[.ca] The Golden Age of American Rock & Roll, Vol. 5

Wonderful Sampling of Golden Oldies:
This is the 5th installment of at least 10 CD samplers, covering "charted hit territory" of Rock & Roll's Golden Age (The 1950s & 1960s). I am extremely pleased with each and every one of these CDs. I'm so happy that my favorite oldies are all becoming available on CDs. -- This particular volume has the dreamy instrumental "Sleep Walk" by Santo & Johnny, the snappy surf version of "Heart & Soul" by Jan & Dean, as well as the song anybody of any age can name in 3 notes (Duke...Duke...Duke) "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler. You also get the lesser published "It Will Stand" by The Showmen (telling us that nothing will ever push away this thing called "Rock & Roll"). For the perfect finish, track #30 delivers the immortal "Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight" by Doo-Wop's super-group The Spaniels. -- Any fan of Vintage Rock & Roll Music will appreciate this selection of big and little hits of the greatest era music has ever known. I can wholeheartedly recommend this CD!

Treasure after treasure!:
There was song that stuck in my head for weeks after hearing it on "The Saturday Night Fish Fry," a locally-produced radio program that features blues, old r & b, zydeco, etc. The song was the incomparable "Bad Boy" by the Jive Bombers, and although I knew there was a cover version by Buster Poindexter (aka David Johansen), I also knew that I had to have the original. Now, this is not a song one is likely to find on the racks of their local megastore, but is, rather, a song which much be hunted down -- or so I thought, until I found this outstanding collection of hits and rarities from the Ace label. Although there are a few big hits (Gene Chandler's "Duke Of Earl," Santo & Johnny's "Sleep Walk," and "She Cried" by Jay & the Americans, just to name a few) that were undoubtedly placed on the compilation to bring in the casual collector, it is the more obscure tunes that hooked me. And there are plenty! I was particularly intrigued by the Accents "Wiggle Wiggle," which is blatant steal of Thurston Harris' "Little Bitty Pretty One" (which is also included), Rosco Gordon's "Just A Little Bit" (which sounds more polished that some of his earlier sides but still as rough and raw as I like him), and, of course, the great Showmen tribute to rock and roll, "It Will Stand." I personally docked it one star for the inclusion of a few songs which never did much for me: the Tune Weavers' "Happy, Happy Birthday Baby," Freddy Cannon's "Tallahassee Lassie," and Johnnie & Joe's "Over The Mountain, Across The Sea." And although I don't mind the Dale & Grace cover of the song "I'm Leaving It Up To You," it seems a bit out of place here, making me long for the original by Don & Dewey. But these are minor quibbles, for overall this is a collection which should be welcome on every serious collector's shelf.

Smashes, Minor Hits, And Obscure Treasures:
Volume five in ACE Records exhaustive survey of the early rock 'n' roll years (1954-1963) in America suffers from the same problem that volume four did in that the song selection gets a bit too obscure at times. A third of these songs barely dented Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. Songs like the Accents' "Wiggle Wiggle," the Knockouts "Darling Lorraine" or the Ribbons' "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya" didn't exactly burn up the charts and even the most ardent fan of the period will not recognize many of these. That is not to dismiss these minor hits entirely. For example, the Showmen's "It Will Stand," which only reached No. 62, is a classic song that lyrically proclaims the longevity of rock 'n' roll because it has something important to say. \oAnd forty years later rock 'n' roll DOES still stand!\c Also, keep in mind that with ACE's generous 30 tracks, they can afford to give the listener an extensive sampling of the minor hits of the period and still provide plenty of the more popular hits. "I'm Leaving It All Up To You," "Sleep Walk" and "Duke of Earl" all topped the charts, and an additional eight songs hit the Top Ten, including such treasures as Don and Juan's "What's Your Name," Jimmy McCracklin's "The Walk" and Travis and Bob's "Tell Him No." But what makes this whole series such a treat are those Top 40 hits that were fairly big hits when initially released, but radio and record labels have since completely forgotten. It's probably been years (if not decades) since most people have heard the Clovers' original version of "Love Potion No. 9" (as opposed to the Searchers'), or the Belmonts' (sans Dion) "Tell Me Why," the G-Cleffs' "Ka-Ding Dong," or the Jayhawks' "Stranded in the Jungle." When taken as a whole, this entire series (eight volumes so far) does a stellar job of recapturing the era with the big hits and lost gems. If you were a teenager in the Fifties, or simply love the music, you will find much to enjoy here. RECOMMENDED

Incomparable!:
Ace unleashes the fifth installment in their magnificent "Golden Age..." series with this CD. Of the massive 30 tracks here, eleven were top-10 and a further ten were top-40 leaving a third of the tracks to songs that only managed to dent the lower reaches of the pop charts. While many of these lesser-selling tunes may be unfamiliar to some listeners, their inclusion is much of what makes this series of compilations so spectacular. For those who fondly remember or even only vaguely recognize some of these more obscure tunes, some of which did have big local, if not national, impact, their appearance in high quality sound is totally welcome. Two standouts that fall into this category are the Ribbons' "Ain't Gonna Kiss Ya" and the Knockouts' "Darling Lorraine". Those from other parts of the country may find a personal favorite of theirs from within the wealth of sides seldom found elsewhere in any decent quality. As found in other volumes, there are many sides that were big hits but have seen little reissue activity - Everly Brothers sound-alikes Bob and Travis' "Tell Him No" and the Belmonts sans Dion with "Tell Me Why" to cite a couple. Ace's attention to sound quality is evident and while there is only one track (18) in stereo, these mono masters are as good as you'll find. Though virtually imperceptible, one track (10) is acknowledged as having been dubbed from disc. The info-packed 20-page liner notes booklet is interspersed with pics and dups of promo items. With this superb new entry, Ace continues to raise the bar in the reissue realm.

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