Among 50's/early 60's rockers, only Elvis Presley sold more records than Antoine "Fats" Domino. Although an extraordinary commercial success (37 Top-40 hits), Domino was never accorded the respect of his more flamboyant peers. This four CD, 100-song boxed set provides long overdue tribute while correcting some of the mistakes of 1991’s similar They Call Me The Fat Man. The chief differences? Walking To New Orleans has been remastered in 24-bit digital sound, they play at the same speed as when they were originally released, the liner notes are more accurately researched, and the song line-up features 17 different tracks.

This entire collection is not only enjoyable -- it’s a damned revelation to boot. Domino may have repeated formulas and themes, but he was competing in a hit singles market, where easy identification and repetition were important factors. Yet his sound was varied endlessly, and his affable vocals worked in many innovative settings. The big hits we all know ("Blueberry Hill," "I'm Walking," "Blue Monday," "Ain't It A Shame," etc.) are here and they still sound great. However, more amazing are the seldom-reissued tunes that Fats recorded before they renamed his music rock'n'roll. Such seminal ditties as "The Fat Man," "She's My Baby," "Boogie Woogie Baby," and nearly every song on disc one showcases Fats as a hard-driving piano stomper! Many of these topped the r&b charts when they were first released, but have been unjustly ignored since.

Listening to these brilliantly executed, danceable grooves today, it is clear that Domino and co-writer/producer Dave Bartholomew helped recast blues, swing, and "race music" to invent the form we now know as rock'n'roll (and did it YEARS before Little Richard made his first attempts). Even the later string-fed adult contemporary crossover material is bluesy, fun, and has aged quite well. If you’re looking for a domestic collection with greater impact than the standard hits package, this one comes strongly recommended. - Ken Burke

Wanda Jackson
Capitol / 72436-40682-2-5

Rockin’ With Wanda
Capitol / 72436-40683-2-4

Whether rasping out gems of frustrated sensuality like "Mean, Mean Man," "Fujiyama Mama," or joyously whooping through "Lets Have a Party", Wanda Jackson competed with male artists on their terms and often won. Her hot-tempered sexuality leaked through every fast song she ever recorded and seemingly proclaimed "All's fair in love, war, and rock 'n' roll!"

Jackson’s first two LPs brilliantly demonstrate her peerless abilities as both a cry-in-your-beer country singer and raspy-voiced rocker. The Oklahoma native’s self-titled debut sports some much appreciated versions of "Long Tall Sally," "Money Honey," and her 1960 breakthrough rockabilly hit "Let’s Have A Party." Far more revealing are the plaintive Kitty Wells-drenched renditions of "Making Believe," Joan Weber’s "Let Me Go, Lover," "Half As Good A Girl," "I Can’t Make My Dreams Understand," and "Just A Queen For A Day." In the days before she utilized the coquettish trill of her dual market hit "I’m In The Middle Of a Heartache," these sides revealed Jackson’s true career aspirations.

That said, "Rockin’ With Wanda" is the more remarkable rockabilly statement. Included are the wild sexy ravers that made Jackson a legend -- "Fujiyama Mama," "Hot Dog ! That Made Him Mad," "Mean, Mean Man, " "Baby Loves Him," "Rock Your Baby," and "Honey Bop." Less forceful, but every bit as cool are the half-waltz time/half rockin’ "I Gotta Know" (a #15 country hit in 1956) and the openly seductive "Savin’ My Love." As bold as these performances sound today, they must’ve frightened the hell out of 50s/60s radio programmers.

Amid the curiosities reside the cutesy teen-pop of "A Date With Jerry" the calypso-influenced "Don’a Wan’a," and barroom weepers "Reaching" and I’d Rather Have You." Hard to imagine how this eclectic mix went down with record buyers of the time, but they do demonstrate Jackson’s versatility on an otherwise hot rock’n’roll set. - Ken Burke

Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
Capitol / 72435-40684-2-3

Bluejean Bop
Capitol / 72435-40685-2-2

Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps were the ultimate greasy rockers. Guitarist Cliff Gallup and snare drummer Dickie "Be-Bop" Harrell accentuated their jazzy bop style, and provided the perfect sonic framework that allowed their singer to jam out roadhouse rockabilly or emote r&b ballads with the best of his era.

Moreover, Vincent’s first two LPs - featured on these two Capitol reissues augmented with several high-powered bonus tracks - succeed on a grander scale than any of Elvis Presley’s albums from the 50s.

Backed by the original Blue Caps, not only did Vincent personify Cat Music with unrivaled zeal and polish, the Virginia-born pioneer boldly tackled unlikely material. Who else could transform such Tin Pan Alley warhorses as "Lazy River," "Jezebel," "Ain’t She Sweet," "Peg O’ My Heart," and "Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine)" into working models of Bop and its variant possibilities?

