It's been widely reported that
Mitch Miller, Columbia Records' pop music chief in the '50s, was no friend of rock & roll, but thankfully the folks at the label's Nashville offices (in particular producer
Don Law) had a higher hip factor, and this installment in Bear Family's ongoing
That'll Flat Git It! series unearths thirty quality rockabilly and rockin' country sides from Columbia's vaults.
Ronnie Self's feral "You're So Right for Me" kicks things off in frantic style, and while that's easily the wildest side here, there's plenty more solid rock action, including
Self's "Big Blon' Baby," three numbers from the Collins Kids,
Billy Brown's "Flip Out" and "Meet Me in the Alley Sally,"
Bobby Lord's "High Voltage" and the hilarious "Bump!" from Jay Cee Hill. Bear Family have also included some up-tempo hillbilly action here, including a pair of outstanding
Johnny Horton cuts, two from
Marty Robbins,
Carl Story's defiant "What a Line" and
Mel Tillis' rare stab at the rockin' stuff, "Teenage Wedding." The set also features the rollicking "Susie's House" from
John D. Loudermilk, who would later become a top songwriter, and "Boom Boom Baby" and "Well, Don't You Know" from
Billy "Crash" Craddock, who would bring rockabilly back to radio many years later. As usual, Bear Family has done a superb job of remastering this music, and the liner notes from
Colin Escott are top-notch. Great music that should tickle the eardrums of anyone with a taste for early rock & roll. ~ Mark Deming