Reviews January 2026
VARIOUS
‘THAT’LL FLAT GIT IT, VOL 52 MAR-VEL’ & GLENN’
(Bear Family)
Harry Glenn’s Mar-Vel’ and Glenn labels are an absolute treasure trove of experimental, trend bucking and inept to the point of genius recordings. Ever the optimist and open minded in equal measure there were some absolutely amazing releases that saw the light of day on these labels that probably wouldn’t have any where else. The 36 tracks on this compilation span a decade from the mid 1950s -1960’s. Many of these have been compiled since the 1970’s so there’s little here people won’t have heard before but to get them all together with in depth sleeve notes and Bear Family’s superb sound is a joy. As you’d expect, Herbie Duncan features here, all I can picture listening to his gloriously tone-deaf oblivious recordings is the backing band he met that day’s expressions as they looked across the studio at each other trying to keep up, you have to love him. A lot of these recordings are just as raw but more tuneful, capturing what must have been a vibrant live scene around the rough houses of Illinois There could have could have been hits with some of these recordings, not least Ray Lynn’s dancefloor filling ‘Mean, Mean Woman,’ others were a decade late or too left field, but it’s all fabulous rustic rough around the edges and bouncing off the wall infectious. This compilation is right up there with the best of the 52.
Simon Nott
JACKIE LEE COCHRAN
‘ROCKS’
(Bear Family)
Given how rightfully venerated his records are it may be a surprise to some just how few releases Jack The Cat had in the 1950’s, kicking off with slap bass rockabilly classic ‘Riverside Jump’ in 1956. Listening to this set as a whole it becomes quite apparent that Jackie Lee Cochran was an Elvis Sun era aficionado throughout his career. That’s not just the proliferation of ‘Elvis’ covers from that era but vocal mannerisms and lyrical nods to the king. Jackie Lee was one of the first original rockabillies to be picked up to record for the Rollin’ Rock label, those virtually live cuts are here where he displayed that he had rocking in his soul, whist no doubt an Elvis man, he really felt it himself, the real deal in his own right. There’s always that one track on a compilation like this that stands out and has you reaching for the repeat button, several times in my case, the atmospheric oddball ‘Georgia Lee Brown’ from 1959 is the one that did it for me. No wonder that a couple of decades later The Cramps recorded it, almost note for note, no embellishment from them needed, I just wish we had a full solo of that oh so brief ‘magical music from the blue melancholy guitar’. This is a fantastic addition to the series, there are no hits to the name Jackie Lee Cochran, but what a muiscal legacy spanning decades he left us.
Simon Nott
VARIOUS
CHICAGO ROCKS – WINDY CITY ROCK N ROLL VOL 1
(Bear Family)
There are 35 tracks on this compilation and considering that it’s proudly a volume one, there are no doubt plenty more where these came from, the hotbed of music that was Chicago. There are some well known names on here, kicking off with a 1963 tune from Ral Donner, with Hayden Thompson a long way from Memphis and Hank Mizell in there too the former with a lesser known number, the latter Jungle Rock. These tracks are mostly from the late 1950’s early 1960’s which was a crossover period embraced on this album. Steve King’s ‘Satan Is Her Name’ is already pointing forward while Wayne Worley’s ‘Red Headed Woman’ recorded in 1961 while wild, unless you’ve heard the Sonny Burgess original, would have been clutching at the out of fashion when it was laid down, but no less enjoyable in this context. There are some fabulous tracks here, Elwood Twinkie had to get a mention just for his name but his 1962 ‘Cinderella Twist’ is a cool number, the whole set concludes with the intriguing ‘Ride Your Horse’ by The Regulars and The Galaxies which probably sounded far enough removed from ‘Short Shorts’ with its vocal narrative and slighted demented female chorus, recorded in 1960, it certainly ushered out the 1950’s in sax honking style, here’s hoping for a similarly eclectic and interesting glimpse into the Windy City with volume two.
Simon Nott
If you like an on-line flutter there's a sign-up offer at the end of this link. Over 18's only Terms and Conditions apply and you must be Gamble Aware.
