VA - The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll: The Follow-Up Hits
Release Date: January 28, 2008
Label: Ace Records
Having run through a few hundred genuine classic hits from rock & roll's first decade in its previous volumes, the series The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll was starting to concentrate on thematic compilations by the time of this 2008 release. This one has 30 "follow-up hits," or singles released immediately or soon after a big smash 45 by the same artist. Most follow-up hits, of course, didn't do as well as what they were following up, usually because the songs sounded too much like their predecessors and/or weren't as strong. That's true of most of the cuts here, actually, but that doesn't mean this doesn't have some good (and usually low-charting) rock & roll chart hits from 1956-1963. A good number of these were almost as good, and almost as popular, as the more famous songs they were following up, including Danny & the Juniors' "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay," Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes," Shirley & Lee's "I Feel Good," Chuck Willis' "Betty and Dupree," Chris Montez's "Some Kinda Fun," and Dion & the Belmonts' "No One Knows." There are also some solid entries from a few bona fide rock & roll greats, even if those don't qualify as among their best recordings, like Gene Vincent's "Dance to the Bop" and Ritchie Valens' "That's My Little Suzie." You also, alas, get some numbers that were basically inferior attempts to replicate the mood of the big hit, like Mickey & Sylvia's "There Oughta Be a Law" (following "Love Is Strange"), Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones' "Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks" (following "Black Slacks"), and Bobby Day's "The Bluebird, the Buzzard and the Oriole" (following "Rockin' Robin"). Some other selections are fairly unmemorable by any standard, and only occasionally do you get items that are genuinely fine overlooked obscurities (the Cascades' harmony pop/rock ballad "Shy Girl" and Joe Jones' original version of "California Sun," later covered for a hit by the Rivieras). And some cuts are pretty derivative of other artists, as the Velvets' "Laugh" is of the Drifters, though that song does have the curiosity value of being co-written by Roy Orbison. The strong thematic core, however, makes this CD a more interesting compilation than most other anthologies of lesser-known rock & roll hits from the era, with excellent liner notes summarizing the backgrounds of the songs and performers. --Richie Unterberger, AllMusicGuide
Track Listing:
1. Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay - Danny & the Juniors
2. Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes - Bobby Freeman
3. (I Wanna) Dance with the Teacher - The Olympics
4. Magic Wand - Don & Juan
5. There Oughta Be a Law - Mickey & Sylvia
6. Always - Sammy Turner
7. Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks - Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones
8. Oh What a Fool - The Impalas
9. Like the Big Guys Do - The Rocky Fellers
10. Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta - Ernie K-Doe
11. I Feel Good - Shirley & Lee
12. Tear Drop - Santo & Johnny
13. Arrow of Love - Six Teens feat. Trudy Williams
14. Betty and Dupree - Chuck Willis
15. Dance to the Bop - Gene Vincent
16. That's My Little Suzie - Ritchie Valens
17. Age for Love - Jimmy Charles
18. Some Kinda Fun - Chris Montez
19. Tell Me - Dick & Dee Dee,
20. Girl with the Story in Her Eyes - The Safaris
21. Bluebird, The Buzzard and the Oriole - Bobby Day
22. Shy Girl - The Cascades
23. Laugh - The Velvets
24. This I Swear - The Skyliners
25. Do What You Did - Thurston Harris
26. No One Knows - Dion & the Belmonts
27. Fire of Love - Jody Reynolds
28. I'll Take You Home - The Corsairs
29. California Sun - Joe Jones
30. Turvy II - Cozy Cole
Ace delivers the good stuff as always.
Personal picks: Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta - Ernie K-Doe, Arrow of Love - Six Teens feat. Trudy Williams, Some Kinda Fun - Chris Montez and Do What You Did - Thurston Harris.
Enjoy!