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User
Reviews 4
Approval 95%
Soundoffs 46
News Articles 2
Band Edits + Tags 978
Album Edits 2,239
Album Ratings 6075
Objectivity 83%
Last Active 08-18-21 1:07 am
Joined 06-08-11
Review Comments 11,159
| I Love Rock ’n’ Roll
My ratings are based simply on personal enjoyment. I'll keep adding to this list as I listen to more stuff and form opinions on favorite tracks and such. I'm really into old things in general, so seems like an appropriate time given the subject matter of this list to show off one of my trucks. My '59 Ford f250 w/ 7.4l big block, she sounds like a demon from hell ;) https://i.imgur.com/tAaWj5a.jpg | | 1 |  | Dion
Runaround Sue
4.5/5 GREAT vocals on this, cream of the crop here. This is more doo wop than rock, but still has that early rock 'n' roll sound. This is a beautiful album, a must hear for those interested in the roots or rock.
Favorite track - ‘runaround sue’
1961 | | 2 |  | Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
4.5/5 A youthful album full of competent little ditties, equal parts Elvis and Frank Sinatra. His singing style is a bit more Frank than Elvis. Includes some Elvis covers, such as ‘young and beautiful’. Some tracks really get moving and grooving, like ‘at the hop’ and ‘I’m walkin’. Frankie is an Italian American singer.
Favorite track - ‘at the hop’
1958 | | 3 |  | Fabian
Hold that Tiger
5/5 Fabian’s debut album. This certainly has some novelty value to it, but it’s really solid Imo. The singing is a bit soft in the mix, but otherwise this has a very honest and sweet sound to it. There are several Elvis covers, but luckily they are covers of some of my favorites by him including ‘don’t you think it’s time’. ‘Love me, love my tiger’ has been stuck in my head recently, this has some catchy tunes. Thanks to neekafat’s ‘I don’t like rock ’n’ roll’ list for allowing me to find this odd rare little gem and inspiring this list. And look at that cover, simply amazing.
Favorite track - ‘love me, love my tiger’
1959 | | 4 |  | Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
5/5 The very definition of a timeless classic with some of my favorite songs ever. Blue moon is a sublime and dreamy take on an old classic. This is one of the most pivotal albums in the history of music for a reason. Truly some of the best vocals ever recorded.
Favorite track - ‘blue moon’
1956 | | 5 |  | Elvis Presley
A Date With Elvis
5/5 A date with Elvis is an overlooked Elvis classic, one of his very best. This album has a lo-fi rockabilly style to it with classic song after classic song. ‘Milkcow blues boogie’ and ‘blue moon of Kentucky’ are some of my favorite songs from the king himself. This is a comp of previously unreleased material from 1956
Favorite track - ‘milkcow blues boogie’
1959 | | 6 |  | Elvis Presley
50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong
My favorite Elvis comp. Platinum record of singles.
Favorite track - 'doncha' think it's time'
1959 | | 7 |  | Ricky Nelson
Ricky
3/5 This is decent to average stuff, nothing too special but definitely not bad at all. There are definitely better options than this though. I'm hoping he gets a bit more interesting from here.
Favorite track -
1957 | | 8 |  | Ricky Nelson
Ricky Sings Again
3.5/5 Alright, this 3rd album by Ricky Nelson is definitely an improvement from his debut. The mix is better, his vocals are in a better place and are less dry and upfront. I still feel like Ricky should be pushing the energy a little more, but this is still pretty good stuff, much more palatable than Ricky.
Favorite track - 'lonesome town'
1959 | | 9 |  | Buddy Knox
Buddy Knox
4.5/5 This one surprised me. This is an overlooked classic with great vocals, swinging guitar and fun energy. This is more rockabilly than others on the list. It also isn’t a bunch of Elvis covers. Go Buddy go! Buddy's version of 'maybelline' is far superior to Berry's.
Favorite track - 'maybelline'
1957 | | 10 |  | Jimmie Rodgers (2)
Jimmie Rodgers
4/5 A mixture of rock ’n’ roll, country, folk and pop. Jimmie has a nice voice and the record is competent all around. This is a different Jimmie Rodgers than the country singer from the 20’s. ‘I’m just a country boy’ is a striking ballad with Jimmie’s voice front and center, sounding beautiful and sweet.
