« Back to Top Level | Various Artists

Various Artists - That'll Flat Git It, Vol.08 - FABOR - ABOTT - RADIO (1959)

Track listing:
  1. You Mostest Girl Bobby Lee Trammel 2:03
  2. Cool Cat Joe Montgomery 1:54
  3. Let´s Fall In Love Dorsey Burnette 2:15
  4. Meadowlark Boogie Sandy Coker 2:01
  5. Bawlin´Baby Johnny Horton & Billy Barton 2:19
  6. Long Sideburns Bolean Barry 2:11
  7. Shirley Lee Bobby Lee Trammel 1:47
  8. I Sure Do Love You Baby Bobby Lee Trammel 2:38
  9. Stop The Clock Rock Creel Sisters 2:10
  10. Shotgun Boogie Johnny Horton 2:32
  11. I Love You Girl Dickie Podolor 2:10
  12. That´s Alright With Me Bob Luman 1:50
  13. No Use In Lying (incomplete) Bob Luman 0:53
  14. Hello Baby Bob Luman 1:57
  15. We´re Gonna Bop Alvadean Coker 2:15
  16. Hot Rod Is Her Name Tom Tall 2:35
  17. Salt And Pepper Ronnie Summers 2:17
  18. Rockin´Maraccas Dusty Rose 2:03
  19. Hula Rock Dusty Rose 2:03
  20. Klondike Roy Lanham 2:32
  21. Love Is Over,Love Is Done Bonnie Guitar 2:03
  22. Frantic Party Bonnie Guitar 2:02
  23. Stop Talkin´,Start Lovin´ Robert Luke Harshman 1:44
  24. Love Whatcha´Doin´To Me Robert Luke Harshman 1:56
  25. Jumpin´With The Shadows The Shadows 1:55
  26. Shadow Rock The Shadows 1:11
  27. The Creep The Shadows 1:41
  28. Don´t You Know Tom Tall & Ruckus Tyler 2:21
  29. Whose Little Pigeon Are You Tom Tall & The Creel Sisters 2:53
  30. Rock Town Rock Ruckus Tyler 2:33
  31. Rollin´And A Rockin´ Ruckus Tyler 2:31
  32. We´re Gonna Bop (alt) Alvadean Coker 2:12

Notes

That'll Flat Git It, Vol. 8 is comprised of off-beat and obscure rockabilly from the Columbia vaults. Unlike their major label peers RCA, Decca and MGM, Columbia didn't push many of their country artists toward rockabilly, so the majority of the compilation is devoted to arcane vocalists like Bolean Barry ("Long Sideburns"), Bobby Lee Trammell ("You Mostest Girl"), Bonnie Guitar ("Frantic Party"), Alvadean Coker ("We're Gonna Bop"), Tom Tall ("That's Alright With Me"), Dickie Podolor ("I Love You Girl"), and Dusty Rose ("Rockin' Maraccas," "Hula Rock"). For the most part, this is the kind of twisted rockabilly that is fun in small doses, unless you're a fetishist, of course. Out of all the songs on Vol. 8, only Johnny Horton's pair of songs ("Bawlin' Baby," "Shotgun Boogie") are particularly strong musically — the rest is judged by a different scale, one where rarity and novelty are of greater value than musical worth. For any collector of arcane rockabilly, Vol. 8 is just as enjoyable as the rest of the discs in the That'll Flat Git It series, yet it doesn't offer any truly great rock & roll, which means that it will only appeal to that cult.

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.