Rockin Bones 1950s Punk
Rockin' Bones offers a first-rate look into the wild, wondrous, sometimes wacky world of rockabilly in all its raw, mangy glory. In typically thorough Rhino fashion, the four discs in this set cover territory both expected and unexpected, with extensive liner notes included. Obvious classics such as Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues', Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On' and Carl Perkins 'Blue Suede Shoes' are accompanied by less broadly known but still familiar tunes such as Wanda Jackson's 'Fujiyama Mama' and Elvis Presley's uncensored version of 'One Night Of Sin' (which was altered to 'One Night With You' when originally released in the '50s). But the fun really begins when the set steps off those well-worn byways and unearths songs that have rarely been heard since they were pressed.
The key themes of the more offbeat material are danger and dementia, best illustrated in Joyce Green's 'Black Cadillac', in which she gleefully sings about riding to her late boyfriend's funeral. 'Sinners', by Freddie & the Hitch-Hikers, uses a sinister, brooding beat (and a theremin!) to bemoan the fate of the fallen, while the plea 'Love Me', by the Phantom, is delivered in the manner of the truly unhinged. (It's not surprising that the Cramps covered both these tunes, though even they wouldn't argue about the superiority of the originals.) Sex is another key theme, of course, as in Barbara Pittman's moaning 'I Need A Man', ostensibly 'to tell my troubles to,' she sings with a wink. But nothing can surpass 'Little Girl' by the long-forgotten John & Jackie; the otherwise innocuous tune is startlingly goosed up by Jackie's repeated orgasmic cries before she finally gasps, 'Little boy, you're just too much!' The rockabilly credo is best expressed in the title track, presented in two versions (by Ronnie Dawson and Elroy Dietzel) that open and close the box. The singer is so in love with the music, he asks to be buried with a rock 'n' roll record at his feet and a phonograph needle in his hand, after which 'I'm gonna rock my way right out of this land!' What a fitting way to greet the afterlife, brothers and sisters!
RHINO'S READY TO RUMBLE WITH ROCKABILLY BOX Rockin' Bones Features 101 Tracks Recorded from 1954 to 1969 By Rockabilly Icons Along With Cuts By Unsung Heroes And Hellions, Plus 33 Rare Rave Ups Making Their US Debut on CD Four-Disc Box Set Is Available June 27 from Rhino LOS ANGELES - Get gone you hep cats and cool kittes 'cause this ain't no Happy Days soundtrack. This is where punk rock began - rockabilly - hard-edged, twangy rock 'n' roll. The sound of juvenile delinquents hepped up on hormones, dressed in black leather, drenched in pomade and sporting sideburns as sharp as Tijuana switchblades. Rhino celebrates sex, rebels and rock and roll with a four-disc collection featuring the best rockabilly this side of Squaresville. ROCKIN' BONES: 1950s PUNK & ROCKABILLY will be available June 27 at all retail outlets and at for a suggested retail price of $69.98. This jacked-up compilation gathers 101 rockabilly rave ups released by record labels both big and small from 1954 to 1969 by long gone daddies and wild, wild women, including 35 tracks making their U.S.
For the uninitiated, the collection serves as the perfect rockabilly primer with quintessential cuts like Link Wray's dark instrumental, 'Rumble,' Eddie Cochran's ode to teen frustrations, 'Summertime Blues,' Jerry Lee Lewis' unhinged piano classic, 'Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On,' and Johnny Cash's 'Get Rhythm,' a song that features a washboard sound created by Cash playing acoustic guitar with a dollar bill threaded through the strings. ROCKIN' BONES also includes double shots of well-known wailers including 'Baby Let's Play House' and 'One Night Of Sin' by Elvis Presley, 'Cat Man' and 'Woman Love' by Gene Vincent, 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Put Your Cat Clothes On' by Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly playing with Bob Montgomery on 'Down The Line' and Holly solo on 'Rockin' Around With Ollie Vee.' Also making unforgettable contributions are Roy Orbison, Buck Owens (aka Corky Jones), George Jones (aka Thumper Jones) and Ronnie Hawkins backed by The Hawks, who later split with Hawkins to become The Band. The collection also spotlights one shot hipsters like Freddie and the Hitch-Hikers, whose song 'Sinners' is one of the first rock 'n' roll tracks to use a Theremin; John and Jackie who recorded 'Little Girl' complete with call-and-response orgasmic wailing over the guitar break; Charlie Feathers who hiccups and shrieks his way through 'One Hand Loose,' Wanda Jackson shredding her vocal chords on 'Fujiyama Mama' and 'Big' Al Downing with The Poe Kats - rockabilly's first, and possibly only, racially mixed band - playing 'Down On The Farm.' A pair of Texans bookend the collection with different version of the title track - one recorded in 1959 by Ronnie Dawson and the collection closing version recorded in 1957 by Elroy Dietzel and the Rhythm Bandits. Interspersed among the songs, ROCKIN' BONES features snippets from movie trailers that recreate the sensationalism of teenage exploitation surrounding the early days of rock 'n' roll. Hollow body axman Deke Dickerson contributes an essay on rockabilly's hot pickers like Cliff Gallup, Scotty Moore, James Burton and Larry Collins who gave the music its signature sound.