Favorite track - ‘I’m just a country boy’
1957 | | 11 |  | Ritchie Valens
Ritchie
4.5/5 Holy crap! This guy can belt it out. Ritchie is on par with the best vocalists of the genre. Very classic stuff here, quality all around. Great rockin’ instrumentals, passion, and energy. Another gem left by the wayside by time. Ritchie is a Mexican American singer and influential for ‘chicano rock’. His singing career was very brief at only 8 months long.
Favorite track -
1959 | | 12 |  | Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
4/5 This one is great too, however I prefer the first one. This one is a bit slower and more tender, except for the higher tempo standout track ‘come on, let’s go’. Contains his biggest hit that you’ve most likely heard at some point, ‘la bamba’.
Favorite track - ‘come on, let’s go’
1959 | | 13 |  | Cliff Richard
The Early Years
4.5/5 Cliff Richards is essentially the lesser known British version of Elvis with a very long successful career throughout the decades and plenty of hits. He has had more than 130 singles, albums and EP's make the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. In fact, he’s the only performer along with Elvis to have UK single charting hits in the first 6 decades of his long career. This compilation includes a ton of his early work and several Elvis covers.
Favorite track -
comp of material from 59-61 or so released in 2008 | | 14 |  | Cliff Richard
Cliff Sings
3.5/5 Cliff’s debut album. This album is a bunch of covers, but they are well done. I think Cliff is doing little to differentiate himself by starting the record with ‘blue suede shoes’. This is still, however, the beginning of classic British rock ’n’ roll. The album has a lot of pretty orchestral ballads, but that’s not really what I’m looking for.
Favorite track -
1959 | | 15 |  | Cliff Richard
Cliff
4/5 So I didn't realize that this is sort of a live album. Info from the back cover -
"On February 9th and 10th, 1959, a rock 'n' roll galaxy transformed the famous E.M.I. recording studios in London's select St. John's Wood. Several hundreds of Cliff's fans were invited along to see this young star make his first LP and it was some party!"
The record honestly is a little spoiled by all the screaming girls, I wish they did a version without them (would be a 4.5 without them). Luckily they aren't always screaming, but it sounds like dozens of cats are being boiled alive every 20 - 30 seconds or so. The music itself is surprisingly solid, no blemishes or mistakes. Cliff sounds great.
Favorite track - 'apron strings'
1959 | | 16 |  | Janis Martin
The Female Elvis: Complete Recordings 1956-60
3.5/5 Janis lives constantly in Elvis's shadow and is referred to as 'the female Elvis', as she released several singles/eps/and splits with Elvis cuts on them. I'm not sure if he really had anything to do with that at all or if he ever sang with her in any way. She's almost a tribute artist as a lot of her songs are just about Elvis. She has a good voice for the genre, the drums and guitars (Chet Atkins) are pretty nice. As with most of the albums on this list, there isn't a single track that reaches 2:30 in length, which makes for quick easy listening. Everything is decent, but there isn't much that grabs me. Good but not incredible.
Favorite track - 'drugstore rock 'n' roll'
comp of material from 56-60 released in 1996 | | 17 |  | Freddy Cannon
The Explosive! Freddy Cannon
4.5/5 Another fun classic, Freddy brings the flames big band style. The horns are blaring and the groove is swinging. This has a big hot sound, it's high energy. The music is horn-centric rather than guitar, which sets it apart. Freddy is an enjoyable vocalist and leads the band well, you won't find crooning or sappy ballads here. Lots of WHOOs.
Favorite track - 'chatanoogie shoe shine boy'
1960 | | 18 |  | Jack Scott
Jack Scott
Favorite track -
1958 | | 19 |  | Pat Boone
Pat Boone
3.5/5 Another one brought down by the ballads. The ballads are honestly quite nice, the problem is the album goes back and forth from song to song between pop ballad and up-tempo swing. I suppose this is technically classified as early rock 'n' roll online, but it doesn't really have enough of an edge for me to really consider it rock. Decent album, but don't really worry about checking it out. He managed to do a low energy cover of 'tutti frutti', one of the most high energy songs ever conceived.
Favorite track - 'two hearts'
1956 | | 20 |  | Andy Starr
Rockin' Rollin' Stone
4/5 Classic rockabilly tracks, all of them are very solid. This sets a great standard for early rock/rockabilly. This is not too wild, but not too tame either. It's very balanced and confident. Instrumentals and vocals are really good.
Favorite track - 'rockin' rollin' stone'
comp of material from 1956 released in 2013 | | 21 |  | Ronnie Self
Ain't I'm A Dog
4/5 This is the real stuff, Ronnie is breathing fire and screaming his lungs out on the totally crazy 'bop-a-lena'. 'petrified' has some cute lyrics. This is gritty and raucous, just as it should be. The only problem is that it's only 4 songs.