Featuring cleaner, warmer sound than Collectable’s recent reissues, it’s hard to say which disc is the better Gene Vincent reissue. Juiced up with such hot rockin’ bonus tracks as "Be-Bop-A-Lula," "Race With The Devil," "Woman Love" and "Crazy Legs" the "Bluejean Bop" collection features some of the best r&b-fed rock’n’roll ever made. Besides the aforementioned standards, Vincent and crew skillfully employ tension and release dynamics on the title track, "Gonna Back Up Baby," "Who Slapped John," "Bop Street," and sensual "I Flipped." Evoking a true sense of liberation, the Blue Caps rebel yell like a motorcycle gang in heat. Meanwhile their leader alternately broods and swaggers with an authority that makes modern singers seem like comparative poseurs.

On "Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps," Vincent is vocally more aggressive on such tough ditties as "Cat Man," "Hold Me, Hug Me, Rock Me," "Cruisin’," "B-I-Bickey-Bi, Bo-Go-Go," and showcases his bluesy side most confidently with "Five Days, Five Days" and the Delmore Brothers’ "Blues Stay Away From Me." The interplay between guitarist Cliff Gallup and drummer Dickie "Be-Bop" Harrell is fluid and intuitive, showing off Vincent’s tense vibrato to maximum effect.

Many fans have already latched on to these essential sides in boxed sets, on original vinyl, or various compilations. However, if you want to wipe that look of mystification off your friend’s faces when trying to define what great rock’n’roll was truly about, make them a present of the Blue Caps collections.- Ken Burke

Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two
The Complete Original Sun Singles
Varese Sarabande / 302 066 056 2

Decades before he was dubbed "The Man In Black," experienced the sin and redemption of a widely publicized pill habit, or was rediscovered by the punk-alt. country crowd, Johnny Cash made music that was every bit as revolutionary as Elvis Presley’s. In an era filled with gimmicks and signature styles, Cash’s quavering baritone was one of the most unique of vocal instruments. Neither pure folk nor pure country, his voice made allusions to the big sounds of the Delta blues and Rockabilly.

Aided by the original Tennessee Two, Luther Perkins on guitar, Marshall Grant on stand-up bass, Cash (who often accentuated the beat by weaving wax paper through his guitar strings) forged an honest, expressive sound in Sam Phillips’ Sun Studio in Memphis. The resultant body of work is second only to the massive catalog compiled by labelmate Jerry Lee Lewis, and makes a clear case for Cash being Sun’s finest singer/songwriter.

The very cream of Cash’s Sun work is collected on this highly recommended 40-song, 2-disc set. Every big hit is here from "Cry! Cry! Cry!" to the recently revived "Mean-Eyed Cat." The records which truly made Cash’s career and persona "Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk The Line," and "Big River" still sound better than anything on country radio today. Although today the vocal chorus work on "Guess Things Happen That Way," "Ballad Of A Teenage Queen," and "The Ways Of A Woman In Love" sound a bit dated, it’s important to realize that if Jack Clement hadn’t sweetened these tracks, they might never have hit the pop charts.

Clement is an important feature on this collection. After Sam Phillips turned the studio over to him, the label achieved its most sustained success. At a point when Cash was saving his best songs for his eventual move to Columbia, Clement penned material for Cash every bit as good as his star’s. He also augmented the Tennessee Two sound with the piano stylings of Charlie Rich, Jimmy Wilson, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

There are a few surprises, mainly the inclusion of Cash’s first recording "Wide Open Road," which boasts the ill-begotten efforts of steel player A.W. Kernoodle, and the religious track which almost kept him from being offered a Sun contract "Belshazah." (Phillips was once quoted as saying he loved gospel music but it didn’t sell. When Cash left Sun for Columbia, it was as much for freedom to record scared material as it was for monetary considerations.) Mostly, there is just track after track of truly great music from an irreplaceable American original.

Twangsters will dig this for the honky-tonk heartache, rockabillies will groove to the slapback and the Tennessee Two’s inimitable style, and folkies just might realize that there might not have been a Bob Dylan if these great sides hadn’t been cut. If you don’t already own a set of Cash Sun sides, this is the one to get. www.veresesarabande.com.- Ken Burke

The Everly Brothers
The Complete Cadence Recordings 1957-1960
Varese Sarabande / 302 066 217 2

Yes, the Everly Brothers were honored in their time with awards, fame, money, and a huge string of hit records. Yet somehow, the up and coming rockabillies and neo-traditional types ignore their works. Hopefully, this two-disc, 47-song collection will help change that.

Naturally all the duo’s great uptempo hits are here, "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "Claudette," "Bird Dog, "Poor Jenny," as well as the romantic classics "All I Have To Do Is Dream," "Devoted To You," "When Will I Be Loved." and "(’Til) I Kissed You." Other potent highlights include their reinvention of Ray Charles’ "Leave My Woman Alone," the complete Songs Our Daddy Taught Us LP, and zingy alternate takes of "Should We Tell Him" and "Poor Jenny." Great writing by Felice & Beaudleaux Bryant alternating with Everly’s own remarkable material are nearly impossible to match on a song by song basis. The boy’s telepathic harmony sense and catchy, percussive acoustic guitar attack still comprises an invigorating listening experience.

