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Various Artists - That'll Flat Git It, Vol.16 - Sun (1959)

Track listing:
  1. My Baby Don't Rock Luke Mcdaniel 2:01
  2. You Better Believe It Tommy Blake 2:42
  3. What's The Reason Kenny Parchman 2:22
  4. I Need Your Lovin' Kiss Harold Jenkins 2:02
  5. Drinkin' Scotch Gene Simmons 3:05
  6. Between Here And There Unidentified #1 2:08
  7. Sentimental Fool Barbara Pittman 2:32
  8. Slewfoot Sue Unidentified #2 2:16
  9. Cry Baby Cry Narvel Felts 1:55
  10. Rabbit Action Jimmy Haggett 1:41
  11. Rockin' With My Baby Malcolm Yelvington 2:32
  12. Come On Little Mama (Alternate) Ray Harris 2:22
  13. Waiting For You (Alternate) Johnny Powers 1:27
  14. Tennessee Zip Kenneth Parchman 2:24
  15. Everybody's Trying To Kiss My Baby Gene Ross 2:14
  16. I'll Be Rockin' Unidentified #3 2:16
  17. Got Rockin' On My Mind Curley Griffin 2:31
  18. My Gal Marry Jack Earls 2:12
  19. Go Ahead Baby Luke Mcdaniel 2:11
  20. I Fell In Love Ken Cook 2:04
  21. How Come You Do Me Like You Do Jimmy Haggett 2:09
  22. Prisoner Of The Blues Tommy Ruick 1:42
  23. Bop Pills Macy Skipper 2:27
  24. Stop The World Warren Smith 1:59
  25. Love Crazy Baby Kenneth Parchman 2:11
  26. Ain't Gonna Do It Sonny Burgess 2:34
  27. Mad Man (2) Jimmy Wages 2:10
  28. Me And My Blues Teddy Reidel 1:55
  29. I Vibrate Mack Self 2:01
  30. Two Timin' Baby Unidentified #4 1:57
  31. Rock Jimmy Williams 2:04

Notes

With a 24-CD box set series chronicling every single ever issued by Sam Phillips, it would seem that an entry into Bear Family's label retrospective would seem unwarranted, but this volume adds some wild and very rare performances to the list, extending the history of Sun Records even further into sainthood. What we have aboard is alternate takes of rare singles (a blistering take of Ray Harris' "Come on Little Mama," Johnny Powers' "Waitin' for You," a laid-back take of Malcolm Yelvington's "Rockin' with My Baby," Gene Simmons' "Drinkin' Scotch," both sides of Kenny Parchman's cancelled Sun single), alternates of unissued material (Jimmy Wages' "Mad Man," Sonny Burgess' "Ain't Gonna Do It," Tommy Blake's "You Better Believe It"), unissued sides that should have been singles (Jimmy Haggett's "Rabbit Action," Barbara Pittman's "Sentimental Fool," Warren Smith's "Stop the World," Narvel Felts' "Cry, Baby, Cry" Harold Jenkins [Conway Twitty] doing "I Need Your Lovin' Kiss") and four superb tracks from as many unidentified artists, making this a collection of Sun rarities well worth tracking down.

Rockabilly collectors are a hearty, fanatical breed with little compunction about seeking out rare, rarely heard singles based on legend or label. Not everybody has the time or patience to find original pressings, even if they love the music, so for the average collector, Bear Family's multi-volume That'll Flat Git It! series is the way to dig deep into the rockabilly arcana. The series is divided by label, spotlighting the forgotten sides and smaller hits for labels as well-known as Decca and RCA, along with lesser-known regional labels. This is not everything that was released on a label, of course, but it is a fairly thorough overview of what kinds of rockabilly the label released, and it hits almost all of the high points, at least as far as rockabilly collectors are concerned (and when the label can't fit everything on one disc, it breaks it up in two parts). Like many multi-part series, this is strongest on the earlier volumes, but if you're a dyed-in-the-wool collector, any of these volumes are worthwhile. Some of them are loaded with generic mediocrities, but they all have a couple of dynamite gems, plus they're presented lovingly, with wonderful sound and detailed, well-researched liner notes. This is essentially a collector's series, but it's a collector's series in the best sense — filled with rare gems worth seeking out and presented in a luxurious fashion.