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VINTAGE ROCK 'N' ROLL & ROCKABILLY
Fabian -> The Fireballs

FABIAN
THE FABULOUS WAILERS
WERLY FAIRBURN
THE FANTASTIC BAGGYS
THE FARMERS
CHARLIE FEATHERS
NARVEL FELTS
THE FENDERMEN
THE FIREBALLS
 

 

FABIAN Ace CDCHD 321 This Is Fabian! ● CD $18.98
Hey, wait a minute, Fabian wasn't a total wimp! Listen to the hard rockin' Tiger, and the desperate Jr. Elvis gyrations of Turn Me Loose/ I'm A Man/ Come On And Get Me. These tracks, taken from the turn of the 60's vaults of Chancellor Records, feature some blazing guitar atop sharp rockabilly-styled backing, skillfully disguising the obvious fact that the Fab one couldn't sing his way out of a wet paper bag. Ace wisely put the best material first, filling out the last two-thirds of the disc with teen schlock like Steady Date/ Stop Thief!/ Shivers etc. (MB)
FABIAN: A Girl Like You/ About This Thing Called Love/ Come On And Get Me/ Gonna Get You/ Got The Feeling/ Grapevine/ Hound Dog Man/ Hypnotized/ I'm A Man/ I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter/ King Of Love/ Kissin' And Twistin'/ Lilly Lou/ Long Before/ Love That I'm Giving To You/ Mighty Cold (to A Warm Heart)/ Shivers/ Steady Date/ Stop Thief!/ String Along/ This Friendly World/ Tiger/ Tomorrow/ Tongue Tied/ Turn Me Loose/ Wild Party

 
THE FABULOUS WAILERS Ace CDCHD 675 The Original Golden Crest Masters ● CD $18.98
Collection of tracks from late 50s/ early 60 by Seattle based instrumental group best known for their great Tall Cool One which is featured here along with the wild vocal cut Dirty Robber and others like Mau-Mau/ Shanghied/Driftwood/ Scartchin'/ High Wall/ Why Did It Happen To Me, etc
THE FABULOUS WAILERS: Beat Guitar/ Beat Guitar #2/ Dirty Robber/ Driftwood/ Driftwood #2/ Gunnin' For Peter/ High Wall/ Long Gone/ Lucille/ Mau-mau/ Road Runner/ Scratchin'/ Shanghied/ Snake Pit/ Swing Shift/ Tall Cool One/ Tough Bounce/ Wailin'/ Why Did It Happen To Me

 
WERLY FAIRBURN Bear Family BCD 15578 Everybody's Rockin' ● CD $21.98
29 tracks, 73 min., recommended. Despite his few strong rockabilly sides (I'm Jealous, All The Time, Everybody's Rockin'), Werly Fairburn was more upbeat hillbilly than rocker, more at home with a steel guitar and a fiddle behind him than he was with maniacal drumming and strumming. He was good, though. And this disc collects all of his efforts between 1953-59 for Trumpet, Capitol, Columbia, Savoy, Sand Milestone (his own label), save a few lost masters. His best known song is probably I Guess I'm Crazy, a posthumous hit for Jim Reeves, but there are plenty of pleasers here, including Telephone Baby, Speak To Me Baby, That Sweet Love Of Mine, and My Heart's On Fire. Four previously unissued cuts, good booklet notes, and a detailed discography. (JC)

 
THE FANTASTIC BAGGYS Sundazed 11084 Anyhere The Girls Are - The Best Of .. ● CD $14.98
Their 1964 "Tell 'Em I'm Surfin'" LP was a bomb, except in surf-crazed South Africa, so it hasn't been so easy to get a copy. Too bad, 'cause it's big fun in the sun. The Baggys, who didn't surf, were Phil (P.F.) Sloan and Steve Barri - they also sang and wrote for Jan & Dean and had hits writing for The Turtles, Johnny Rivers, The Grass Roots and others. And while it's hard to believe, it is true that Sloan wrote A Surfer Boy's Dream Come True as well as Eve Of Destruction. This disc reissues the FB's LP, and adds 17 bonus tracks including rare singles, unissued tracks and alternate takes. Includes extensive notes based on interviews with Sloan and Barri and rare vintage photos. (JC/FS)

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS Bear Family BCD 16309 Rock-A-Billy ● CD $21.98
Previously on Zu-Zazz. Charlie Feathers was the founder of rockabilly and everyone else copied his style according to Charlie. Maybe Feathers gets carried away with his place in rock'n'roll history but no one can deny that he was right up there with the very top talents of the era. His style was more country than the other big names but when he cut loose on a pure rockabilly tune he was astounding. The 26 tunes on this CD collects the various rare and unissued tunes recorded from 1954 to 1973. Bob Jones did the mastering so you know the sound is great. Bottle To The Baby/ One Hand Loose/ I Can't Hardly Stand It/ I'm Walking The Dog/ Wild Wild Party/ Long Time Ago/ Gone! Gone! Gone! and many more. There's a lot of duplication with the Revenant two CD set issued a while back but since that issue has become mighty elusive of late you might want to check this out. (AE/FS)

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS Eagle 90129 That Little Show ● CD $18.98
23 track collection of osbcure recordings from the 50s through the 70s - some previouslyy unissued. It includes live recordings from the 70s with son Bubba on guitar, demos and alternate takes from the 50s and 60s and tracks of undetermined origin - Stutterin' Cindy/ We're Getting Closer To being Apart/ Tongue Tied Jill/ Gone Gone Gone/ I Forgot To Remember To Forget/ The Man In Love/ That certain Female/ Let's Live A Little Now/ Don't Let Me cRoss Over, etc.

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS Kamaric 001 "Live" In London ● CD $14.98
The late great rockabilly legend recorded live in London in 1990 during his last overseas tour. Although Charlie was sick he sounds in fine form and is accompanied by his son Bubba on guitar and an undistiguished British bass player and drummer. He performs some his own classic songs (Peeping Eyes/ One Hand Loose/ Tongue Tied Jill, etc) along with versions of Folsom Prison Blues/ Tear It Up/ Will The Circle Be Unbroken and others. A short set (only 9 songs) but a nice memory of a fine and much missed performer.

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS King KMCD 6110 His Complete King Recordings ● CD $10.98
Both sides of Charlie's four classic King 45s - alternate takes exist but are not included here.

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS Norton CED 225 Uh Huh Honey ● CD $13.98
A hiccup-packed set of Feathers' rockabilly dementia from 1968, compiled from various sources. Charlie has never been one to cater to the changing tastes of rock 'n' roll, so regardless of date these sound like they could have been done back in '56, with a few minor sonic improvements. There's plenty of patented backwoods craziness on She Knows How To Rock Me/ Uh Huh Honey/ Rain/ That Certain Female/ She Set Me Free as well as untarnished remakes of We're Getting Closer To Being Apart/ Gone Gone Gone/ Get With It/ Tongue Tied Jill/ Stutterin' Cindy. He also gives up some pure country on Wild Side Of Life/ There Will Be Three/ I'm Movin' On and more. Duplicates tracks with other compilations, but with 28 songs this takes the cake. (MB)

 
CHARLIE FEATHERS Norton CED 246 Tip Top Daddy ● CD $13.98
A collection of home recordings and demos - mostly just Charlie & his guitar with occasional additional guitar. There are also a couple of live tracks. Most of the material is country and ranges from the good to the not so good.

 
NARVEL FELTS Bear Family BCD 15515 Memphis Days ● CD $21.98
26 tracks recorded for Roland Janes between 1962 and '65 - some were originally issued on the Renay, Southern Sound and ARA labels but 15 have never been issued before. Has 16 page booklet with notes, photos and discographical information.

 
NARVEL FELTS Bear Family BCD 16220 Did You Tell Me? ● CD $21.98
34 tracks covering the period 1957-1976 from Sun, Mercury & MGM

 
NARVEL FELTS & JERRY MERCER Rockstar RSRCD 012 More Radio Rockabillies ● CD $21.98
Reissue of Rockstar LP 1016 with 11 additional cuts featuring radio broadcasts from 1956 featuring the duo with their group performing, mostly, covers of rockabilly favorites of the day - Lawdy Miss Clawdy/ Gone, Gone, Gone/ Blue Sude Shoes/ My Baby Left Me/ Al Mama's Children/ Heartbreak Hotel/ Maybelline/ Dixie Fried, etc.