Favorite track - 'bop-a-lena'
comp of material from 1957 released in 1981 | | 22 |  | Johnny and the Hurricanes
Stormsville
Favorite track -
1960 | | 23 |  | Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels
Take A Ride...
This is a bit later in rock history at '66. I've had this vinyl longer than any of the others on this list.
Favorite track -
1966 | | 24 |  | Link Wray and The Wraymen
Link Wray and The Wraymen
Favorite track -
1960 | | 25 |  | Little Richard
Here's Little Richard
Favorite track -
1957 | | 26 |  | Little Richard
Little Richard
Favorite track -
1958 | | 27 |  | Chuck Berry
After School Session
4/5 This is one of most influential moments in musical history, and that's well known. However, this isn't just a rock album. It sits in the middle between rhythm&blues of the past and rock of the future to come. Plenty of tracks are mostly blues, it's the upbeat songs that have the early rock sound. The respect for this album for me is mostly directed towards the genius songwriting itself and the endless covers of his work that would follow in the future. 'havana moon' sticks out and is honestly not very good, it should have been cut out. Songs like 'wee wee hours', 'together', and 'no money down' (one of the best tracks) are very much rhythm and blues tracks. Songs like 'school day', 'roly poly', 'thirty days' and 'brown eyed handsome man' have this great fledgling rock sound to them that is very energetic and innovative. In these tracks you can hear the blues influence combined with this great new energy that would become rock. Great guitar work
Favorite track - School Day
1957 | | 28 |  | Chuck Berry
One Dozen Berrys
Favorite track -
1958 | | 29 |  | Buddy Holly
The Chirping Crickets
Favorite track -
1957 | | 30 |  | Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Favorite track -
1958 | | 31 |  | Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar
Favorite track -
1957 | | 32 |  | Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen
Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen
Favorite track -
1959 | | 33 |  | Carl Perkins
Dance Album of Carl Perkins
4/5 Another one that starts off with 'blue suede shoes' *sigh*.This is still some of the best rockabilly I've heard yet. Very well done all around, Carl has good vocals. They aren't wild or anything, but he certainly does the job well. A must hear for those interested in hearing early rockabilly classic stuff. I was hoping it would be a 4.5 or 5, but a 4 is still really good.
Favorite track - 'movie magg'
1957 | | 34 |  | Ronnie Self
Debut Recordings
4.5/5 This contains Ronnie's earliest stuff, so the production is not amazing on many of the tracks, but otherwise this is hot as hell rock 'n' roll bliss. Ronnie should have been bigger, maybe some of his tracks were a bit too wild or something. He has a rockabilly style on most of the tracks, and some slower Elvis style tunes with less screaming.
Favorite track - still 'bop-a-lena', otherwise I'd go with 'pretty bad blues' or the screamer 'you're so right for me'.
comp of material from 1956 - 1959 | | 35 |  | Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry Is on Top
Favorite track -
1959 | | 36 |  | Duane Eddy
Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel | |
foxblood
04.14.18 | man, can't sleep so figured I'd do this | Astral Abortis
04.14.18 | no little richard?? | foxblood
04.14.18 | I was trying to not do all the same stuff as neeka but whatever, I'll add him eventually | dtsanchez
04.14.18 | Too bad rock n roll is dead.. | Drifter
04.14.18 | 1 sounds like something I'd like. I'll check it later | foxblood
04.14.18 | you would probably like it. they had a song in fallout 4, that's how a lot of people know them | SandwichBubble
04.14.18 | I love the cover for 6, if only because the Fall stole it for their own comp | foxblood
04.14.18 | '50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong'
lol yeah. it's a great cover. you might like 1 as well sandwich. | SandwichBubble
04.14.18 | Will do! | neekafat
04.14.18 | At least you didn't like Ricky that much, blech
And I swear I'm gonna finish that one day! | foxblood
04.14.18 | yeah Ricky is bland. I'll def check when you update it neeka.
sounds good👍. thanks bloon! I had coffee so I'm fine lol. I'll go to bed early.
