Rockin' Bones: 1950's Punk & Rockabilly

by

Various Artists

Edit

This is the bible of Rockabilly. I listened to all four of the CD's in one day. At first I thought it'd dilute the power of the music, on the contrary right after I finished listening I listened to some songs over again. I then went in to my music collection and listened to some more Rockabilly. The rawness, the energy, the raunch,and Hillbilly primitivism just drips like red blood off a freshly slaughtered cow. If you are fan of Rockabilly by all means get this. There is a book with liner notes and a couple of reviews from people who respect or play Rockabilly ( Although I'm not a fan of most of these new guys ) There is some knowns on here Elvis of course, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Ricky Nelson etc. But there is also alot of unknowns theres songs on this box that I've been looking high and low for like the " I'm going to murder my boyfriend for hucklebucking some other chick and drive to his funereal in a Black Cadillac" song by Joyce Green called what else "Black Cadillac", then the other is the drunken ode "Bloodshot" by the String Kings, the nasty song where Dorsey tells a chick " I want to conjugate with you" Bertha Lou by Dorsey Burnette, or the horror billy song by Kip Tyler about his hot witch girlfriend " She's my Witch". The list goes on and on. The reason I gave it only four stars is because the listeners are going to get gyped when they listen to the version of the song "Love Me" by the Phantoms on this box. This version is more restrained and the piss is taken out of it. The original version he just goes insane on this song. Not that this one is bad it just doesn't have the same version as the first take the nasty lyrics are still there. Another reason is the version of "Lordy Hoody" by Tommy Blake on this box is more restrained then the original "All Night Long" which is so much faster and looser. But that doesn't delude the power of the box set which is enormous. There is lots of craziness and insanity on this box set ( check out the late great Hasil Adkins and his song "Chicken Walk") This is highly recommended for Rockabilly fans. I know one of the reviewers said you can get most of these songs by buying other comps and boxed sets but the fact is alot of these songs haven't seen the light of day until now. I know I looked. This isn't recommended to Rockabilly begginners but for fans. If your a begginner or a fan who whats to hear the version above of the song I've just mentioned I'd suggest "Rockabilly Essentials" to get you started there you'll hear "Love Me" by the Phantoms in all its horny, dirty, fast, loud and spontanoeus glory and if you want to hear "All Night Long" by Tommy Blake listen to the "That'll Flat Git It" series.

All in all pretty awesome. If your a fan its something you can't do without.

This is a nice sampling of classics 50s rockabilly. Some issues, however:

1. Fans of early 50s rock who may already own the previous Rhino box- Loud, Fast, and Out of Control, will note that many of the songs duplicate.

2. With 25 songs per CD, another 8-9 songs could have easily fit on each, since the tunes are so short.

Maybe we'll see a further exploration into 50s/early 60s rock one day.

3. If one combines this box with two others: As Good as it Gets:Rockabilly, and a CD called Rockabilly Riot, one would own most of the classic rockabilly hits missing off this box.