with Curb & Allen. For you collectors of
obscure surf, there's a bunch here that were originally issued under other
names for other labels - Tee Pee is Pow Wow by The Sudells,
Tomahawk is Slip Stream by The Streamers, & Rebel (Without A
Cause) was once put out as by The Hondells. The liner notes make sense
of the whole scene. As a bonus, there's a demo of Sorry 'Bout That &
the unissued Topsy '65. (GM)
|
| DAVIE ALLAN & THE
ARROWS |
Sundazed 6218 |
Blues Theme |
● CD $12.98 |
13 tracks, 24 min, essential
CD issue of Tower 5078 from
1967. Davie Allan 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)
|
| DAVIE ALLAN & THE
ARROWS |
Sundazed 6219 |
The Cycle-DElic Sounds Of Davie Allan & The
Arrows |
● CD $12.98 |
13 tracks, 32 min, essential CD issue of Tower 5094 from
1967. From surf to biker fuzz to psychedelic in 3 LPs! The entire last LP
("Blues Theme") was under 20 minutes long - this set starts out with the
title tune running almost 7 minutes, pure freak-out & fuzz guitar!. This set
has a combo of stuff from his multitude of biker soundtracks (Born
Loser's Theme/ Devil's Angels Theme) & stuff just plain weird (Mind
Transfferal). Includes three bonus tracks, this time three unissued
originals including Angel With A Devil's Heart. Liner notes include
an interview with Allen about his studio work. (GM)
|
| DAVE ALVIN |
Hightone HCD 8049 |
Museum Of Heart |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 52 minutes, good
Dave's second outing on
Hightone finds him wandering through the back alleys of life, kind of like a Bukowski book set to music. In fact, the song Burning In Water Drowning
In Flame borrows its title from a Charles Bukowski book. The lyrics are
concerned with outcasts and drifters. Stranger In Town talks about
the breakdown of the economy and lawlessness, Between The Cracks is
the story of a boxer named Kid Jesus who fell from grace, Thirty Dollar
Room tells the sad story of a drifter and his long gone gal. Lost love
also provides the bones to hang the two best songs on - the title track, a
C&W weeper lyric-wise, but taken at a furious rockin' pace, and Don't
Talk About Her , a beautiful ballad with steel guitar. Move over Tom
Waits there's a new prowler in your 'hood.... AE
|
| DAVE ALVIN |
Hightone 8054 |
King Of California |
● CD $14.98 |
|
| DAVE ALVIN |
Hightone HCD 8074 |
Interstate City |
● CD $15.98 |
14 tracks, 71 minutes, recommended
Since leaving the
Blasters, Dave Alvin has developed a particularly enjoyable blend of
singer-songwriter vision, country, and basic rock and roll, a combination
that is well demonstrated on this live recording made at Austin's
Continental Club. Many of Alvin's songs are musings on the history and
culture of California seen through the lives and dreams of it's residents
and written with irony and dry humor. These are well represented here by
Out in California, Dry River, and the title tune. Jubilee
Train, paired here with Do Re Mi by Woody Guthrie and Chuck
Berry's Promised Land is particularly effective. Alvin does a nice
version of Jim Ringer's Waiting For the Hard Times to Go as well. The
leader's vocals and guitar playing are uniformly strong and are well matched
by the tight playing of the Guilty Men. Ted Roddy guests on harmonica and
adds a touch of mournfulness to many of the tunes. (DP)
|
| PHIL ALVIN |
Hightone HCD 8056 |
County Fair 2000 |
● CD $15.98 |
66 minutes, Recommended
One of the kings of American Roots
Music is heard in a variety of styles with a variety of bands. Phil's heard
doing everything from country blues to swamp blues to Dixieland to jive.
He's heard solo (Starlight/ That Thing), with his band The Blasters,
also featuring James Intveld (County Fair/ The Blue Line), a duet
with Billy Boy Arnold (Wreck Your V-8 Ford), even some tracks with
the Dirty Dozen Brass Band includes a 3-part funeral piece called Danny
Boy's Mourning Sunset (Old Rugged Cross/ Ankh/ Didn't He Ramble).(GM)
|
| ANDY ANDERSON |
Buffalo Bop 55161 |
Tough Tough Tough |
● CD $18.98 |
32 tracks recorded between 1956 and 1967 by this fine rocker
from Jackson, Mississippi for Sun, Felsted, Apollo, Cougar and his own
Century label. Includes many tracks not originally issued . It includes four
versions of his most famous song Johnny Valentine - three of them unissued
demos. Plus I Got Me A Woman/ I Love You/ You Shake Me Up/ They Call It
The Blues/ Chop Suey/ Gimme A Lock A Yo Hair/ Without Your Love/ My Babe/ I
Missed A Lot In You/ So Long I'm Gone and more. Includes 12 page booklet
with notes, rare photos and full discography.
