Great Stuff!
Morten Vindberg | Denmark | 02/04/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gene Vincent was one of the big rock'n roll pioneers of the 1950?s. Originally I used to think that anything recorded before the Beatles was not really anything of real interest. Fortunately at a certain point I grew curious about the roots of the Beatles, and it was not very hard to recognize the enormous influence that people like Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly had had on the groups that came out of the 1960's.
John Lennon always talked about Gene Vincent as a big influence, so naturally his music had to be checked out, too. The majority of his material may not be quite as immedialtely catchy as that of many of his contemporaries, but his voice was unique and he had the ability to sing different types of music equally powerful. Even pretty mediocre material was lifted above average by Vincent. Moreover his backing bands were usually first rate. Several of his guitarists like Cliff Gallup, Johnny Meeks and Jerry Merritt have long since become guitar legends.
This 6 CD box-set contains his complete recordings for Capitol and Columbia 1956-1964; featuring 8 albums, a lot of singles and EP-only tracks; as well as rarities and alternate versions. Most of it really great stuff.
The 48 pages booklet contains a very detailed biography, as well as interesting notes about the recordings ( sessions, personel etc.)
Its very hard to bring out any particular tracks, considering how many there are, but I have to mention a few of those that opened my eyes to his music. The ballad "Over the Rainbow" was never given a stronger treatment ( I believe ) than Gene's from 1958.
His version of "Up a Lazy River" from his first album is just great.
From 1960's "Crazy Times" you'll find one Gene's greatest own songs "Greenback Dollar".
Among the more poppy songs I think "There I go Again" has an irresistable Buddy Holly type charm.
By the way; production-wise the people behind Vincent must have been well ahead of their times, since even the earliest tracks sound crisp and clear.
Box highly recommended."
Track Listings (28) - Disc #1