domingo, 22 de febrero de 2015

THE OTHER SIDE OF BAKERSFIELD (VOL. 1 & VOL. 2)

Puedes leer la versión en español de este blog en
elrockandrollyyo.blogspot.com

VOL. 1 = 1. Billy Barton (Blues In The Blue Of The Night)   2. Tommy Collins (Untied)   3. Alvadean Coker (We're Gonna Bop)   4. Bill Woods (Go Crazy Man)   5. Tommy Duncan (Daddy Loves Mommyo   6. Cliff Crofford (There Ain't Nothin' Happenin' To Me)   7. Corky Jones (Hot Dog)   8. Al Coker (Don't Go Baby)   9. Bonnie Blue Bell (Let's Go)   10. Johnny Taylor (Mixed Up Rhythm & Blues)   11. Jimmy Thomason (Now Hear This)   12. Glen Ayres - Red Simpson (Sweet Love)   13. Billy Mize (Solid Sender)   14. Custer Bottoms (Stood Up Blues)   15. Dusty Payne (Long Time Gone)   16. 'Cousin' herb Henson (Up The Path And In My Door)   17. Fuzzy Owen (Arkie's Got Her Shoes On)   18. The Farmer Boys (Flash, Crash And Thunder)   19. Gene Martin (Make It Soon)   20. Buck Owens (Sweet Thing)   21. Bill Carter (I Used To Love You)   22. Ernie Kelley (Seal Rock)   23. Bob Ross and The Teens (Stingy Daddy)   24. Vancie Flowers (What A Man)   25. Joe Hall & The Corvettes (Bongo Beating Beatnick)   26. Wally Lewis (Lover Boy)   27. Bob Orrison (Sarah Lee)   28. Al Brumley (Someone's Gonna Get Hurt)   29. Al Hendrix (Monkey Bite)   30. Merle Haggard (Skidrow)   31. Ronnie Sessions (Scaredy-Cat)

VOL. 2 = 1. Ferlin Husky (I Feel Better Al Over)   2. Dusty Payne (My Walkin' Shoes)   3. Fuzzy Owen (Yer Fer Me)   4. Corky Jones (Rhythm And Booze)   5. Terry Fell (What's Good For The Goose   6. The Farmer Boys (Somehow, Someway, Someday)   7. Bob Ehret (Stop The Clock)   8. Bill Woods (Phone Me Baby)   9. Cliff Crofford (Teenage Tears)   10. Bill Carter (I Wanna Feel Good)   11. Lynn Billingsley (Childhood Boogie)   12. Joe Carson (Take Me In Your Arms)   13. Billy Mize (Planet Named Desire)   14. The Three Notes (I've Been Thinking It Over)   15. Wally Lewis (Kathleen)    16. Al Hendrix (Rhonda Lee)   17. Abe Mulkey   (Packed Up And Shoved Off)   18. George Weston   (Hey Little Car Hop)   19. Johnny Bond (Three Or Four Nights)   20. Dallas Frazier (Can't Go On)   21. Larry Bryant   (I Remember)   22. Herb Henson (Goodbye, Baby, Goodbye)   23. Lawton Jiles (That's What I Get For Loving You)   24. Mel & Carl (Come On Home)   25. Bill Bryan & The Goldtones (Rocking Chair)   26. J.R. LaRue & The Goldtones (I Know Better)   27. Billy Blesoe (That's Just Where)   28. Grover Cleveland (Why Not)   29. Del and Sue (Just Before Dawn)   30. Tommy Duncan with Larry Thornton (I'll Be There Next Sunday)   31. Cathy Sharpe (North Pole Rock).

Bear Family Productions / BCD16946AR (vol. 1) & BCD17353AR (vol. 2)


It's said that it was Ken Nelson (producer at Capitol Records) the first one to use the "Bakersfield sound" term and that it was the song "A Dear John Letter", by Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky, the one that caused the use of that expression. Or, for being accurate, to the musicians that took part in the recording. People from Bakersfield, California, and its surroundings.

As a matter of fact, the history is more complicated but it is brilliantly explained in the booklets that come with both CD's. You learn there that the Country music done in Bakersfield during the 50's and 60's was different to that done elsewhere (let's say Nashville for example) because it was focused to make pleople dance: in the Bakersfield clubs and beer-joints pleople wasn't going just to listen to the songs, but to dance. And searching for those danceable rhythms, the musicians created a sound, a beat, that was Hillbilly, yes, but that took a lot from Rockabilly, Rock'n'Roll, Swing, Rhythm'n'Blues... And that's what we get in these two CD's: good, old Hillbilly with a beat close to Rockabilly and Rock'n'Roll in most cases. "Hot Dog" by Corky Jones (aka Buck Owens) or "Rhonda Lee" by Al Hendrix areclear examples of that Rockabilly connection; while "Mixed Up Rhythm & Blues" by Johnny Taylor, "Now Hear This" by Jimmy Thomason or "North Pole Rock" by Cathy Sharpe show that Rock'n'Roll or Rhythm'n'Blues addition to the Hillbilly. "1950's & 60's Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'" is said on the cover, under the title. Clear.

The selection of songs is almost perfect... or just perfect, as in most Bear Family Productions compilations. What a hard life it'll be for us 50's and 60's sounds fans without them. Reading the names included tou'll go though the usual suspects. Names that shine by their own in the History of Country & Western Music: Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Duncan or Ferlin Husky to name just a few.

Both booklets have a similar structure: an introduction about the Bakersfield sound, its origins and development plus track by track comments and info, with plenty of pictures of original artists, record labels and so on. Scott B. Bomar is the author of those top quality liner notes. Bear Family Productions treatment for music and information. Enjoy and learn.

To do a song by song report or to highlight any of them will be pointless and a non-ending work. Better run to your favourite record shop and get both records: 31 great songs and around 50 pages booklets each. Hard to find better.

I don't know if this collection will go further than these two volumes (according to what is said in Bear Family Productions website, I understand that "no") but these CD's are for sure a must-have for Hillbilly and Rockabilly fans alike.

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