'Rockabilly is guitar music,' he writes. 'Fans and historians can argue about many of its details, but one thing can't be denied: The guitar is the vital heartbeat. Add a sax or piano, it becomes rock 'n' roll. Add a fiddle or banjo, it's country. Without question, the sparse framework of rockabilly is anchored by the twang of the electric guitar.' The collection boasts deluxe packaging that features a black faux juvenile delinquent pocket book. The box set is also bolstered by amazing liner notes that include an introduction by the collection's producer, James Austin; a song-by-song commentary by noted rockabilly expert Colin Escott; as well as tributes from musicians such as James Burton, whose tasty licks are featured throughout the box set, Mike Ness of Social Distortion, Reverend Horton Heat, and Billy F.
Gibbons of ZZ Top. ROCKIN' BONES: 1950s PUNK & ROCKABILLY Track Listing Disc 1 1.
'Rockin' Bones' - Ronnie Dawson 2. 'Let's Go Baby' - Billy Eldridge 3. 'Baby Let's Play House' - Elvis Presley 4. 'Little Girl' - John & Jackie 5.
'Cat Man' - Gene Vincent 6. 'Lobo Jones' - Jackie Gotroe 7. 'Juvenile Delinquent' - Ronnie Allen 8. 'Froggy Went A Courting' - Danny Dell 9. 'Rattlesnake Daddy' - Joe D. 'Down On The Farm' - Al Downing 11. 'Rockin' In The Graveyard' - Jackie Morningstar 12.
'Dancing Doll' - Art Adams 13. 'Long Blond Hair, Red Rose Lips' - Johnny Powers 14. 'Action Packed' - Johnny Dollar 15. 'Boppin' High School Baby' - Don Willis 16.
'Believe What You Say' - Ricky Nelson 17. 'Sunglasses After Dark' - Dwight Pullen 18. 'Rumble' - Link Wray 19. 'Down The Line' - Buddy Holly & Bob Montgomery 20. 'Pink Cadillac' - Larry Dowd 21.
'Black Cadillac' - Joyce Green 22. 'Who's Been Here' - Commonwealth Jones 23. 'I Need A Man' - Barbara Pittman 24.
'Please Give Me Something' - Bill Allen 25. 'Sinners' - Freddie And The Hitch-Hikers Disc 2 1.
'Rock Around With Ollie Vee' - Buddy Holly 2. 'Lou Lou' - Darrell Rhodes 3.
'Rock Crazy Baby - Art Adams 4. 'Love Bug Crawl' - Jimmy Edwards 5. 'Fool I Am' - Pat Ferguson 6. 'Red Hot' - Bob Luman 7. 'Love Me' - The Phantom 8. 'She's My Witch' - Kip Tyler 9. 'Lordy Hoody' - Tommy Blake 10.
'Bloodshot' - The String Kings 11. 'Trouble' - Jackie DeShannon 12. 'Hot Shot' - Ronnie Pearson 13.
'Long Gone Daddy' - Pat Cupp 14. 'Curfew' - Steve Carl 15. 'Put Your Cat Clothes On' - Carl Perkins 16. 'Pink And Black' - Sonny Fisher 17.
