VARIOUS
‘SANTA IS ROCKIN’ AND ROLLIN’
(Bear Family)
Released on red vinyl and CD with nine extra tracks this is the latest of the annual Bear Family Christmas releases. There appears to be a never ending supply of great rocking seasonal tunes from the 1950’s and 1960’s and praise be for that, well most of them anyway. This collection is one of rarities and is in itself a rarity, a Christmas album with very little cheese. Yes there are still plenty of Santas, Jingle Bells and even a Rudolph, a rocking one of course, in evidence but this isn’t for kids, its proper rock n roll, rockabilly, hillbilly and sixties twisting. There’s a lot of stuff you won’t have heard here with excellent notes on both the album and CD to educate you as you listen.
Simon Nott
JERRY LEE LEWIS
‘THE GREATEST LIVE SHOW ON EARTH’
(Bear Family)
Recorded in Birmingham Alabama in July 1964 this is the US answer to the ‘Live At The Star Club, Hamburg’ which hadn’t seen a Stateside release at the time. This is a facsimile re-release of the original Smash album. Listening to this, you can vividly imagine what it must have been like to attend a Jerry Lee Lewis gig back in the day. It’s more like an assault, Jerry Lee Lewis in his head had never flatlined as a superstar, he’s on top of the world and setting out to prove it and a take no prisoners manner. There are just 10 tracks here but bloody hell he plays like he’s possessed, this is Jerry showing everyone who the real king of rock n roll was. The material he’s performing is classic rock n roll, he namechecks the artist who had the hit then sets out to blow their version out of the water, and does. Material includes well trodden tracks like ‘Jenny Jenny’, ‘Memphis Tennessee’ ‘Hound Dog’ but brings batters them into life like no other, are you getting the picture? You might think you are but this is blistering, is the title hyperbole? I don’t think so.
Simon Nott
ELVIS
‘THE RAGING TIGER – CLOSING NIGHT 1974’
(Memphis Recording Service)
This is an astonishing album, not for the reasons you are thinking, Elvis even alludes to the fact that it’s the closing show so they don’t really care. If you’d been saving your money to fulfil an ambition to see the King live, you might have felt a little disappointed, the track listing is pretty humdrum, though of course it is still Elvis. There’s lots of chit chat between those songs and it’s that which is the shocking part, Elvis lets rip about a news report that he’d been ‘strung out’ threatening whoever had spread that false rumour that he’d rip their tongue out, mentions that Colonel was probably playing the casino and what a member of the troupe might be ‘putting up their nose’ and plenty more where that came from. This is a fascinating recording, not withstanding that musically there are better live shows available out there, this is Elvis forgotten history.
Simon Nott
THE RHYTHM HEPCATS
‘BOOZE, BACCY & ROCK N ROLL’
(Western Star)
14 tracks from a band that was a new band on me. This is a cracker, what really grabbed me from the start was the excellent and prominent double bass sound. All the songs were self-penned by guitar player and vocalist Steve ‘Wolfie’ Roffey who embraces a range of topics, a celebration of music, ‘Hepcat Rhythm’ and ‘Perkins Lot’ genre blending, ‘This Little Teddy Boy’s Gone Psycho’ a little bit of sleaze and deeper personal subjects. The guitar playing is excellent, the whole band tight, this is a rollicking album from a band I’d love to have seen belting it out live. Tragically, Steve ‘Wolfie’ Roffey took his own life shortly after this was was recorded which makes listening to some of the lyrics in the darker songs very poignant. Listen guys, there's always someone to talk to. RIP.
Simon Nott
WEE WILLIE HARRIS
‘GRAB YOU – THE BRITS ARE ROCKING VOL 9’
(Bear Family)
The series that highlights the wealth of homegrown talent that recorded rock n roll in the 1950’s and 1960’s UK. Wee Willie Harris is often seen as a bit part player in the history of UK rock n roll, he didn’t fit into the heartthrob stable of the likes of Cliff, Marty, Tommy, Billy and Vince but he could rock with the best of them. For what Charles William Harris lacked in classic looks he sure made up for in rocking gusto and rocking gusto is what buyers of this CD are interested in. Given that backing bands in studios in the UK were often seasoned ‘orchestras’ playing to numbers rather than from the soul potential wild men like Wee Willie Harris probably never reached their full abandon potential but our man give it a bloody good go. 26 tracks document the beginning of a career that was ultimately life long and firmly stamp Wee Willie Harris as far more than a novelty also ran.
