| Track by Track Review
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Wayne Handy - Betcha' Didn't Know
Drums open this old school rock and roller. This is a fun and energized number with a great groove. The sax is classy, and the backing vocals are distinctly 1950s styled. |
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Jim Thornton - I Want Everything My Baby's Got
This has plenty of old-time rock and roll at its heart. I really love the old-school guitar soloing on the number. |
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Irving Full & the Chorvettes - Buzz Me On The Telephone
While this still has some rock and roll built into it (listen to that plunking guitar solo), I’d say this has more jazz in the mix than anything else. There are some doo-wop vocals in the arrangement, too. |
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Buck Tickle - That Other Woman
More of a rockabilly stomper, this is a tune that feels like something Elvis Presley might do. It has some good energy and a killer saxophone solo. |
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Don Duncan - Somethin' Special
A fast paced and energized cut, this is a driving rockabilly song that’s catchy. |
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Harold Pope – Stop Walking All Over Me
Now, this is very much a redneck styled cut. It’s essentially a country ballad. It brings some variety, but isn’t really my thing. |
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Steve France with The Hornets - Bad Boy
I dig the gritty rockabilly sound on this. The guitar soloing is on fire, and the piece really works well. It’s one of the highlights of the disc. |
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Wayne Handy - Say Yeah
There is a healthy helping of jazz merged with the rockabilly of this cut. It’s an energetic and fun romp. I love the guitar showcase mid-track. |
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Don Ray with The Hornets - Silly Dilly
1950s rock and roll is the concept here. This is catchy tune that features whistling. It is a suitably silly tune. |
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Eddie Smith with The Hornets – Upturn
This instrumental rock and roller has bit of Ventures sort of sound. It has a much harder rocking vibe than some of the other music here does. It’s also a highlight of the set for me. |
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Lonnie Dee - Cold North Wind
This balladic piece is very old-school. I’d probably describe it as “easy-listening hillbilly jazz. “ |
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Joe Franklin & The Hi-Liters - Who Put The Pep In The Punch
They bring the rock and roll with a vengeance here. This is a fun tune. I dig the piano on the song. |
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Johnny Strigo with The Blue Notes - The Pad
Another standard sounding rockabilly stomper, this is classy stuff. The guitar solo is all class. |
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Clyde Moody - Do You Ever Think Of Me
The jazz is the prevailing element on this tune. It’s entertaining and vintage in tone. |
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Daryl Petty - The Day I Die
This hard rocking tune is classy and classic in sound. |
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Hughie Owens with The Blue Notes - I'm Going Home
I dig the piano and saxophone on this piece. The backing vocals don’t work as well for me. |
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Wayne Handy - Problem Child
A bouncy little rock and roller, this is fun. |
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Jim Thornton - Our Southern Way of Living
Jazz and shuffling countrified music merge here. The guitar twanging is classy. There is a bit of “Dixie” at the end of this. |
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Harold Pope - Tears Falling Down, Down, Down
I love the guitar work on this thing. It has some great twang in a stylish way. There is a real down-home vibe to the piece, and also a lot of class. |
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Eddie Smith with The Hornets - Border Beat
This instrumental is fun. It makes me think of “The Saber Dance,” but done as a country-based number with hints of things like The Ventures. |
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Steve France with The Hornets - Dream Boy
Jazz and old-school rock and roll merge here. This is a slow moving number. |
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Dannie Maness - Traveling Blues
Mellow, slow back-porch blues, this has plenty of hillbilly sound built into it. I have to admit that this song sounds like “Ernest T. Bass” to me. |
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Bobby Rose - Making Fun of Me
More of a contemporary jazz pop type of number, this is solid, but not a standout. |
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Joe Franklin & The Hi-Liters - True Blue
Energized and fun, I like this a lot. That said, I’m not crazy about the backing vocals. |
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Lonnie Dee - I'm Not Ashamed
Rock and roll and contemporary pop music merge on this ballad. It’s effective, but not a standout. |
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Wayne Handy - I'll Never Be The Same
Another classy rock and roller, this a good tune. |
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Jim Thornton - Baby Let Me Powder Your Nose
This is a pure hillbilly song. It’s more country than it is anything else, and I’m talking the old school, pure twangy country. |
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Daryl Petty - Flaming Love
A sea of doo wop voices brings a dense arrangement to this cut. |
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Ken Willette with The Blue Notes - Love Is A Flame
Another doo wop rock and roller, this is fun. |
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Dannie Maness - Hobo Bill
The intensity and volume drops here. This slow moving piece is very much a country styled ballad. |
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Bonus Tracks:
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Wayne Handy & The Melody Masters - Seminole Rock'n Roll
A classy rock and roller, this is fun stuff. |
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The Hi-Liters - Dance Me to Death
This rock and roller is bouncy and fun. It makes me think of something Jerry Lee Lewis or Little Richard might do. The piano is on fire, and there is some smoking hot saxophone work, too. This might be a bonus track, but it’s one of my favorites here. |
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Wayne Handy - I Think You Oughta Look Again
With driving rockabilly at its core, the backing vocals brings more of a contemporary pop music vibe to it. |
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Steve France & The Varatones - You Turn Me On
This rocker has a lot of energy and some killer hooks. It’s a lot of fun. |
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The Varatones – Repeto
This instrumental combines a surf music kind of thing with jazz elements. It’s energized and works well. There is some old school rock and roll in the mix at times. |
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