Customer Reviews

Atomic Platters: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am the co-producer of "Atomic Platters" and I wanted to point out an error in the June 8, 2006 "review" posted by "wvmcl" entitled "Not Quite Definitive." The box set does indeed include Warren Smith's wonderful rockabilly song "Uranium Rock." It is track 14 on disc 2. The fact that the reviewer didn't notice that this song appears on the set suggests that his / her analysis of the product was slightly less than thorough. As for the other track that the reviewer implies would have made the box set "definitive" ("Twenty Tons of TNT"), he / she is correct, this track is not included. It might interest the reviewer to know that there were a number of equally great songs left off the box set. Why? Even a Bear Family release has its space limitations.

Finally, in order to post this response, Amazon forced me to rate my own box set. I hope the vast Amazon public will excuse the fact that I gave it five stars.

Holy crap! This is just about the most amazing box set I've ever seen! The second I heard about it, I knew it was going to be good, but I wasn't prepared for just HOW GOOD. Not sure how many of you are familiar with Bear Family Records, but they're a German label who specialize in super elaborate, incredibly detailed and well-researched releases, especially box sets, running the gamut from the women of Sun Records to the Everly Brothers to Ernest Tubb to Perez Prado to Flatt And Scruggs and on and on. Always very expensive and often hard to get, but once you lay your eyes and ears on one of their releases you realize it was worth all the trouble and worth every penny. And never was it truer than with Atomic Platters.

This years in the works set is a five cd, DVD, hardcover book, box set collecting "Cold War Music From The Golden Age Of Homeland Security", 5 plus hours of fifties and sixties, rock and roll, R&B and soul, either warning us of the dangers of Communism and the impending atomic war, or more playfully using the A bomb and Uranium and Communism as metaphors for love and romance and partying ("You Hit Me Baby Like An Atom Bomb", "Atomic Baby", "Fujiyama Mama", "Uranium Rock", etc.). Scattered throughout are loads of civl defense spots, most appallingly naive and utterly ridiculous, there's Groucho Marx explaining that we have a good chance of surviving an atomic war, Art Linkletter warning us to not use the phone in case of an atomic attack, and lots of other misguided warnings and advice from Bob Hope, Tony Bennett, Fred MacMurray, Tom Lehrer, Pat Boone, Connie Francis, Don Pardo, Johnny Cash, Boris Karloff and lots more, as well as tons of bizarre civil defense dramatizations and creepy little Leave It To Beaver style vignettes.

Then there's the music, lots of favorites you've heard on other comps, but an amazing amount or material you've never heard (and probably never thought you'd hear) anywhere as well as totally obscure tracks from some not so obscure artists. Some of the more recognizable folks: Roy Acuff, The Sons Of The Pioneers, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, Bo Diddley, Dexter Gordon, The Louvin Brothers, Carl Perkins, Bing Crosby, Bill Haley, Doris Day, Hank Williams and more, but the lure is definitely the hundred or so other tracks, all catchy or bizarre or both, from a wild cast of one hit wonders.

As if that weren't enough, there is also a disc containing two full length spoken word records released in 1961, If The Bomb Falls and The Complacent Americans, both ridiculous and paranoid, laughable and goofy, but also sort of sad and creepy. Wow. Then there's the DVD which contains 9 short films, over two hours of educational films, teaching us about Communism, the impending Atomic War, and the infamous "Duck And Cover" method of surviving an atomic bomb attack (and I'm fairly sure that the narrator of one of the films is none other than Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, and the singer of the "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch").

Finally, there is the book, a massive 11" x 12" hard cover tome, chock full of illustrations, liner notes, photos, and a full page description with pictures and all sorts of extra info for every track in the box. Unbelievable. This is absolutely essential for all lovers of strange sounds and weird music as well as being perfect for history buffs too. And as it's that gift giving season, I can't possibly imagine a more perfect and amazing gift! WOW!

Over the past four years I have amassed a large amount of course materials for a university class on atomic culture. If this collection would have been published earlier, it would have saved me time and money. The price actually seemed high when I ordered it, but when it arrived it was obviously a bargain, in the wealth and quality of materials and information, as well as the fantastic production design. It easily trumps all previously available CDs, DVDs and VHS compilations of songs and films on the period. More importantly, it lends immense insight into the history that is still with us and has, in fact, been revivified by the Bush debacle in recent years, historically radiating fears of the phantom Weapons of Mass Destruction and yellow-cake uranium in Niger. You should also check out the recently published book, The Worlds of Herman Kahn: The Intuitive Science of Thermonuclear War by Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi. The obese, waddling globe that was Herman Kahn (no relation, thank goodness) can be summed up in one retro-necro sentence found on "If The Bomb Falls" Part 1, on CD5 in Atomic Platters: "Since we like our foods concentrated and readily available for use, we might label our nuclear weapons: instant death."

Years ago I lost my cherished copy of the official soundtrack to the hilarious 1982 documentary The Atomic Café. This soundtrack contained most of the ludicrous "Bomb" songs featured in the film. For whatever reason Rounder Records never re-issued the soundtrack on CD and, from what I have seen, old copies of the LP fetch obscenely high prices from collectors. Needless to say, I was counting the days until I could get my hands on Bear Family's Atomic Platters. Not only does this set contain the music found on the Atomic Café soundtrack, it features over a hundred more! And if that weren't enough, it has a dazzling 292 page hardbound book chock full of information about the songs and artists. The book is also bursting with images and civil defense pamphlet art from the Cold War. The nine films on the DVD are hilarious and make this set the ultimate Cold War pop culture companion. Overall, this set is an absolute MUST for any fan of atomic music or for anyone obsessed with this strange era.

Astonishingly, atomically good!!! All cool daddies who like radioactive rock and roll and country should BUY this set pronto. Where else are you going find nearly every atomic song ever produced?! The book and DVD only make this set sweeter. Awesome!!!

All I can do is echo the comments of the reviews that came before mine and say that if you are interested in "Atomic Culture," this set is a "must-have." Yes, it's expensive, but it's also definitive -- I couldn't believe how many songs there were that dealt with this theme, and I'd find it hard to believe they've missed any. The accompanying book is beautifully done, and the collection will provide hours of entertainment, weird nostalgia, and cultural education. My 17 year old daughter has been listening to these CDs with me, and she is utterly amazed at the content of some of the songs...as am I! Buy it!

There simply is no collection of nuclear war kitsch out there as breathtaking and complete as the Atomic Platters set. With five CDs of Public Service Annoucements and music, an attractive coffee table book filled with pictures of Civil Defense pamphlets and Cold War miscellena, and on top of all that, a DVD of unintentionally hilarious government propaganda films, including the iconic "Duck and Cover" film for schoolchildren, this package is unbelievable!

Well worth the cost outlay for true collectors. Highly recommended.

I can think of at least two songs that should have been on this collection but which are not on the track list:

"Uranium Rock" by Warren Smith
"Twenty Tons of TNT" by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann