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VINTAGE
ROCK 'N' ROLL & ROCKABILLY
The
Innocents -> Bill Justis
| THE INNOCENTS |
Ace CDCHD 374 |
The Complete Indigo Recordings |
● CD $16.98 |
If everything The Innocents recorded had sounded as good as Honest
I Do, then the thought of their collected releases on the Indigo label
would elicit spirited shouts of "Oh, happy day!" and "We
are truly blessed!" But since nothing - with the possible exception
of Gee Wiz - ever came close, a more reserved course of conduct
seems appropriate. This CD offers 25 selections, including Little Blue
Star/ I Know A Valley/ Sleeping Beauty. The only missing songs - they
couldn't be found - are Tick Tock and the instrumental The Rat,
which were recorded during the Honest I Do sessions and later sold to the
Transworld label (#7001). Some cuts, like the cover of Jesse Belvin's
Beware,
are reasonably good, but too many are flat, uninspired, and dull.
And their attempt at I'm A Hog For You
is a disaster of unheralded
proportion. Honest. (JC)
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| JIMMY ISLE |
Star Club 506020 |
High School Rock 'n' Roll - The Isle
Connection, 1957-63 |
● CD $19.98 |
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| WANDA JACKSON |
Ace CDCHD 776 |
Queen Of Rockabilly |
● CD $16.98 |
30 tracks, 69 mins, essential. This collection proves, if any
proof were needed, that Wanda Jackson was the finest female rocker of the
50s and early 60s with this collection of 30 of her best rockin' sides.
It's too bad that the market wasn't ready for a woman singer that was not
only agressive but sensual too or she would have been a bigger name in
rock - she had only one rock 'n roll hit, the all time classic Let's
Have Party, and a whole slew of country hits. She had a wonderful
voice that moved from sexy, breathy purr to country twang to raspy growl
which she uses to great effect on the songs here. All her best rockin'
sides are here - in addition to Party and the similarly themed
follow-ups There's A Party Goin'On and Man, We Had A Party
there's also her superb original song Mean Mean, Man, her great
version of the R&B song Fujiyama Mama which was a monster hit
in Japan where Wanda was treated like royalty and lots more. There's quite
a few covers of rock and R&B standards like Money Honey/ Searchin'/
Kansas City/ My baby Left me/ Brown Eyed HandsomeMan/ Slippin' &
Slidin' and others but Wanda gives them all her own individual stamp.
She also shows her versatility with a superb version of the blues You
Don't Know Baby. Accompaniments feature top West Coast sidemen like
Joe Maphis, Merrill Moore, Buck Owens Roy Clark and others with one group
of sessions that yielded Party featuring The Poe Kats from Arkansas
with Vern Sandusky on guitar and Big Al Downing on piano. The disc is
another high quality production with superb sound and a 12 page
illustrated booklet with informative notes by Rob Finnis. (FS)
WANDA JACKSON: Baby Loves Him/ Brown Eyed Handsome Man/ Cool Love/ Fallin'/
Fujiyama Mama/ Funnel Of Love/ Hard Headed Woman/ Honey Bop/ Honey Don't/
Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad/ I Gotta Know/ Kansas City/ Let's Have A Party/
Long Tall Sally/ Man We Had A Party/ Mean Mean Man/ Money Honey/ My Baby
Left Me/ Riot In Cell Block #9/ Rip It Up/ Rock Your Baby/ Savin' My Love/
Searchin'/ Slippin' And Slidin'/ Sticks And Stones/ There's A Party Goin'
On/ Tongue Tied/ Who Shot Sam?/ Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/ You Don't
Know Baby
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| WANDA JACKSON |
Bear Family BCD 15629 |
Right Or Wrong |
● CD $89.98 |
4-CD set of Wanda's 1954-62 recordings, including her
unsurpassed Capitol rockabilly sides Hot Dog/ Fujiyama Mama/ Let's Have
A Party/ Mean Mean Man/ There's A Party Goin' On etc. The set begins
with her first 15 recordings for Decca, most done before she graduated
from high school! These were pretty much straight country numbers, with
hints of the unbridled sexuality she was about to unleash on the world,
along with a host of other southern teens. In 1956 she walked into the
Capitol studios and turned on the juice, spurred on by the hot backing of
Joe Maphis, Buck Owens, Ralph Mooney, Merrill Moore, Big Al Downing, Billy
Strange, Roy Clark and more. The next 6 years with Capitol produced 108
sides, many hits, lots of country classics, and some of the most dynamic
female rockabilly ever. The enclosed book contains plenty of dazzling
photos, detailed history and discography. Another triumph from Bear
Family. (MB)
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| DANNY JAMES |
Ace CDCHD 626 |
Boogie In The Mud |
● CD $16.98 |
27 tracks, 65 min., recommended The late ace Louisiana
guitarist and "non-singer" Danny James (1945-1991) was a new
name to me until I heard a few of these tracks on previous Ace Goldband
sets. For this release, Ace has assembled all 7 of his Goldband singles,
along with one 1971 album cut & 4 unissued tracks. As he considered
himself a "non-singer" (note writer Robert Hankins outlines how
Goldband owner/producer Eddie Shuler had to trick Danny into singing), at
least 13 of his own sides were instrumentals, including a respectable
version of Albert Collins' Frosty and the original Blues Train.
When he did sing, his vocals were half-spoken, very much in the Tony Joe
White style, as is evident in the title track and the cover version of
Boozoo Chavis' zydeco classic, Paper In My Shoe. The CD is rounded
out with tracks by fellow Goldband artists that feature his playing,
including Jo'El Sonnier, Charles Page and Rockin' Sidney. As Danny James'
death went completely unnoticed in the music press, Ace should be
complemented for bringing back his music - a must releases if you're a fan
of those slippery blues guitar licks found in so many swamp pop records of
the 1960s. (EL)
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| TOMMY JAMES
& THE SHONDELLS |
Sequel 647 |
Crimson & Clover And Cellophane Symphony |
● CD $15.98 |
2 LPs in their entirety on 1 CD, recorded 1966-1969
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| JJAN & DEAN |
Sundazed 11035 |
Save For A Rainy Day |
● CD $13.98 |
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| JAN & DEAN |
Varese Vintage VSD 5590 |
Teen Suite, 1958-1962 |
● CD $11.98 |
21 tracks, 55 min., recommended. A highlights look at the
early recordings of this talented duo, offering tracks from their days
with the Arwin, Dore, and Challenge labels, before they turned their
professional attention to the surf scene. From the days when the record
label read "by Jan and Arnie," we have the 1958 classic Jennie
Lee, reputed written about a local stripper, Gotta Getta Date, Gas
Money, and Bonnie Lou. Next up are the Dore tracks, including
the equally classic Baby Talk, There's a Girl, Clementine,
White Tennis Sneakers, and We Go Together. And the program
closes with numbers from Gene Autry's Challenge Records, such as Heart
and Soul, Tomorrow's Teardrops, Wanted, One Girl, and
the previously unissued Whole Lotta Lovin'. Not as gritty as
mid-50's rock 'n' roll to be sure, but often still at least a little ways
from the Philadelphia-born music that passed as rock and roll later on.
(DH)
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| JAY & THE AMERICANS |
EMI 80244-2 |
Sands Of Time/ Wax Museum |
● CD $11.98 |
24 tracks, 71 min., recommended Having formed in 1959, the
Americans devoted these two late 60s LPs, their last two, to covers of 50s
vocal group standards. Life, of course, loves surprises, so one of these
redone "oldies" - This Magic Moment - was a solid hit,
selling more than the earlier version by the Drifters. Otherwise Jay and
friends perform their interpretations of Pledging My Love/ My Prayer/
Since I Don't Have You/ Mean Woman Blues/ A Lover's Question/ Lonely
Teardrops/ Johnny B. Goode, and other similar numbers. A quality job
throughout, with fine sound quality, informative notes, and lots of
photos. (DH)
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| JERRY JAYE |
Hi 122 |
My Girl Josephine |
● CD $17.98 |
15 tracks, 38 minutes, very good The 1st compilation ever of
rockabilly & rockin' country by the guy who surprised everyone in '67
by having a huge hit with a cover of Fats Domino's title tune, a fine
stripped down version using only a trio. This set showcases both his
stints on Hi (& ignores his mediocre 1st LP) with 8 cuts from the 60s,
including a few singles (Long Black Veil) & unreleased covers (Sugar
Bee/ Pipeliner Blues), then skips ahead to 7 cuts from his 2nd Hi LP,
"Honky Tonk Women Love Redneck Men" (Hi 32101 from '77),
including Hot & Still Heating/ Drinking My Way Back Home &
the title tonker. (GM)
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| THE JODIMARS |
Rockstar 007 |
Let's All Rock Together |
● CD $18.98 |
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| JOHNNY & THE
HURRICANES |
Black Tulip 39217 |
Red River Rock |
● CD $18.98 |
31 tracks, 71 mins, highly recommended Led by saxophonist
Johnny Paris (aka John Pocsisk) this group produced a series of immensely
appealing instrumentals usually based around old folk or pop songs. In
addition to paris the group featured the wonderfully cheesy organ sound
Paul Tesluk and the dynamic guitar of Dave Yorko. This entertaining
collection includes their big hits (Red River Rock/ Beatnik Fly/
Crossfire/ Reveille Rock, etc), lesser known titles (Joy Ride/ Hot
Fudge/ Sheeba/ Sand Storm, etc) and 12 previously unissued tracks
including an outtake of Beatnik Fly plus Caravan/ Jay Dee's
Boogie Woogie/ Polly Wolly/ Tweedlee Deee, etc. 19 of the tracks here
are in stereo. (FS)
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| JIMMY JONES |
Cub SE 38470 |
Handy Man |
● CD $18.98 |
25 tracks, 59 min., recommended Jones entered the music
world through membership in various 50's vocal groups - the Savoys, the
Pretenders, the Jones Boys, and the Sparks of Rhythm - but didn't really
strike it rich until he recorded Handy Man and Good Timing
as a single. The program on this disc features many of those early 60's
solo tracks, plus a few of his group numbers. It includes the two hits
mentioned above, I Told You So, That's When I Cried, Say
You're Mine, With All My Heart, Ee-I-Ee-I Oh, Dear
One, My Precious Angel,
and The Search Is Over. A generally upbeat
set, with most numbers done in the rock/pop sound that was coming into
favor at the time, and all featuring Jones's distinctive high tenor. Sound
quality is acceptable; notes are minimal, and there are two nice color
photos of the artist in the accompanying booklet. (DH)
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| BENNY JOY |
Ace CDCHD 703 |
Crash The Rockabilly Party |
● CD $16.98 |
28 tracks, 72 mins, highly recommended Georgia singer Benny
Joy was one of the very best of the second string rockers and his Spin
The Bottle is a certified rockabilly classic that would set you back a
small fortune to get the original on the small Tri-Dec label out of
Florida. He was too frantic and wild to have made much of an impact in the
50's but his legendary status continues to grow with collectors. This
collection features sides made for Tri-Dec, Antler and other small labels
and most were not originally issued. They were first heard on a couple of
While Label LPs in the 70s - for this set Ace have been able to turn up
even more unissued sides. It's mostly uptempo rockabilly featuring dynamic
guitar work by Big John Taylor including such gems as Little Red Book /
Miss Bobby Sox/ Steady With Betty/ Ittie Bittie Everything (a
great Buddy Holly flavored song)/ I'm Gonna Move and others. There
are also a couple of instrumentals from Taylor and the occasional soulful
ballad to cool things down a bit. Joy was as pure a rockabilly spirit as
ever slipped on a pair of blue suede shoes! (FS/AE)
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| BENNY JOY |
Collector CLCD 4401 |
Rockin' And Rollin' With Benny Joy |
● CD $16.98 |
Benny Joy was a 50's rockabilly singer who started out
recording on the Tri-Dec label in Florida. He went on to record a pretty
fair amount of material for small labels like Dixie, Antler and Ram and
even had some of them released. These 23 cuts are basically the best of
the two White Label LP's (WLP 8803 & WLP 8825) with an alternate take
of Hey High School Baby thrown in. Benny is one of the very best of
the second string rockers, too frantic and wild to have made much of an
impact in the 50's, his legendary status continues to grow with
collectors. He was as pure a rockabilly spirit as ever slipped on a pair
of blue suede shoes. Spin The Bottle , Steady With Betty , Wild
Wild Lover , Gossip Gossip Gossip and the rest of the tunes
here are rockabilly at its best....
AE
BENNY JOY: 'Hey' High School Baby/ Cold Cold Woman/ Come Back/ Crash The
Party/ Dark Angel/ Gosip, Gosip, Gosip/ I'm Gonna Move/ Indian Giver/
Little Bittie Everything/ Little Red Book/ Miss Bobby Sox/ Money Honey/
Nosey Nosey Neighbors/ Rebel Rock/ Rollin' The Juke Box Rock/ She Cried
For Me/ Spin The Bottle/ Steady With Betty/ Stompin'/ Talking About It/
Wild Wild Lover
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| BILL JUSTIS |
Collectables 6018 |
Raunchy - the Very Best Of Bill Justis |
● CD $13.98 |
19 Phillips International sides including his monster hit Raunchy
plus Cloud 9/ The Stranger/ The Snuggle/ College Man/ Scroungie/
Rollin'/ Rollin', etc.
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