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Various Artists - That'll Flat Git It, Vol.12 - Imperial (1959)

Track listing:
  1. Red Hot Bob Luman 2:03
  2. So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye Weldon Rogers 2:34
  3. Play My Boogie Bill Mack 2:17
  4. Let`s Go Baby Billy Eldridge 3:00
  5. Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop Lew Williams 2:07
  6. Pleas Give Me Something Bill Allen 2:17
  7. Hip Shakin`baby Roy Brown 1:50
  8. Make With The Lovin` Dennis Herrold 2:00
  9. If You Can`t Rock Me The Strikes 2:29
  10. Centipede Lew Williams 2:04
  11. Don`t Wait Up Laura Lee Perkins 2:32
  12. Didi Didi Johnny Garner 2:04
  13. Everybody`s Got A Baby But Me Warren Miller 2:04
  14. Warm Love Burnette Brothers 1:56
  15. Abracadabra Lew Williams 1:57
  16. Rockin` The Strikes 2:16
  17. Hip Hip Baby Dennis Herrold 2:03
  18. Sweet Baby Doll Johnny Burnette 2:37
  19. Loretta Al Jones 1:58
  20. Cat Talk Lew Williams 2:15
  21. Hey Baby Bill Lawrence 2:13
  22. I Don`t Want To Cry Over You The Strikes 2:04
  23. All Night Long Bob Luman 1:41
  24. Kiss Me Sweet Johnny Garner 2:20
  25. Gone Ape Man Lew Williams 2:00
  26. You Arouse My Curiosity Dennis Herrold 2:06
  27. Dirty Dog Dick Banks 2:10
  28. Baby I`m Sorry The Strikes 2:37
  29. Something I Said Lew Williams 1:51
  30. Rockin`by Myself Sammy Gowans 1:51

Notes

This entry in Bear Family's single-disc label retrospectives delving into various companies' rockabilly treasures lands this times at the doorstep of Imperial Records, which also houses the few stray masters that showed up on the United Artists and Liberty labels back in the 1950s. The lineup is as top drawer as you could ask for; Bob Luman with a young James Burton on lead guitar ("Red Hot," "All Night Long"), Weldon Rogers ("So Long, Good Luck and Goodbye"), Billy Eldridge ("Let's Go Baby"), Dennis Herrold ("Hip Hip Baby" and the mind-destroying "Make With the Lovin'"), the Burnette Brothers with Joe Maphis on lead guitar ("Warm Love"), the Strikes ("If You Can't Rock Me," "Rockin'," "Baby I'm Sorry," "I Don't Want to Cry Over You"), Sammy Gowans ("Rockin' By Myself") and the hillbilly boogie of Lew Williams and Bill Mack make for some of the best titles the music has to offer. After you assemble a nice collection of essential Sun, Elvis and Johnny Burnette sides, this should be your very next stop.

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.