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Various Artists - The Old Guard: Country Goes Rock 'n' Roll, Volume 1 (Rev-Ola) (2002)

Track listing:
  1. Doggie Joe The Carlisles 2:25
  2. I'll Have Myself A Ball Merle Travis 2:32
  3. Go, Boy Go Carl Smith 2:06
  4. Eternity Jack Rhodes & His Lone Star Buddies 2:41
  5. Rocket To The Moon Moon Mullican 2:28
  6. Catfish Boogie Tennessee Ernie 2:18
  7. Boogie Woogie Baby Tennessee Drifters 2:17
  8. That's All Right Marty Robbins 2:33
  9. You Won't Believe This Maddox Brothers & Rose 2:31
  10. Long John Boogie Grady Martin & HIs Slew Foot Five 2:20
  11. Hep Cat Baby Eddy Arnold 1:59
  12. Salty Boogie Little Jimmy Dickens 2:19
  13. Cadillac In Model 'A' Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys 2:03
  14. Waitin' For My Baby (Rock Rock) Hawkshaw Hawkins 2:15
  15. Juke Joint Johnny Jimmy Atkins & His Pinetoppers 2:31
  16. Hayride Boogie Tillman Franks & His Rainbow Boys 2:42
  17. If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin') Faron Young 2:23
  18. Pin Ball Boogie Red Foley 2:36
  19. Go Man Go, Get Gone Tex Zario 2:46
  20. Cat Music Tommy Scott & His Ramblers 2:09
  21. Would It Matter At All ? Jim Gatlin 2:44
  22. Idaho Red Wade Ray 2:21
  23. Look Who's Cryin' Now Skeets McDonald 2:15
  24. Drinkin' Wine Spodee-O-Dee Malcolm Yelvington 2:50
  25. Barracuda Cliffie Stone Orchestra 2:16
  26. Gonna Dance All Night Hardrock Gunter 2:22
  27. Rockin' Chair Daddy Harmonica Frank 3:09
  28. Pick Up Blues Johnny Hicks 2:43
  29. Whiskey, Women and Loaded Dice Jack Cardwell 2:33
  30. Who Said I Said That ? Shorty Long 2:38
  31. Rattlesnake Daddy The Carlisles 2:19
  32. Pork Chop Stomp Grady Martin & His Winging Strings 2:15

Notes

Rock & roll didn't just immaculately show up with Elvis in the late '50s. Although his flair for gyration and his undeniable sex appeal definitely helped turn the form into the juggernaut it became, there were rumblings that prefigured rock & roll as far back as the mid-'40s when Western swing, country, and boogie collided to create what was known as hillbilly boogie or cat music, and the only reason it wasn't rock & roll was because the term hadn't shown up yet. This generous 32-track compilation explores some of this early boogie music, and it's as revelatory as it is fun, with cuts like Merle Travis' "I'll Have a Ball," Tennessee Ernie's "Catfish Boogie," and Wade Ray's "Idaho Red" all showing the considerable energy that this interesting and almost forgotten hybrid brought to the table. Ranging from the stark primitivism of Harmonica Frank's "Rockin' Chair Daddy," which is so spare and raw that it feels like a field recording, to the relative sophistication of Marty Robbins' fiddle-laced version of "That's All Right" (which stripped back down would become one of Elvis' first hits), this set gives indisputable proof that nothing is born in a vacuum. Fun as a grin on a Saturday night, this collection makes you eager to see volume two.