Actually Rockabilly influence on R&R
Dave Wilson | Melting Icebergs, Planet Earth | 07/13/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"95% of this set is rockabilly 1950-1955. Alot of pretty obscure stuff but you get a good sense of what Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Elvis were probably listening to. You can also see how they got a hold of this sound and made it actually rock n roll.
For me about half of the 200+ tracks in this set have too many fiddle solos to be called a R&R set. Better if the 10 CD's had drawn from north of the Mason-Dixon line to include more R&B influence. Also there are about 20% of the tracks that are questionable rock tunes at all (Sorry if your a Bunny Paul fan but she doesn't get out of the early 50's pop mode and there are 5 or 6 tracks by her)
So if early rockabilly is your thing this is a great set. To me half of this stuff is too obscure. The rest make for a good listen."
What was happening
Jerrold hirsch | kirksville, mo | 05/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I can't say the previous reviewer is wrong, so much as I would say I love the set for the very reasons he dislikes it. It is the sound of what was happening when rock n' roll emerged. Who knew Little Jimmie Dickens recorded a risque song at the time? I didn't. Who knew about H-Bomb Ferguson and "H Bomb Rock"? I was delighted by this and many other serendiptious discoveries on every cd in the set.
How I wish the radio and other outlets would play less of late Elvis and more of "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and "It's Alright Mamma," and other classics and experiments of the early early days of Elvis. Part of Elvis's genius was that he initially drew on country, blues, and R&B, and combined these in his own special way. This cd makes that absolutely clear. George Jones is here, but here also is a rollicking rocking country Tennessee Ernie Ford. Little Richard is here, but so also is the important and less well known Wynonnie Harris.
Anyone who doesn't find Harmonica Frank delightfully interesting isn't listening with open ears. Now we know what Greil Marcus was talking about in Mystery Train. In any case, a number of things clearly came together from the late '40s to the mid-50s, when performers as different as the Delmore Brothers, Sonny Fisher, H-Bomb Ferguson, Eddie and Chuck, Merle Travis, The Carlisles, Sonny Dae, Tennessee Ernie Ford,and Jimmy Cavello and the House Rockers, were putting "boogie" and "rock" into the titles of their songs and the music they played.
Yes, the previous reviewer is right about one thing. There is a lot of southern music here, although it is not all southern. It is hard to imagine any cd history of rock's beginnings without a lot of southern music. If you don't like that fine, but keep in mind that that attitude will make you deaf to one of the great streams of white and black music that has influenced all of American music and much of music around the world.
I had only one problem with my set. CD2 and CD 3 contained the exact same material even though they list different material on each sleeve.
"
Poor sound quality
Laurentiu Cristofor | 06/08/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I got several Membran 10-CD sets for 9.99$. Most of these are old mono recordings and I've been very happy with their quality. But this one is an exception - the sound quality of many tracks is very poor, showing hissing and distortions. Unless there is music here that you cannot get from somewhere else, you should avoid this set, even if you can get it very cheap. Keep an eye for other Membran collections though."
Track Listings (180) - Disc #1