Various Artists - The London American Label Year By Year; 1958 (@320)

 

The London American Label Year by Year: 1958 Review by Richie Unterberger.

 

The London American label in a way helped rock music get a foothold in the U.K., as it licensed many U.S. rock & roll records for the British market from a wide variety of independent labels. This is a compilation of 28 of them, and perhaps one more bound to impress those with a sentimental attachment to the label than cold-hearted reviewers untouched by the imprint's significance. There's a fair amount of good music here, and it certainly does present a wide if not all-encompassing snapshot of rock & roll in the year 1958. Here's the problem as a collector, however: you're likely to have the classic stuff (or be able to pick it up in a better context) elsewhere. The rarities -- and there are quite a few of them, with ten of these songs failing to make even the Top 100 -- are usually simply not that great (and often a good deal less than that). The Coasters' "The Shadow Knows" and Carl Perkins' "Lend Me Your Comb" are notable exceptions in that regard, though they aren't hard to find on compilations of those artists' best material. You just want to know what the classics are? Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" leads the pack, trailed closely by Chuck Willis' "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes," Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Rock and Roll," Little Richard's "Ooh My Soul," Jerry Lee Lewis' "Break-Up," Duane Eddy's "Cannonball," Jimmy Clanton's "Just a Dream," and Johnny Cash's "Guess Things Happen That Way." You want interesting rarities and oddities? There aren't so many of those, but Ganim's Asia Minors are certainly a weird novelty outfit that tries (not very successfully) to combine Turkish music with rock & roll; the Mills Brothers offer an unlikely cover of the Silhouettes' doo wop classic "Get a Job," which is markedly inferior to the original (though it almost made the U.S. Top 20); future soul stars Garnet Mimms and Howard Tate were both in the Gainors, though their "The Secret" isn't very memorable; and Billy Ward offers an unlikely cover of Jan & Arnie's proto-garage rocker "Jennie Lee," again in a rendition unlikely to displace memories of the original. Jimmy Starr's take on Conway Twitty's "It's Only Make Believe" also falls into that category, though its inclusion seems pointless considering it's not the original, not that good, and didn't make the charts. The liner notes, however, offer Ace's usual diligently researched cornucopia of interesting little-known facts and illustrations.

 

Tracklist:

01. Duane Eddy & His "Twangy" Guitar And The Rebels - Cannonball

02. The Mills Brothers - Get A Job

03. Jimmy Clanton And His Rockets - Just A Dream

04. Jerry Lee Lewis & His Pumping Piano - Break-Up

05. Pat Boone - A Wonderful Time Up There

06. Chuck Willis - Hang Up Mt Rock And Roll Shoes

07. Carl Perkins - Lend Me Your Comb

08. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues

09. Chuck Berry - Sweet Little Rock And Roll

10. The Royal Holidays - Margaret

11. Frank DeRosa And His Orchestra - Big Guitar

12. Jimmy Starr - It's Only Make Believe

13. Jo Ann Campbell - What A Minute

14. Ganim's Asia Minors - Daddy Lolo

15. The Coasters - The Shadow Knows

16. Little Richard - Ooh' My Soul

17. Tony & Joe - The Freeze

18. Clyde McPhatter - Come What May

19. The Gainors - The Secret

20. Carl McVoy - Tootsie

21. Bobby Darin - Splash Splash

22. Billy & Lillie - The Greasy Spoon

23. Jack Scott With The Chantones - Geraldine

24. Jane Morgan - The Day The Rains Came

25. Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two - Guess Things Happen That Way

26. The Drifters - Moonlight Bay

27. Billy Ward And His Dominoes - Jennie Lee

28. The Chipmunks - The Chipmunk Song

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