|
| PAUL ANKA |
Canadian 240 |
Paul Anka |
● CD $18.98 |
30 tracks - 16 in true stereo - Diana/ tell Me That You
Love Me/ Waiting For You/ I Love You baby/ Cinderella/ It's Time To Cry/
Send For Me/ The Bells At My Wedding/ It Only Lasts For A Little While/
Kissing On The Phone, etc.
|
| PAUL ANKA |
Rhino 71489 |
30th Anniversary Collection |
● CD $21.98 |
24 hits in chronological order from 1957 to 1978. Includes
Diana/Put Your Head On My Shoulder/Puppy Love/My Way and, of course,
Having My Baby. Paul's best recordings from the ABC-Paramount, RCA,
Buddah and United Artists labels.
|
| DAVE APPELL &
THE APPLEJACKS |
Sparkeltone 99016 |
The Rock And Roll Story |
● CD $21.98 |
31 tracks recorded between 1954 and 1963 by this group from
Philadelphia. Personally, I find Appell's non-threatening night club
approach to rock 'n roll unlistenable but if you care this set includes
The Rock And Roll Story/ Hony Bunch/ Sweet Patootie Pie/ Teenage Meeting/
Ookey Ook/ Reunion/ Applejack/ Mexican Hat Rock/ Chitter Chatter Baby
and others.
|
| CHARLINE ARTHUR |
Bear Family BCD 16279 |
Welcome To The Club |
● CD $19.98 |
32 track collection of recordings made
between 1949 and 1957 by this outstanding singer whose brash stylings and
stage persona were ahead of her time. The set includes all the recordings she
cut for Bullet, Imperial, Coin & Victor.
|
| JOHN ASHLEY |
Hydra 27114 |
Born To Rock |
● CD $25.98 |
Two CD set featuring this teen film star and rock 'n' roll
singer. The first CD is a regular CD with 27 songs recorded between 1957 and
1965 including previously unissued songs with Eddie Cochran on guitar and
songs from the soundtrack of Ashley's movie "How To Stuff A Wild Bikini".
The second CD is actually a CD-ROM featuring video excerpts from four of
Ashley's movies, an interview and a scrapbook with over 200 photos. Also
includes 28 page booklet with notes, photos and discography.
|
| THE ASTRONAUTS |
Bear Family BCD 15442 |
Surfin' With/ Competition Coupe |
● CD $19.98 |
Two RCA Lps on one CD - Baja/ Miserlou/ Suzie Q/ Kuk/ Baby
Lets Play House/ Batman/ Competition Coupe/ 55 Bird/ Happy Ho Daddy, etc.
|
| THE ASTRONAUTS |
Bear Family BCD 15443 |
Everything's A-OK/Astronauts Orbit Campus |
● CD $19.98 |
Two RCA LPs on one CD - Bo Diddley/ It's So Easy/ Wine,
Wine, Wine/ Big Bossman/ Shortnin' Bread/ What'd I Say/ Be Bop A Lula, etc.
|
| THE ASTRONAUTS |
Bear Family BCD 15556 |
Rarities |
● CD $19.98 |
Hot on the heels of the previous two Bear Family CD's (BCD
15443 & BCD 15442) comes this cool collection of Astros rarities. The only
pre-RCA recording by the group, known then, in 1962, as the Stormtroopers,
gives a bit of a hint at the later rockin' prowess. Come Along Baby
is a good rocker, while the flip, Tryin' To Get To You is a decent
cover of the King's cover. Then they jump head long into what the Astronauts
were famous for - Surf music - with crunching instrumentals like Surfs
You Right , Surf Softly And Carry A Big Board , Surf Party ,
Firewater and lots more. It's hard to believe so many of these were
unreleased, they're hot. We follow the boys through some transitional times,
where they still turn out some interesting tunes, but wander a bit aimlessly
until they're put back on track by Steve Venet, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart
with some solid songs like Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day and The
Tables Have Turned , which along with the group penned Buy Me A Round
and some R&B covers, shows what a great beat/punk group the A's could be
too. (AE)
THE ASTRONAUTS: Around And Around/ Buy Me A Round/ Come
Along Baby/ Count Your Mistakes/ Everyone But Me/ Firewater/ Girls Like You/
Go Fight For Her/ Hot-doggin'/ I'm Gonna Buy Me A Dog/ Let's Surf Again/
Main Title From "ride The Wild Surf"/ My Little Beach Bunny/ Quasimoto/
Razzamatazz/ Scotch And Guitar/ Shame, Shame, Shame./ Surf Party/ Surf
Softly And Carry A Big Board/ Surf Softly And Carry A Big Board (dubbed)/
Surf's You Right/ Surfer Girl/ Swim Little Mermaid/ The La La La Song/ The
Pier/ The Tables Have Turned/ Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day/ Tryin' To Get
To You
|
| FRANKIE AVALON |
Varese Vintage VSD 5594 |
The Best Of Frankie Avalon |
● CD $13.98 |
18 tracks from everybody's favorite - Dede Dinah/ I'll
Wait For You/ Venus/ A Boy Without A Girl/ Two Fools/ Swingin' On A Rainbow/
Where Are You/ A Perfect Love/ All Of Everything/ A Miracle, etc.
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