Del Shannon's second and third albums appear (after a fashion) together on this BGO reissue. Actually, what BGO has re-created is the song lineup of the U.K. version of the Little Town Flirt album, which is a plus, as it contains several songs - including "Runaway" - that were repeated from earlier releases on the U.S. version. In either configuration, Little Town Flirt was one of the better rock & roll LPs of its period and holds up well. Shannon and his producers probably thought they were playing it safe by loading the record up with a fair number of covers, including "Dream Baby" and "Runaround Sue"; they never dreamt that one of his other covers from early 1963, of the Beatles' "From Me to You," would have put him for a moment on the cutting edge of music in England (where the record wasn't issued until later) as well as in front of the leading edge by almost a year in America…

Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby" - a classic one-shot, number-one hit from1962 - is one of the many records proving that, during a period inwhich rock has sometimes been characterized as near death, the form was continuing to evolve in unexpected and delightful ways. An irresistible mid-tempo shuffle from the first few bars of homespun harmonica (played by Delbert McClinton ), it was a seemingly effortless blend of rock, blues, country, and Cajun beats, featuring Channel's lazy, drawling vocals and an instantly catchy tune. It was perhaps too much of a natural; Channel could never recapture the organic spontaneity of the track, failing to re-enter the Top 40 despite many attempts…

Dr. John's Gumbo bridged the gap between post-hippie rock and early rock & roll, blues, and R&B, offering a selection of classic New Orleans R&B, including "Tipitina" and "Junko Partner," updated with a gritty, funky beat. There aren't as many psychedelic flourishes as there were on his first two albums, but the ones that are present enhance his sweeping vision of American roots music. And that sly fusion of styles makes Dr. John's Gumbo one of Dr. John's finest albums.

The Nashville Teens were a truly kick-ass rock & roll band from London. Their main claim to fame was providing the kamikaze backup behind Jerry Lee Lewis on his Live at the Star Club LP and recording the massive hit "Tobacco Road." This disc reissues that entire 1964 album and adds another 14 bonus tracks to it, getting us all the way to 1971 in the group's recorded output. Hot versions Of "Mona," "I Like It Like That," "La Bamba," and "Too Much" are the album's high points, and while the later tracks are a nice touch, they don't quite measure to the group's halcyon days.

Elvis: The New Recordings' CD is unlike any other CD available! It consists of 26 new overdubs (2015) of some of Mr. Presley's best tracks - both well known and obscure. These songs now sound amazingly fresh, beautiful and vibrant - like Elvis just recorded them today! Hear lush strings, flute, jazzy sax and clarinet, (steel, electric, acoustic) guitars, new percussion, etc. Produced by Larry Jordan (who has done overdubs on stars ranging from Patsy Cline to Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Jim Reeves - the latter of whom had a #1 this past summer in Europe from one of Jordan's overdubs) - the new Elvis offering features stunning sound quality and top musicianship.

Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, Chris Montez, Roy Orbison, The Platters, The Clovers and many others.

Covering a lot of 60s material, this CD set overlooks the most often used hits of 1960-62 in favor of the latter part of the decade. Quality of sources is excellent and the mix of songs is superb! Each disc could have had more songs included, but the quality compensates for the lack of quantity. A large number of great album tracks along with a decent number of hit singles and a wonderful listening experience in the order they have been assembled.

What we have here is an excellent compilation of 90 tracks from the first years of Elvis’s success. The majority of the hits are on the first two discs, with the third being, in the main, a collection of his finest religious recordings from the period. All the early hits are here; “Heartbreak Hotel”, “All Shook Up”, Jailhouse Rock”, “Love Me, Tender”, “Hound Dog”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and many more. Some of his best early performances, such as “That’s All Right” and “Mystery Train” are also included, as are some of the film songs, such as “GI Blues”, “Wooden Heart”, “Loving You” and many others.

