Various - Rockin' From Coast To Coast Volume 1 (CD, Comp)

Brand new sealed copy! (As a result, cannot confirm runout)

Garage rock wasn't a concept that originated in the mid-'60s. In the aftermath of the initial rock & roll explosion, young rockabilly and R&B singers brought their unhoned talents into tiny studios throughout the country. This is a compilation of 26 of those efforts, mostly from the late '50s (mostly from 1958, in fact), and mostly for small independent labels, although some of these were leased to major labels, and a few were even recorded for major labels directly. Only one of these was a chart hit (Freddy Cannon's "Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It"), and it's easy to see why, from two points of view. The approaches were too uncompromisingly raw, and the production too crude. On the other side of that coin, the songs themselves were rarely anything special, usually being standard three-chord knockoffs with little to make them stand out besides the ferocious energy of the performances. It's not great art, but it's certainly entertaining. That's especially true when the energy spills over to mania, as on the legendary Tyrone Schmidling's shambling sides, the incredibly sloppy rendition of "Good Golly Miss Molly" by Sam Cooke protégés the Valiants, or the echoed-to-infinity Tex-Mex-cum-Jerry Lee Lewis of the Rio Rockers (released on Capitol). There are some unexpected appearances by stars as well, such as Eddie Cochran (who plays guitar on Lee Denson's "New Shoes"), Brenda Lee (the early rockabilly track "Rock the Bop"), a teenaged Joe South, and Roy Clark (heard as a rockabilly singer). The collection's also educational in its own way, as an illustration of just how extreme and far-flung the rock & roll revolution had become at the grass roots level just a few years after its birth. ~ Richie Unterberger

 

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Media Condition:  Near Mint (NM or M-)
Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Country:    UK  
Released:  1996
Genre:       Rock
Style:         Rock & Roll, Rockabilly

Track listing:

1. Freddy Cannon - Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It
2. Roy Gaines - Skippy Is A Sissy
3. Sam Butera - Bim Bam
4. Joe South - I'm Snowed
5. Big Danny Oliver - Sapphire
6. Brenda Lee - Rock The Bop
7. Rio Rockers - Mexicali Baby
8. The Raiders (4) - Hocus Pocus
9. Tiny Lewis - Too Much Rockin'
10. Billy Barrix - Cool Off Baby [alt. vers.]
11. The Jive-A-Tones - Flirty Gertie
12. Roy Clark - Please Mr. Mayor
13. Lee Denson - New Shoes
14. Jeani Mack - Dirty Dishes
15. The Valiants - Good Golly Miss Molly
16. Tyrone Schmidling - You're Gone, I'm Left
17. Jackie Morningstar - Rockin' In The Graveyard
18. Esquerita - Rockin' The Joint
19. The Lonesome Drifter - Eager Boy
20. Tyrone Schmidling - Honey Don't
21. Lou Josie - Why Did You Leave Me
22. The Valiants - Frieda Frieda
23. Lou Graham - Wee Willie Brown
24. Jerry Hawkins (2) - Swing Daddy Swing
25. Pat Cupp - Long Gone Daddy [LP vers.]
26. Billy Eldridge - Let's Go Baby