Simon Nott
WILD BOB BURGOS
‘JUST ROCKIN’
(Ridgemount)
20 tracks by Wild Bob Burgos, 16 of them self-penned or collaborative recorded between 1982 and 1992. I’ve heaped praise on previous Wild Bob Burgos releases in the past and I’m going to do it again. Bob certainly kept himself in the best possible company when it came to the musicians he used to back him and they are credited in this CD which is great. There’s not going to be many surprised that this it 100% full on no nonsense authentic rock n roll with some great good time lyrics fantastic guitar and piano, slap bass, bass guitar, sax and harmonica where they fit and of course sledgehammer drumming. This is a party on CD which fittingly ends with a rocking version of Auld Land Syne, a clever move by Bob and co to record back in 1986, a sure fire way to see new year at any rock n roll party. Never has prolific sounded so good as Wild Bob and the boys.
Simon Nott
ELVIS
‘RECORDED LIVE IN MEMPHIS 1974’
(Memphis Recording Service)
This double CD was recorded in Memphis, disc one on 16th March 1974 and disc two on 17th March. Elvis is on suburb form here, you really do get the feel of a hometown gig. Looking at the passage of time as you do when you get older, it would have been in the forefront of Elvis’ mind that plenty of the audience would have been around since the very beginning of his career only 20 year previously. This is a set heavy in rock n roll which would have been firmly in the memory of many of those present that saw him with Scotty and Bill, with ‘I Got A Woman’ performed early in the first show and ‘That’s All Right’ almost closing the last from those early days which would surely have delighted those Memphis fans. These recordings have a real vibrancy to them and capture Elvis and band in top for in front of a home crowd.
Simon Nott
WYNONIE HARRIS
‘ROCKS’
(Bear Family)
The music on this CD span the years 1947 to 1957 when Wynonie Harris was at the peak of his career, as colourful in music as he was in real life he was the epitome of the successful and excessive rock n roll star before there was such a thing. Not one to miss an opportunity to blow his own trumpet and no doubt having his trumpet blown he was the king of excess and the double entendre backed by red hot musicians pumping out music to rock n roll to ‘Fanny Brown’, ‘Lollipop Mama’, ‘Sittin’ On It All The Time’ ‘ Good Rockin’ Tonight’ ‘Shake That Thing’ enough to get the party pumping, ironically the emergence of the likes of Elvis usurped Harris’ career way too soon. He appears to have had one eye in the rear view mirror as the new trends gathered momentum, though his attempts at hitching on to the Mambo wagon in 1955 make good listening now but doomed to fail having picked the wrong side, though he was never going to be a teen idol but what a legacy of great music he left. Needless to say, this is Bear Family to the packaging is exceptional and the sleeve notes detailed.
Simon Nott
WITCHDOKTORS
'IZZATSO?'
(Bomber Music)
This is a barnstormer of an album, full throttle rock n roll with side of blues for which the anthemic slide guitar embellished 'Lightening Strike' sets the scene and a pace which just never lets up, though there are some added flavours along the way, 'Freedom Fighter' with some Jamaican spirit, I'm guessing rum. Despite this being a good time party album musically lyrically it's a lot deeper. The whole record is self-penned and self-produced by the band who are seriously top notch musicians and give it their all. I made this album one of my top five for Vive Le Rock's 'Albums of 2025', it's angry, it's full on, it's fun and good old rock n roll in the right and proper manner, the band are joined by piano, brass and even accordion where it fits, adding to the rocking, not least the concluding 'Kicking The Can' which really compels you to flip the album over and start the party all over again.
Simon Nott
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