50 Hi-Octane Cuts From The Golden Age Of The Automobile - Fantastic Voyage dips into rock ’n’ roll’s hotwired legacy of automobile anthems and highway love serenades in the latest tarmac-scorching compilation put together with Wild Wax Show DJ ‘Jailhouse’ John Alexander and Lucky Parker. Since the birth of rock ’n’ roll, the car has occupied a special place in teenage rampage and backseat romance, rock ’n’ roll music essential as both soundtrack pumping out of the radio or celebration of heaven on wheels. Over two discs, revving up engines and screeching brakes introduce 50 road-worthy classics, including lesser-heard gems rarely encountered on CD (if at all) by names such as the Storey Sisters, Don Pearly, Burt Keyes, Eddie Ringo, Dave ‘Diddle’ Day, Rocky Davis…

This fun collection features 19 Buddy Holly's classics songs interpreted by an impressive variety of artists, including Paul McCartney, Kid Rock, Graham Nash, Lou Reed, The Black Keys, Cee Lo Green and others. Rave On Buddy Holly does more than just throw big names against the wall over the course of a generous 19 tracks. It also adds up to an impressively diverse collection of takes on the innocence of another era. Buddy Holly, who was only 22 when he died in a 1959 plane crash, churned out a formidable collection of pop/rock classics in just a few years, and his catalog offers many unforgettable odes to wide-eyed, open-hearted youth.

A surprising perfectionist, Elvis was known to record dozens of takes for many of his records, often loosening up at the beginning of a session by playing around with different readings of the songs he'd decided to record; and while he got the feel of how he wanted his performances to go, the tape rolled. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death, RCA's four-disc Today, Tomorrow, & Forever presented fans with 100 tracks of previously unreleased Presley, a parade of alternate takes - both very welcome and curiously not so - and scattered live recordings from throughout his career. (Although not a career record, the version of 1958's "Doncha' Think It's Time" used here was the 48th, and final take)…

Elvis Presley doesn't really need more compilations - either single discs or box sets - in his catalog, but RCA's 1999 triple-disc set Artist of the Century does wind up filling a need, of sorts. Over the course of 75 tracks, nearly all of Elvis' most popular songs are presented in their original hit versions. Given the number of hits he had, plus the high quality of his recordings in the late '50s and late '60s, there are inevitably big songs missing, but many of his very biggest are here, and the first two discs, in particular, are quite strong (the late-'60s/'70s selections slip somewhat, lacking such necessary items as "Kentucky Rain" and "Moody Blue"). So, this winds up being good one-stop shopping for those who just want one fairly comprehensive Elvis set in their library - although you should be forewarned that "fairly" is the key word in that statement, since this will not contain all the hits or necessary recordings.

While not as ferocious as 1968's Elvis TV special or In Person at the International Hotel Las Vegas from 1969, this expanded 30th anniversary edition of the soundtrack to That's the Way It Is retains the excitement and exhaustion of his stage show of the time. The set is broken up into three separate discs. Disc one, special edition, includes the original 12-track album with seven bonus tracks taken from the same Las Vegas concerts and Nashville sessions. Disc two, the concert, includes the entire performance from the midnight show at the Las Vegas Hilton on August 12, 1970, consisting of mainly unreleased tracks highlighted by a rushed version of "Suspicious Minds," which finds the horn section falling behind an exhausted Elvis as he pushes the tempo. Disc three, the rehearsal, contains bits and pieces from these sessions..

Since From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60's Masters gave up the ghost of being a complete overview of Elvis Presley's '60s recordings, the compilers of the companion five-disc box set Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential 70's Masters - the third and final installment in RCA's justifiably acclaimed Elvis box set reissue series - decided to throw even the illusion of comprehensiveness out the window and just serve up five discs and 120 tracks of highlights. Instead of adhering to a strict chronological sequencing, which the two previous boxes did, this is divided into two discs of singles, two discs of studio highlights, then one disc that attempts to present the ultimate Elvis Presley live show by culling peaks from several gigs throughout of the decade…

A characteristically humongous (8-CD) box set from the wonderful obsessive-compulsives at Bear Family, documenting the Killer's '60s tenure at Smash Records. Lewis made consistently good music during this period, but the combination of his personal scandals and the British Invasion made him a pariah to radio programmers until mid-decade, when he returned to his country roots. Highlights of the set include the entirety of a Texas live show, with Lewis and his crack band rendering various early rock standards at dangerously high (i.e., proto punk) speed, some excellent duets with his (then) wife Linda Gail, and gorgeous renditions of standards like Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive." Lewis fans with deep pockets should grab this one immediately…