going record shopping with some friends today:D hope I can find something from this list or other similar stuff since it's what I've been jamming lately. | wham49
04.14.18 | how do you not have buddy Holly or Check Berry on this | foxblood
04.14.18 | I was starting out with some lesser known stuff, besides Elvis, and also trying to not do the same stuff from neekas list. I've heard them both but I haven't listened to them both in so long that I suppose I might as well add them and get to them again. | wham49
04.14.18 | also check the early johhny Cash sun stuff, great rockabilly | foxblood
04.14.18 | alright, the early johnny cash I haven't heard so that'll be interesting | wham49
04.14.18 | lots of great ones on there that I am sure you have heard already | foxblood
04.16.18 | updated with Ricky Sings Again, Cliff, and The Explosive! Freddy Cannon | Drifter
04.16.18 | Did you end up getting anything at the record store? | foxblood
04.16.18 | ehh the selection was actually not so good. they were in the middle of stocking and someone cleaned out all the good shit. got a gospel album and hardcore punk album, and my roommate got a few good ones. the gospel album is by Big John Hall, I bought his first album a few months ago and he has legit one of the best voices of all time. he's a suuper deep baritone. so that was a nice rare find, otherwise not much. I'm thinkin I'll hit up Berkeley soon to check what they have | Drifter
04.16.18 | Are you from CA? Yeah Berkeley will most likely have something. I imagine that 3 story amoeba (or was it Rasputin?) with the vinyl on the bottom floor has an insane selection | foxblood
04.16.18 | yeah bay area near Berkeley, always lived here. that's how I find the g-funk, it's all hood shit you only see in rasputin. I actually haven't been to that 3 story one in SF and I also forget if it's rasputin or amoeba. | foxblood
04.16.18 | the Berkeley rasputin moved their vinyl selection to a whole new building so they have a bomb selection now.
updated a few more | Drifter
04.16.18 | Oh wow yeah I bet its awesome haha. | foxblood
04.16.18 | yeah it's nice. the only problem is that I've never been to a record store that has any used metal. people who buy metal vinyls always hold on to them, I've literally never seen a used metal vinyl for sale in a store. They're always new sealed for $30 or so, which is a lot for one album. So I'm severely lacking in metal vinyls, but at least I have a bunch of punk ones. | Drifter
04.16.18 | I'm not very big on vinyl but at the record store I go to they have a meh vinyl section but there's the dimple books store right next to it which has a pretty decent (I think) vinyl section with TONS of used ones. I should look for stuff there sometime... | foxblood
04.16.18 | vinyl isn't really worth it unless you have a decent set up, which is expensive. It's by far my favorite way to listen to music though, it's really special. you might get into it at some point. for me, owning an album on vinyl feels like I really OWN it, more than cd's or cassettes. It's a commitment in a way. plus the big art rules.
g-funk is basically non-existent on vinyl unfortunately. I do have Doggystyle on vinyl, that one is good. | BigHans
04.16.18 | Awesome list. | foxblood
04.16.18 | thank you hans!! | BigHans
04.16.18 | I'm old enough to where a lot of this stuff was being jammed around me when I was a kid. I mean, I was born in 1980, but Ive been to about 500 wedding dances where my Dad was jamming out to this stuff, putting on a show. | foxblood
04.16.18 | haha yeah that's cool. it's definitely dad music. my dad used to have an old jukebox with some of this stuff on it. If only weddings still played stuff like this. Rockabilly is especially danceable. I mean, I wouldn't know, I've only been to one wedding though. | neekafat
05.26.18 | Dude dude dude
Check Duane Eddy's "Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel"
Actually really enjoyed that album and I hope you do too! | foxblood
05.26.18 | dope, that was one I meant to check. Will do! glad u liked it, thanks ;) | neekafat
05.27.18 | Of course! I'm enjoying this list hahaha, I'm making strides in mine too finally | TheLongShot
05.27.18 | 25 is absolutely iconic and needs to get more love, it's arguably one of the two or three most influential vocal albums of all-time
Bo Diddley's debut is ab-so-lute-ly essential listening from this time period, super happy-go-lucky music and Bo exudes a natural charisma as a frontman that very few from that time period could equal. Good guitarist as well | neekafat
05.27.18 | Bo Diddley was good yah | neekafat
03.24.20 | That 3 rating still makes me angry (;
| foxblood
03.24.20 | dude I love 3 so much lol I want it on vinyl. it charms the hell out of me, down to the stuffed tiger. I get that most people wouldn't enjoy it though | foxblood
03.24.20 | It's cool that you are still working on your list, I didn't finish this | neekafat
03.24.20 | Yeah it took me like three years but I finally finished hahaha | neekafat
03.24.20 | You gotta at least check 36! |
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