Search - Buddy Holly :: Best (Shm)

Forget about Buddy? That'll be the day!

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 01/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After seeing The Buddy Holly Story long ago, and recognizing the influence he had on the Beatles, i.e. Crickets/Beatles, I knew that one of these days, I'd get some compilation of his stuff, and I just did a few days ago. Also, the deaths of he, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens on 2 February 1959, the troubles with the law faced by Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard's turning to religion, and Eddie Cochran's auto death, signalled the death of real rock until the Beatles picked up the torch. The list of songs includes Holly with and without the Crickets. Highlights:Originally a country song, the #1 "That'll Be The Day" with its electrified galloping riffs, made Holly a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.The rollicking skiffle of "Oh Boy!" followed "That'll Be The Day", peaking at #3 in the UK, but only #10 in the US. From the guitar riffs, I can see the influence he had on the Beatles early albums.A more romantic flavour is shown in the UK #4 "Maybe Baby" a mid-paced effort. "Think It Over," an exercise in classic early rock, barely missed the Top Ten in the UK. It features a piano solo.Holly's first solo was "Peggy Sue" with a running rhythm guitar and drum, was his last solo US Top Ten hit, reaching #3, but #6 in the UK. The jangly guitar in the midsection is yet more evidence of his influence on the Fabs. It's B-side, the lovely "Everyday", features collaborator Norman Petty's wife on the celeste and drummer Jerry Allyson clapping his hands on his knees. A sequel was made of the A-side, "Peggy Sue Got Married", which in turn inspired a Kathleen Turner movie in 1986.Not all Holly's songs did well. The mid-paced "Heartbeat" has a somewhat calypso beat. It sadly failed, reaching #30 in the UK. In the US...don't ask! "Midnight Shift" has a slower sound reminiscent of classic R&B, and was an early song released his star shone. It only reached #26 in the UK.The more rockabilly "Rave On" was a solo Holly song that peaked at #5 in the UK, his best solo posting while alive. John Cougar Mellencamp covered this less successfully on the Cocktail soundtrack."True Love Ways" with its string section is probably my second favourite Holly song after "That'll Be The Day", showing a much softer side of him compared to his earlier recordings. Another lush song with strings is "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", which was a posthumous UK #1.Holly also did cover songs, such as Bobby Darin's "Early In The Morning" and Chuck Berry's fast-paced "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." The latter's B-side was the more soft and wistful "Wishing", which became a Top Ten hit in its own right in the UK."Words Of Love" never became a hit for Holly, but this is probably better known because the Beatles recorded it for their Beatles For Sale album.In reading the chart postings of each song, I noticed how much more Buddy was appreciated in the UK rather than his home country. The good that came out of that is better taste on part of the Brits, particularly a certain Paul McCartney, who now owns Buddy Holly's song catalogue.This includes the US and UK chart positions each song reached. Sadly, it does not include "Well Alright", "Not Fade Away", "It's So Easy" and "Raining In My Heart", but this collection had most of what I wanted so I sprang for it. And as coming Monday is the sad anniversary of the Day The Music Died, I thought this would be a fitting time to review this."

Most of Buddy's classic songs

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This budget-priced album contains most of his most famous songs, many of which have retained their popularity via cover versions. Pop, rock, country, folk and jazz singers have all recorded their own versions of Buddy's songs, so even if you've never heard Buddy's versions, you may be familiar with the songs.



Here, you get Buddy's original versions of Oh boy (a UK number one hit for Mud in the seventies), That'll be the day, Peggy Sue, Listen to me, Rave on, Heartbeat (a UK top ten hit for Showaddywaddy in the seventies), True love ways, Everyday and It doesn't matter anymore.



Despite his early death in a plane crash, Buddy continued to have hits for a few years. Incredibly, he had three UK top ten hits in 1963 (Brown eyed handsome man, Bo Diddley, Wishing)



There are at least two obvious omissions, though neither was a UK hit for Buddy - remarkable, considering how famous they are. Not fade away (the original B-side of Oh boy) later became a top three UK for the Rolling Stones. Raining in my heart (the original B-side of It doesn't matter anymore) became a minor UK hit for Leo Sayer. Disappointing as those omissions are, if you want a collection containing all of Buddy's important songs, you must pay a higher price.



This makes a great introduction to Buddy's music at a bargain price."