Search - Buddy Holly :: Buddy Holly Gold

Nearly Two Hours of Classic Buddy Holly

Steve Vrana | Aurora, NE | 10/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1978 Gary Busey was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the critically acclaimed film "The Buddy Holly Story." As a result of the film's popularity, MCA released the definitive box set THE COMPLETE BUDDY HOLLY on six LPs the following year. Unfortunately, the collection has gone out of print, and despite rumors to the contrary it has never been released on CD. This leaves BUDDY HOLLY GOLD (a retitling of 1993's THE BUDDY HOLLY COLLECTION) as the most comprehensive collection currently available.



The fifty songs here span Holly's entire recording career. The earliest recordings are from either late 1954 or early 1955 when they recorded a few demos in Wichital Falls, Texas as Buddy and Bob (Montgomery). At this time, the duo was still performing country flavored material--especially the Everly Brothers influenced number "Soft Place in My Heart" (written by Montgomery), but the Holly/Mongomery-penned "Down the Line" has a solid rockabilly beat. [It should be noted that on some of these eary recordings ("Down the Line" and the instrumental "Holly Hop") include posthumous overdubs by The Fireballs.]



Holly's first official recording session was in January 1956 in Nashville under the guidance of famed producer Owen Bradley. This session yielded "Blue Days," "Midnight Shift" and one Holly original, "Love Me."



Over the next year, Holly would divide recording time between Norman Petty's Clovis, New Mexico studio and Nashville honing his own unique hybrid sound of country, rockabilly and blues. It wasn't until early 1957 after his Decca label contract expired, when Holly and The Crickets recut "That'll Be the Day" with Petty. [They recorded the song earlier on Decca, but Bradley said it was "the worst song he ever heard."] The song went to No. 1 and began a string of classic recordings, including "Peggy Sue," "Oh, Boy!" "Maybe Baby" and "Rave On," which all went Top 40.



Holly's final studio recordings were in New York in the fall of 1958. While Holly was not playing guitar during these sessions, they yielded standout tracks like "True Love Ways," "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" and "Raining in My Heart."



The final four tracks are from the January "apartment" recordings done in Holly's Greenwich Village apartment that he shared with his new bride Maria. [Again, overdubs on these tracks were added by the Fireballs under the guidance of Norman Petty in 1963.] Songs like "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" and "Learning the Game" showed that Holly was still a first-rate songwriter. Unfortunately, less than a month after these recordings were made, Holly would be dead at 22. The fifty tracks on this collection serve as a reminder of the tremendous impact Holly has had over the past fifty years. For anyone with even a casual interest in rock 'n' roll, this is required listening. [Running Time - disc 1, 54:20; disc 2, 52:39] ESSENTIAL







"

Rate the CD, not the record company

John D. Muir | Oglesby, Illinois | 09/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The reviews of this set distort the star rating. Make no mistake, this is a 5-star set. If you looked at the ratings and found 1993s 'Collection' with 5 stars and this set with 3, you might be tempted to buy the earlier set. This is the better set for sound quality and they are otherwise identical.



Like everyone else, I am frustrated by the lack of a compehensive release of Buddy Holly material. The very fact that this set was remastered and rereleased shows that there is a demand. However, until the happy day that a complete set is released, this is the best available and should be given its due- 5 stars.

"

Best Of Buddy

Y2bjs Reviews | Melbourne Australia | 03/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This man was a genius.The way he constructed his songs was sensational.I can play his songs over and over and never get sick of them.There is an element of saddness during his final official recording session,and 3 of the tunes appear here.Raining In My heart,is a real special song,the atmosphere of the Orchestra and the way he sung it is second to none.

I often do this when you get a particularly good tune,i analize it and i want to know what the hell makes it sound so good.

Another 2 songs from that session were It Doesnt Matter Anymore and True Love Ways,both songs are masterpeices.There is a number of his tunes you can do that with,Heartbeat is one,and the excellent lead guitar,nothing over the top,just precision guitar playing.He had a sound studio in his house and even though on todays standard it may seem antiquated,he definitly produced the goods.

Heartbeat is a fine example of no computerization polishing.You can hear the strumming of the guitar,and there is nothing better than hearing that human side to a song.If you close your mind from the vocals and listen to the guitar,you realy appreciate this song better.

Maybe Baby was done with The Crickets,and there is something about the sound thats just brilliant.

Oh Boy gets you moving,i wish you luck if you can play this song and not tap your foot.

What about Rave On,that Bluesy bass is excellent,but why was this song so short.Its So Easy is another fine example of excellent guitar work.

What is it about that song?Just precision thats the only way i can describe it.

Peggie Sue is probably his crowning glory.That drum beat echoing in the background is a sensation.

That'll Be The Day started it all,even though his record company wanted to scrap it.And in a brief 2 years this man was gone,how sad is that?

I dont care how old it is,his music was excellent.

Another song i have to mention is Everyday,that has a real catchy sing along tune and is a favorite also.

There is a fine collection of other songs here as well.

"