This set also boasts several previously unreleased songs -- mostly spare demos plaintively cut by brother Phil. If you aren’t affected by "I Can’t Recall," or "Wishing Won’t Make It So," than maybe true roots music isn’t for you. In 1960, the Everly’s left Cadence for Warner Brothers, where they changed their sound, and made a few great singles along with several noble commercial and artistic failures. On this essential set, their talent is joyously unfettered and heartbreakingly pure, and every note plays out with the impending success of expectant youth.- Ken Burke

Little Richard
The Specialty Sessions

Specialty / SPCD 8508

Through sheer over-the-top braggadocio and grossly inaccurate statements about his place in history, Little Richard has severely damaged the perception of both his career and talents. In the process, the Georgia-born Richard Penniman simultaneously ridiculed his peers and demeaned his own art. Let’s set the record straight shall we? Fats Domino and Big Joe Turner were hitting the charts with rock’n’roll tunes long before Little Richard did. Richard did sign with an RCA subsidiary years before Elvis Presley landed there, but his recordings were watered down jump blues with none of the force and verve of his Specialty sides. By contrast, pre-rock jump blues king Wynonie Harris was far more outrageous on record during that same era.
Further, Richard’s assertions to the contrary, Chuck Berry was a better songwriter and more influential musician who made a greater sustained impact on the pop charts. Bill Haley’s "Rock Around The Clock" sold more than everything Richard did during his entire career combined. Finally, Elvis Presley was proclaimed "King of Rock’n’Roll" by public acclamation - not through the type of public connivance and supercilious personal demands Richard made on TV talk shows.

Let’s set something else straight while we’re at it.

Little Richard was early rock’s greatest vocalist. No less a figure than Chuck Berry has said so. James Brown, Dee Clark, Otis Redding, and Paul McCartney used his sound as the jumping off point for their own careers.
A fiery shouter whose intensity added layers of earthy meaning to the most sublimely ridiculous lyrics ("Wop-bop-a-lu-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!"), the former dishwasher threw Pentecostal fear into parents and thrilled his listeners. The proof? This 3 CD, 73-song collection of his seminal rock recordings makes Little Richard's claim to greatness more profoundly than a thousand ridiculous talk-show appearances.

Backed by the same swinging New Orleans session men who worked with Fats Domino - Lee Allen, Earl Palmer, Alvin "Red" Tyler, etc., Richard laid down an amazing run of hit singles. "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Lucille," "Ready Teddy," and so many others burst through the speakers with inspired lunacy and energy. His own hard-pounding piano sound and cracked note treble runs - taught to him by an obscure r&b performer known as Esquerita, provides cathartic, percussive release. In short, this is rock’n’roll!

Granted, you could get all of Little Richard’s best songs from the 50s on Rhino’s excellent "The Georgia Peach" collection. But on this set you can hear Richard’s transformation from journeyman r&b singer performing tepid renditions of "Kansas City" and "All Night Long," to the rasping, defiant firebrand who waxed "Keep A Knockin’" and "The Girl Can’t Help It."

Richard came up with the idea behind many of his best songs. Indeed, there is something compelling about the early version of "Long Tall Sally" called "The Thing," and the pushcart vendor-inspired "I Got It", later redone as the leering shout "She’s Got It." However, Specialty owner Art Rupe and producer Bumps Blackwell smartly honed Richard’s raw sound into the potent radio-ready brain blasts they became. Without those integral figures, it’s likely Richard would have remained a mere club performer. It’s also important to note that with the exception of a song here and there, Richard’s work stopped being an important factor once he left the environs of Specialty.
Included here also are Richard’s amazing radio spots for Royal Crown Hair Dressing and ill-fated 1964 return to Specialty wherein the force and fury were still evident on such revivalist fare as "Well Alright!" and "Bama Lama Bama Loo."

Neither a quick study nor stylistically deep artist, Richard compiled a smaller catalog of recordings during his classic period than any performer of his stature. That said, an unusually high percentage of these sides were r&b hits and a few were pop smashes that helped tear down radio’s color barrier. These still dynamic sides are absolutely essential to any serious collection of rock’n’roll. - Ken Burke

Bo Diddley
Have Guitar, Will Travel

Checker

This 1960 release is about as good a proper album as I’ve heard from any artist who got things going in the Fifties. This is just a testament to Bo’s versatility as an artist – the first side is simply perfect. “She’s Alright” is a rollicking gospel-blues, and shows off Bo as a singer. Every bit of energy in the studio comes off the grooves. “Cops and Robbers” is a talking blues story-song that The Rolling Stones included on their demo for Decca Records. “Run Diddley Daddy” is a frantic blast of rock (not to be confused with the Bo’s slower “Diddley Daddy”), with Bo’s fretboard runs forging new ground for rock guitar with each note. He goes a level farther on the instrumental “Mumblin’ Guitar”, using reverb, effects and playing seemingly every part of the instrument, including the neck, while Jerome Green goes nuts on the maracas. The side closes with his plaintive soul number “Need You Baby” (also known as “Mona”). The second side isn’t so incredible, though it features Bo and Jerome trading insults, like “Your mama’s so skinny she’s gotta tie knots in her legs to have knees”, on the minor hit “Say Man, Back Again”. But there’s no real filler and this album shows that Bo was a bluesman, a rocker, a soul shouter and primarily, an innovator – Mike Bennett