VA • The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll - The Follow-Up Hits

 

Review
by Richie Unterberger  
Having run through a few hundred genuine classic hits from rock & roll's first decade in its previous volumes, the series The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll was starting to concentrate on thematic compilations by the time of this 2008 release. This one has 30 "follow-up hits," or singles released immediately or soon after a big smash 45 by the same artist. Most follow-up hits, of course, didn't do as well as what they were following up, usually because the songs sounded too much like their predecessors and/or weren't as strong. That's true of most of the cuts here, actually, but that doesn't mean this doesn't have some good (and usually low-charting) rock & roll chart hits from 1956-1963. A good number of these were almost as good, and almost as popular, as the more famous songs they were following up, including Danny & the Juniors' "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay," Bobby Freeman's "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes," Shirley & Lee's "I Feel Good," Chuck Willis' "Betty and Dupree," Chris Montez's "Some Kinda Fun," and Dion & the Belmonts' "No One Knows." There are also some solid entries from a few bona fide rock & roll greats, even if those don't qualify as among their best recordings, like Gene Vincent's "Dance to the Bop" and Ritchie Valens' "That's My Little Suzie." You also, alas, get some numbers that were basically inferior attempts to replicate the mood of the big hit, like Mickey & Sylvia's "There Oughta Be a Law" (following "Love Is Strange"), Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones' "Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks" (following "Black Slacks"), and Bobby Day's "The Bluebird, the Buzzard and the Oriole" (following "Rockin' Robin"). Some other selections are fairly unmemorable by any standard, and only occasionally do you get items that are genuinely fine overlooked obscurities (the Cascades' harmony pop/rock ballad "Shy Girl" and Joe Jones' original version of "California Sun," later covered for a hit by the Rivieras). And some cuts are pretty derivative of other artists, as the Velvets' "Laugh" is of the Drifters, though that song does have the curiosity value of being co-written by Roy Orbison. The strong thematic core, however, makes this CD a more interesting compilation than most other anthologies of lesser-known rock & roll hits from the era, with excellent liner notes summarizing the backgrounds of the songs and performers.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-golden-age-of-american-rock-n-roll-the-follow-up-hits-mw0000501682

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Reseña
por Richie Unterberger  
Después de haber recorrido unos cuantos cientos de auténticos éxitos clásicos de la primera década del rock & roll en sus volúmenes anteriores, la serie The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll estaba empezando a concentrarse en las recopilaciones temáticas en el momento de este lanzamiento de 2008. Ésta contiene 30 "éxitos de seguimiento", es decir, sencillos publicados inmediatamente o poco después de un gran éxito de 45 del mismo artista. La mayoría de los éxitos de continuación, por supuesto, no fueron tan buenos como los que seguían, normalmente porque las canciones sonaban demasiado como sus predecesoras y/o no eran tan fuertes. Eso es cierto para la mayoría de los cortes aquí, pero eso no significa que esto no tenga algunos buenos (y generalmente bajos) éxitos de las listas de rock & roll de 1956-1963. Un buen número de ellos eran casi tan buenos, y casi tan populares, como las canciones más famosas que seguían, incluyendo "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" de Danny & the Juniors, "Betty Lou Got a New Pair of Shoes" de Bobby Freeman, "I Feel Good" de Shirley & Lee, "Betty and Dupree" de Chuck Willis, "Some Kinda Fun" de Chris Montez, y "No One Knows" de Dion & the Belmonts. También hay algunas entradas sólidas de unos cuantos grandes del rock & roll de buena fe, aunque no estén entre sus mejores grabaciones, como "Dance to the Bop" de Gene Vincent y "That's My Little Suzie" de Ritchie Valens. También, por desgracia, hay algunos números que eran básicamente intentos inferiores de replicar el estado de ánimo del gran éxito, como "There Oughta Be a Law" de Mickey & Sylvia (después de "Love Is Strange"), "Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks" de Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones (después de "Black Slacks"), y "The Bluebird, the Buzzard and the Oriole" de Bobby Day (después de "Rockin' Robin"). Algunas otras selecciones son bastante poco memorables, y sólo ocasionalmente hay temas que son auténticas obscuridades pasadas por alto (la balada pop/rock armónica de los Cascades "Shy Girl" y la versión original de Joe Jones de "California Sun", que más tarde fue versionada por los Rivieras). Y algunos cortes son bastante derivados de otros artistas, como "Laugh" de los Velvets es de los Drifters, aunque esa canción tiene el valor de curiosidad de haber sido coescrita por Roy Orbison. Sin embargo, el fuerte núcleo temático hace que este CD sea una recopilación más interesante que la mayoría de las antologías de éxitos de rock & roll menos conocidos de la época, con excelentes notas de presentación que resumen los antecedentes de las canciones y los intérpretes.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-golden-age-of-american-rock-n-roll-the-follow-up-hits-mw0000501682

Tracklist

1 - Danny & The Juniors - Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay - 2:28
2 - Bobby Freeman - Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes - 2:26
3 - The Olympics - (I Wanna) Dance With The Teacher - 1:50
4 - Don & Juan - Magic Wand - 2:16
5 - Mickey & Sylvia - There Oughta Be A Law - 2:41
6 - Sammy Turner - Always - 2:10
7 - Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones - Penny Loafers And Bobby Socks - 1:51
8 - The Impalas - Oh What A Fool - 2:17
9 - The Rocky Fellers - Like The Big Guys Do - 2:09
10 - Ernie K-Doe - Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta - 2:38
11 - Shirley And Lee - I Feel Good - 2:16
12 - Santo & Johnny - Tear Drop - 2:05
13 - The Six Teens Ft. Trudy Williams - Arrow Of Love - 2:09
14 - Chuck Willis - Betty And Dupree - 2:24
15 - Gene Vincent - Dance To The Bop - 2:13
16 - Ritchie Valens - That's My Little Suzie - 1:50
17 - Jimmy Charles - The Age For Love - 2:24
18 - Chris Montez - Some Kinda Fun - 2:21
19 - Dick And Dee Dee - Tell Me - 2:12
20 - The Safaris - The Girl With The Story In Her Eyes - 1:53
21 - Bobby Day - The Bluebird, The Buzzard And The Oriole - 2:21
22 - The Cascades - Shy Girl - 1:57
23 - The Velvets - Laugh - 2:20
24 - The Skyliners - This I Swear - 2:38
25 - Thurston Harris - Do What You Did - 2:01
26 - Dion & The Belmonts - No One Knows - 2:35
27 - Jody Reynolds - Fire Of Love - 1:50
28 - The Corsairs - I'll Take You Home - 2:42
29 - Joe Jones - California Sun - 2:19
30 - Cozy Cole - Turvy II - 2:30

Booklet

Label: Ace – CDCHD 1190
Series: The Golden Age Of American Rock 'N' Roll
Released: 28 de ene. de 2008
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Rock & Roll, Rockabilly, Doo Wop
https://www.discogs.com/release/5438260-Various-The-Golden-Age-Of-American-Rock-N-Roll-The-Follow-Up-Hits

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