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Various Artists - As Good as It Gets: Great British Rock and Roll (1963)

Track listing:
CD1
  1. Move It Baby Simon Scott & The Le Roys 2:25
  2. Right Behind You Baby Vince Taylor & The Playboys 2:11
  3. Slippin' 'n' Slidin' Dickie Pride 2:18
  4. Please Don't Touch Johnny Kidd & The Pirates 1:50
  5. Long Stringy Baby Jimmy Crawford 2:31
  6. If You Need Me Dave Sampson & The Hunters 2:31
  7. Feelin' Fine The Drifters 1:57
  8. I Like Love Vince Taylor & The Playboys 2:06
  9. The Rough And The Smooth Dean Webb 2:30
  10. This Little Girl's Gone Rockin Janice Peters & The Frank Barb 1:47
  11. High School Confidential Adam Faith 2:23
  12. You've Got What I Like Bennett, Cliff & The Rebel Rou 1:37
  13. Fabulous Cure Dickie Pride 2:01
  14. Baby Sittin' Bobby Angelo & The Tuxedos 2:03
  15. Jean Dorothy The Five Chesternuts 2:20
  16. Crazy For You Jim Dale 2:01
  17. Deep Feeling Mike Sagar 2:03
  18. Saturday Dance The Shadows 1:44
  19. Brand New Cadillac Vince Taylor & The Playboys 2:37
  20. Frantic Dickie Pride 1:56
  21. Crazy Little Daisy Neville Taylor And The Cutters 2:00
  22. Bluer Than Blue Ricky James 2:18
  23. All Grown Up Paul Raven 1:52
  24. Ah, Poor Little Baby Adam Faith 2:07
  25. It's Lonesome Dave Sampson 1:54
  26. Teenage Love The Five Chesternuts 2:20
  27. Bongo Blues The Shadows 1:46
  28. No More Eager, Vince 2:09
  29. I'm A Moody Guy Shane Fenton & The Fentones 2:38
  30. Shakin' All Over Johnny Kidd & The Pirates 2:21
  31. If You Don't Know Jody Gibson & The Muleskinners 2:20
  32. Be-Bop-A-Lula The Drifters 2:19
CD2
  1. Sticks And Stones Tony Crombie And His Rockets 2:10
  2. Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie The Deep River Boys 2:37
  3. Hop, Skip And Jump King Brothers 2:01
  4. Don't Let Go Jim Dale 2:39
  5. Red Planet Rock Don Lang & His Frantic Five 2:45
  6. Don't Nobody Move Lee Lawrence 2:46
  7. Rock Mr. Piper Billy Sproud 2:37
  8. That Rock 'n' Rollin' Man Ray Ellington Quartet 2:40
  9. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Tony Crombie And His Rockets 2:02
  10. Rock Around The Cookhouse Don Lang & His Frantic Five 2:02
  11. Slim Jim Tie Terry Wayne 1:59
  12. Raunchy Ken Mackintosh 2:19
  13. Rock A Boogie Baby Diana Decker 2:37
  14. 6.5 Jive King Brothers 2:33
  15. They Call Him Cliff Don Lang & His Frantic Five 1:58
  16. Once More Bill Forbes 2:14
  17. A Girl Likes Janice Peters 1:59
  18. Red For Danger Tony Crombie And His Rockets 2:20
  19. Hey Miss Fannie Dean Webb 2:10
  20. Rock 'n' Roll Opera Lee Lawrence 2:53
  21. Cool Shake Larry Page 2:22
  22. Matchbox Terry Wayne 1:51
  23. No Other Baby The Vipers 2:34
  24. Cold Cold Shower King Brothers 2:06
  25. See You Friday Don Lang & His Frantic Five 2:19
  26. Rock Shuffle Boogie Tony Crombie And His Rockets 2:54
  27. Rock Around The Clock The Deep River Boys 2:39
  28. Mercy Mercy Mercy Neville Taylor 2:25
  29. Rock Rock Rock Don Lang & His Frantic Five 2:06
  30. Teen Street Toni Eden 1:47
  31. Be My Girl Jim Dale 2:02
  32. Sham Rock Tony Crombie And His Rockets 2:17

Notes

This double-CD set lives up to its title, at least as a representative compilation of the period it covers -- no vinyl compilation ever aspired to offer anything like the 64 tracks presented here, all dug out of the EMI vaults. Conceptually this is a killer collection, representing early dawning years of British rock, when acts like Vince Taylor & the Playboys, jazz trombonist Don Lang, and be-bop drummer Tony Crombie and his group the Rockets all competed for the public's attention, and the book was still being written on how to make (or succeed in) rock & roll. It all predates the Beatles as a recording act, though a handful of names came through the transition wrought by the Liverpool quartet and are recognizable today (albeit not always for rock & roll, as in the case of Jim Dale) -- the Shadows, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and Adam Faith (who does a killer rendition of "High School Confidential" years before he became a success with a smoother brand of rock & roll) are among those who survived to rock another day. But as obscure as Janice Peters (who sounded like a British version of Jo Ann Campbell) or the Five Chesternuts may be today, the music here is all eminently enjoyable, and on a lot more than a historical basis -- these acts could rock out, and if they weren't as original or creative as the Americans whose sounds they emulated, they did put on a great show. Two acts here, Dickie Pride and Bobby Angelo and the Tuxedos, are a genuine surprise, delivering as good a rock & roll sound as anyone ever heard on this side of the Atlantic. The influences that abound are fascinating, the near-ubiquitous sound of Elvis Presley (and, to a lesser degree, Jerry Lee Lewis) vocally, on the part of most featured singers, vying for prominence with the boogie-woogie-inspired jazz origins of Bill Haley, with some influence also felt from Jerry Lee Lewis' band. Nobody, at least at EMI's various labels, apparently ever considered trying to re-create Chuck Berry's or Bo Diddley's sounds. Speaking of sound, it ranges from the very good to the startlingly excellent, nice and loud with a lot of presence and sharper than the records ever were. There are a few gaps, like the absence of Janice Peters' "A Girl Likes," and it seems a little unnecessary to have included Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," except to give purchasers at least one familiar hit. But considering that the contents are limited to the EMI vaults, the quality and consistency of the contents across two hours of listening is astonishing. And the notes by Dave Travis are practically worth the purchase price by themselves.