 
THE FENDERMEN Dee-Jay Jamboree 55020 The Fendermen ● CD $17.98
A very welcome re-ish of these guitar-blasters essential stuff, from the same label who brought us the Hasil Adkins collection last year. Basically a two-guitar duo with no bass (occasionally adding a drummer), The Fendermen had a uniquely raw, minimalist sound; they actually made the Top 10 in '59 with their version of Jimmie Rodgers' Mule Skinner Blues. This was followed by two more singles and an album for Soma, which balanced vocal numbers like Heartbreakin' Special and Don't You Just Know It with hot instrumentals like Torture and Beach Party. You'll find all of it here, plus six bonus tracks, including the rare Dorsey Burnette-penned B-side Can't You Wait, and the original take of Don't You Just Know It with mixed-up verses. Essential early rock 'n' roll. (GDR)

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 418 The Original Norman Petty Masters ● CD $18.98
Cut in Norman Petty's studio between 1958-64, these 25 streamlined pieces qualify as rambunctious guitar-picking treats...in moderation, of course. Their biggest non-Jimmy Gilmer hits are here - Torquay/ Bulldog/ Quite A Party - along with a nice mix of Tex-Mex and other infectious instrumentals. The bluesy Blacksmith Blues takes the boys off the beated path, as do the worthwhile Long Long Ponytail/ Cry Baby, the only vocal tracks. Ace has picked the best releases where there was a mono and stereo choice, so Tuff-A-Nuff/ Really Big Time, for example, are in the latter, while Dumbo and others have been left in mono. Coherent notes make the frequent label and band member changes seem almost, well, coherent. (JC)
THE FIREBALLS: Blacksmith Blues/ Bulldog/ Chief Whoopin' Koff/ Cry Baby/ Daytona Drag/ Dumbo/ El Ringo/ Find Me A Golden Street/ Fireball/ Foot Patter/ Gunshot/ Kissin'/ Long Long Ponytail/ Nearly Sunrise/ Panic Button/ Peg Leg/ Quite A Party/ Really Big Time/ Rik-a-tik/ The Carioca/ Torquay/ Torquay Two/ Tuff-A-Nuff/ Vaquero/ Yacky Doo

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 447 The Fireballs/ Vaquero ● CD $18.98
24 tracks, 55 minutes, good. Nice pairing of the first two Fireballs LP's originally issued by Top Rank in 1960. These 2 dozen Norman Petty productions include the only 3 hits they had for Top Rank - Torquay/ Bulldog/ Vaquero . The first LP also included 5 Jimmy Gilmore vocals, a sharp contrast to the tough George Tomsco-driven instrumentals, although in all fairness a couple aren't too bad. Apparently Gilmore couldn't sing in Spanish so Vaquero is all instrumental, however the trade off is that the tunes are sometimes a bit sappy. Panic Button/ Long Long Ponytail/ Tequila/ El Rancho Grande/ La Raspa , etc. (AE)

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 452 Torquay/ Campusology ● CD $18.98
24 tracks, 53 min., good The digital reissue of the two Dot Records LPs named above, from 1963 and 1966 respectively. Both feature peppy pop instrumentals very much in the more polite early 60's rock and roll mode. Highlights, in addition to the title tunes, include versions of Last Date/ Wheels/ Rawhide, and In the Mood, plus original numbers like Tuff-a-Nuff/ Quite a Party, and Daytona Drag. The most famous Fireball, Jimmy Gilmer of Sugar Shack infamy, does no singing at all here. Sound quality is fine, and cover art and liner notes are original. (DH)

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 468 The Best Of Jimmy Gilmer & Fireballs Vocals ● CD $18.98
THE FIREBALLS: Ain't Gonna Tell Anybody/ Almost Eighteen/ Bottle Of Wine/ Bullmoose/ Call In The Sheriff/ Can't You See I'm Trying/ Come On React/ Cry Baby/ Daisy Petal Pickin'/ Do You Think/ Don't Stop/ Everyday/ Good Good Lovin'/ I Wonder Why/ I'll Send For You/ Indian Giver/ It's So Easy/ Little Baby/ Lonesome Tears/ Look At Me/ Maybe Baby/ Pretend/ Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache/ Sugar Shack/ The One Who Lives Inside Of Me/ True Love Ways/ What Kinda Love/ When My Tears Have Dried/ Wishing/ Won't Be Long

