Rock & roll exploded in the '50s onto a cultural landscape that was so uptight and repressed as to be unrecognizable today, even to those who lived through it. Everything -- from the clothes young people wore to the music they listened to to the money they spent -- was a hard-fought statement, because no youth group before those '50s teenagers ever had that kind of freedom and did something with it. Pop music was bland, bland, bland (just like it is now) and the bigger and badder and bolder rock & roll became, the more of a threat it was to the status-quo squares who banned it every chance they got. You couldn't listen to it, you couldn't dance to it at your school, concerts in public places were banned, and artists were often jailed for performing it in public.
Make no mistake about it, this music is full of abandon and release and joy. It is far more than just the roots of today's music; this is loud, nutzo, visceral, screaming-in-the-night music that is unfortunately being killed off in order to feel-good us into buying hamburgers and pantyhose.
Enter Rhino Records. As America's #1 reissue label, Rhino will be the first to tell you that artists in its catalog -- like Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Ballard, and Carl Perkins -- don't sell diddly-squat compared to the latest '60s day-glo reissue or disco box sets that regularly get all the critical kudos.
To stem this tide and right this historical wrong (and no doubt shed a little light onto the darker regions of Rhino's catalog in the bargain; remember, there are still bean counters to answer to), comes this delightful four-disc collection of everything that's right about original rock and roll. There aren't any safe, cutesy Bobbies or Frankies aboard, no cloying novelties that barely passed for the real thing in the early days. What is included here is just the raw stuff that set jukeboxes and radio dials aflame, and spread the word that rock and roll was something new, fun, wicked, and dangerous.
There are front-line hits from Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Gene Vincent, as well as sides from all of those who were influential beyond their lowly chart status (kudos to Rhino on this point alone). There are rockabilly classics galore from names both famous and super obscure (more points in their favor), R&B and jump from pioneers like Louis Prima, Wynonie Harris, Big Joe Turner, Amos Milburn, and LaVern Baker, and offbeat instrumentals, like "Woo-Hoo" by the Rock-A-Teens, that stand as testaments to rock and roll's do-it-yourself spirit.
You could call this box the ultimate cruising set, except that you'll be driving 20 miles per hour faster than you were planning on once this baby starts blaring. The transfers are excellent and there are top-notch essays from Billy Vera, Michael Ventura, and producer Gary Stewart that put the music in perspective. Those searching for perfect prom night or wedding reception music are advised to look elsewhere; "At the Hop" this ain't. (Cub Koda, Allmusic)
trax disc 1:
1. C'mon Everybody - Eddie Cochran 2. B-I-Bickey-Bi, Bo-Bo-Go - Gene Vincent 3. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley 4. Rock Billy Boogie - Johnny Burnette 5. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry 6. Leroy - Jack Scott 7. Black Slacks - Joe Bennett 8. Sunglasses After Dark - Dwight Pullen 9. Put Your Cat Clothes On - Carl Perkins 10. Duck Tail - Joe Clay 11. Woo-Hoo - The Rock*A*Teens 12. Come on, Let's Go - Ritchie Valens 13. I'm Ready - Fats Domino 14. Shake, Rattle & Roll - Big Joe Turner 15. Jump, Jive, An' Wail - Keely Smith / Louis Prima / Sam Butera & the Witnesses 16. Chicken Shack Boogie - Amos Milburn 17. Finger Poppin' Time - Hank Ballard & the Midnighters 18. Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy 19. How Can You Be Mean to Me - Dale Vaughn 20. My Boy Elvis - Janis Martin 21. My Baby Left Me - Elvis Presley 22. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis 23. That Is Rock & Roll - The Coasters 24. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent
trax disc 2:
1. Shakin' All Over - Johnny Kidd 2. Let's Have a Party - Wanda Jackson 3. Rave On - Buddy Holly 4. Action Packed - Ronnie Dee 5. Red Hot - Billy Lee Riley 6. Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis 7. The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard 8. Hey! Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley 9. Willie and the Hand Jive - The Johnny Otis Show 10. Hand Clappin' - Red Prysock 11. Flip Flop and Fly - Big Joe Turner 12. Jumps, Giggles and Shouts - Gene Vincent 13. Roll over Beethoven - Chuck Berry 14. The Hippy Hippy Shake - Chan Romero 15. I'm Shakin' - Little Willie John 16. Lovin' Machine - Wynonie Harris 17. Bony Maronie - Larry Williams 18. Tallahassee Lassie - Freddy Cannon 19. Claudette - The Everly Brothers 20. Maybellene - Chuck Berry 21. (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley 22. School of Rock & Roll - Gene Summers 23. Little Demon - Screamin' Jay Hawkins 24. Race With the Devil - Gene Vincent 25. Voodoo Voodoo - LaVern Baker 26. Rockin' in the Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar 27. Henrietta - Jimmy Dee & The Offbeats