'Domino' - Roy Orbison 18. 'Jungle Rock' - Hank Mizell 19. 'Ubangi Stomp' - Warren Smith 20.
'Chicken Walk' - Hasil Adkins 21. 'Chicken Rock' - Fat Daddy Holmes 22.
'Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe' - Bob and Lucille 23. 'Shirley Lee' - Bobby Lee Trammell 24. 'Woman Love' - Gene Vincent 25. 'One Night Of Sin' - Elvis Presley Disc 3 1.
'Blue Suede Shoes' - Carl Perkins 2. 'Duck Tail' - Joe Clay 3. 'Stack-A-Records' - Tom Tall 4. 'Daddy-O-Rock' - Jeff Daniels 5. 'Move' - Boyd Bennett 6. 'Brand New Cadillac' - Vince Taylor 7. 'Rumble Rock' - Kip Tyler 8.
Rockin 1000
'Hep Cat' - Larry Terry 9. 'Cast Iron Arm' - Peanuts Wilson 10. 'Switch Blade Sam' - Jeff Daniels 11. 'Ballin' Keen' - Bobby & Terry Caraway 12. 'Sweet Rockin' Baby' - Sonny West 13. 'Get Rhythm' - Johnny Cash 14.
'Rock Billy Boogie' - Johnny Burnette 15. 'Crazy Baby' - The Rockin R's 16. 'Susie-Q' - Dale Hawkins 17. 'Worried 'Bout You Baby' - Maylon Humphries 18. 'I Love My Baby' - The Phaetons 19. 'Come On Little Mama' - Ray Harris 20.
'Whistle Bait' - Lorrie And Larry Collins 21. 'Spin The Bottle' - Benny Joy 22. 'Bertha Lou' - Dorsey Burnette 23. 'Real Gone Daddy' - Jim Flaherty's Caravan 24. 'My Pink Cadillac' - Hal Willis 25.
'Draggin' - Curtis Gordon Disc 4 1. 'Action Packed' - Ronnie Dee 2. 'Shakin' All Over' - Johnny Kidd 3.
'Who Do You Love' - Ronnie Hawkins 4. 'Summertime Blues' - Eddie Cochran 5.
'The Way I Walk' - Jack Scott 6. 'Wild Wild Women' - Johnny Carroll 7. 'Oooh-Eeee' - Ric Cartey 8. 'Get Hot Or Go Home' - John Kerby 9. 'Swamp Gal' - Tommy Bell 10. 'Miss Pearl' - Jimmy Wages 11.
Rockin Bones 1950s Punk & Rockabilly
'Mercy' - Lorrie And Larry Collins 12. 'Rock Boppin' Baby' - Edwin Bruce 13. 'Rockin' Daddy' - Eddie Bond 14. 'Rock It' - Thumper Jones (George Jones) 15. 'Rhythm And Booze' - Corky Jones (Buck Owens) 16. 'Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll' - Billy Lee Riley 17.
'Shake Um Up Rock' - Benny Cliff Trio 18. 'Red Hot Rockin' Blues' - Jesse James 19. 'Bang Bang' - Janis Martin 20. 'One Hand Loose' - Charlie Feathers 21. 'Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On' - Jerry Lee Lewis 22. 'Fujiyama Mama' - Wanda Jackson 23. 'I Got A Rocket In My Pocket' - Jimmy Lloyd 24.
'Oh Love' - Don Wade 25. 'School Of Rock 'N Roll' - Gene Summers 26.
Block Rockin Beats
'Rock-N-Bones' - Elroy Dietzel. Things to Do Still planning to update and slightly expand my '99 modern rockabilly compilation cd (it's only a 74 minute cd and needs to be an 80).
Click to expand.I don't think anyone at the label can assume that someone who bought the earlier box is or isn't necessarily going to buy this one. Plus, when they assemble a set, if they are going for a specific theme, they do want to give the buyer a nice overview of the genre, rather than leave possibly popular or 'signature' songs out just because they appear on another Rhino set or two. IMHO, overlap is fine if the set itself flows well, and overlap is minimal. If it were more like 50% overlap, I'd seriously consider passing on a newer box set if an earlier one already covered the tracks. 20% doesn't seem that shabby! I have no interest in the earlier box set, but I'm all over this one.
Once I see a good sale on it, I'm picking it up.