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 472 Blue Fire/ Rarities ● CD $18.98
31 tracks, 70 minutes, recommended This should be very exciting to Fireballs fans and instrumental buffs - an entire album from 1960 that was never released. The Fireballs recorded ( Blue Fire) for Top Rank Records at Norman Petty Studios but Top Rank went bust so it's stayed in the can until now. Petty gave them the idea to put together an LP's worth of "blues" tunes but as you can guess it comes closer to top 40 instrumental music than a Chess jam session. Tomsco and crew pick their way through such classics as St. Louis Blues/ Blues In The Night/ Basin Street Blues/ Birth Of the Blues as well as their own bluesy compositions. The CD is rounded out with an additional 19 "rare" tunes, many previously unissued or alternate takes, from the Fireballs' golden age. Wicked/ Rik-A-Tik/ Vaquero/ Tuff-A-Nuff/ Torquay/ Gunshot/ Spotnick, etc. Great 12 page booklet too (AE)
THE FIREBALLS: Almost Paradise/ Basin Street Blues/ Big Daddy Blues/ Blacksmith Blues/ Blue Fire/ Blue Tinted Blues/ Blues In The Night/ Bluesday/ Bye Bye Blues/ Clink Clink Classic/ Don't Lie To Me/ Dooop/ Gunshot/ I Doubt It/ Joshi/ Power Packed/ Rik-a-tik/ Sneakers/ Spotnick/ St Louis Blues/ Sweet Talk/ Teekee/ The Birth Of The Blues/ The Wang Wang Blues/ Torquay/ Tuff-a-nuff/ Vaquero/ Vaquero (Latino)/ Wabash Blues/ Wicked/ Yacky Doo

 
THE FIREBALLS Ace CDCHD 677 Bottle Of Wine/ Come On React ● CD $18.98
This 2-on-1 offers both albums recorded for Atco, remastered from Norman Petty's original master tapes.
THE FIREBALLS: A Girl As Perfect As You/ Ain't That Rain/ Baby, Listen To Me/ Barbara White/ Bottle Of Wine/ Chicken Little/ Cod'ine/ Come On, React!/ Get Out Of My Life, Woman/ Goin' Away/ Good Lovin's So Hard To Find/ Groovy Motions/ Hurry, Hurry/ I Don't Have The Right/ It's Easy For Me/ Light In The Window/ Litty Bitty Bucket/ Lonely Too Long/ Louie, Go Home/ Mason Street/ Mr Reeves/ Three Minutes Time/ Where Can Tomorrow Be Found?/ Woman Help Me

 
THE FIREBALLS Sundazed 6088 The Fireballs ● CD $11.98
15 tracks, 32 minutes, recommended Reissue of their 1st LP, originally Top Rank 324 from '59. Recorded at Norm Petty's studios in Clovis NM, with Petty producing. This is the original band with Chuck Tharp on vocals & George Tomsco on lead guitar. The band at this time is alternating between instrumentals & vocals. Their 1st 2 hits are here, Bulldog & the original version of Torquay. Includes a couple of unissued tunes from '61 as well as Tuff-A-Nuff, also from '61 which only came out as a Canadian single. Liner notes by Tomsco, who wrote or co-wrote (with Tharp) everything here except for a couple by Petty. (GM)

 
THE FIREBALLS Sundazed 6089 Torquay ● CD $11.98
15 tracks, 32 minutes, recommended Reissue of Dot 25512 from '63, the 4th LP, 1st for Dot. Jimmy Gilmer's in the band, but has yet to be featured vocalist. The tunes, of course, recorded at Norm Petty Studios in Clovis, NM, produced by Petty. The tunes are intrumentals, led off by leader George Tomsco's classic title hit, with a few more Tomsco originals, but mostly covers, including Last Date, Link Wray's Rawhide, even the Petty composed Wheels, a hit for The String-A-Longs. 3 bonus cuts, a single from '61 including a cover of Spotnik, & the never released Power Packed. Liner notes by Tomsco. (GM)

 
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