trax disc 3:
1. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran 2. Tutti Frutti - Little Richard 3. Raw-Hide - Link Wray 4. Who Do You Love? - Bo Diddley 5. See You Later, Alligator - Bill Haley 6. Rockin' Bones - Ronnie Dawson 7. Splish Splash - Bobby Darin 8. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley 9. Bye Bye Love - The Everly Brothers 10. Oh, Boy! - Buddy Holly & The Crickets 11. Whole Lotta Lovin' - Fats Domino 12. Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris 13. Chantilly Lace - The Big Bopper 14. Honey Don't - Carl Perkins 15. Go! Go! Go! - Roy Orbison 16. Forty Days - Ronnie Hawkins 17. Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston 18. Frenzy - Screamin' Jay Hawkins 19. Koko Joe - Don & Dewey 20. King Kong - Big "T" Tyler 21. Ubangi Stomp - Warren Smith 22. Flyin' Saucers Rock & Roll - Billy Lee Riley 23. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins 24. Rockin' This Joint Tonite - Kid Thomas 25. Honey Hush - Johnny Burnette 26. Yakety Yak - The Coasters 27. Crazy Country Hop - Johnny Otis 28. Rumble - Link Wray
trax disc 4:
1. Brown Eyed Handsome Man - Buddy Holly 2. Somethin' Else - Eddie Cochran 3. Crazy Man Crazy - Bill Haley 4. The Train Kept A Rollin' - Johnny Burnette 5. Number Nine Train - Tarheel Slim 6. Mercy - Larry Collins / Lorrie Collins 7. Brand New Cadillac - Vince Taylor 8. Slow Down - Larry Williams 9. Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford / Huey "Piano" Smith 10. I Feel Good - Shirley & Lee 11. Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price 12. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens 13. Tequila - The Champs 14. Charlie Brown - The Coasters 15. All Night Long - Joe Houston Orchestra 16. Breathless - Jerry Lee Lewis 17. Wake Up Little Susie - The Everly Brothers 18. My Blue Heaven - Fats Domino 19. Believe What You Say - Rick Nelson 20. Fujiyama Mama - Wanda Jackson 21. Ooby Dooby - Roy Orbison 22. Queen of the Hop - Bobby Darin 23. Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard 24. Love Me - The Phantom, 25. Harlem Nocturne - The Viscounts
...served by Gyro1966...
Die Montesas sind eine Beatband. Punkt. Beat und auch ein wenig Shimmy, und ab und zu etwas Shake und Twist. Meistens auf englisch, selten auf deutsch. Die vier Musiker haben gleiches Bühnenoutfit und spitze Schuhe an. Auf der Bühne wird wild abgehottet. Manchmal singen sie zu dritt dreistimmig. Es gibt zwei Saiteninstrumente in der Band: eine Elité-Bassgitarre und eine Guild-StarfireIII- Gitarre. Niemals sind Effektgeräte dabei. Verzerrer ist doof und wird natürlich auch am Verstärker NIEMALS eingestellt. Dazu gesellt sich ein Schlagzeug und eine Weltmeister-Orgel, welche ein seltenes Produkt aus dem ehemaligen deutschen Osten ist und über eine immense Durchschlagkraft verfügt. Manchmal sind auch diese beiden Mädchen dabei: die Montesitas! Sie schwingen wie wild die Rasseln und singen mit. Dabei wird der Pony-Ride getanzt und die männlichen Konzertbesucher sind ganz aus dem Häuschen! Die Montesas machen Logenmusik für Leute aus der Beatloge. Aber auch Leute, die noch nie was von der Beatloge gehört haben, staunen, und fangen an, diese Art Musik zu lieben. Sie klingt alt... so ende Fünfzies, Anfang Sechzies... bisschen wilder vielleicht... aber so wunderlich neu! Ja. Denn Niemand macht heutzutage so eine Musik! Von frühesten Kinderjahren an, haben diese vier jungen Kerls ja gar nichts anderes gehört als Rockabilly, Ska, Rocksteady, Beat und Soul. Erst nach wilden Experimenten in verschiedenen Bands fanden sie sich als "Montesas" zusammen um fortan die Beatlogenmusik einer breiteren Öffentlichkeit zugänglich zu machen. Viele hundert Konzerte in den renommiertesten Clubs im ganzen alten Kontinent haben sie nun schon gemeistert und Gastspiele auf den größten 60´s-Festivals mit Bravour absolviert: Larsen-records Festival (F), After Dark Garage Festival (F), Festival Beat (I), Wipe-Out-Weekend (E), Bieler-See-Open Air (CH), Summer Safari (D), Cosmic Trip (F) usw... Immer öfter bringen die Montesas ein eigenes Vorprogramm mit: die Kapelle "the Black Knights" aus Rumänien. Mit ihrem primitiven Trash-a-billy schaffen die BLACK KNIGHTS einen interessanten Kontrast zu den gekonnten Musikmanövern der Montesas. - from: http://buntundkahl.de
The Montesas:
