Customer Reviews

Best of Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks

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I first heard Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks live at the Rockwood Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas some 35 years ago. This band went on to become, minus their lead singer Ronnie Hawkins, the greatest rock and roll band ever, The Band, featured in Martin Scorsese's film, "The Last Waltz." This album captures that incredible sound that started so long ago and features great riffs from the best lead guitar player I have ever heard, Robbie Robertson. From "Forty Days" to "Who Do You Love", this album, perhaps more than any other, portrays the true sound of what become known as Southern rock, even though all the guys were from Canada except for Levon Helm. This is an album every serious collector of rock and roll and the origins of rock and roll should have.

Today, Ronnie Hawkins is best known as the man whose self-formed backup musicians later became rock legends The Band, and he may as well be. Hawkins is a bit bland and too restrained to be considored a great rockabilly artist. He lacks the menacing edge of Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, and he had only a few memorable songs. Too little, too late, as Hawkins came late when the rockabilly craze was dying down. It was an honorable move to try to keep the purest form of rock 'n' roll there ever was alive, but Hawkins just didn't have what it took to make the move. The main detractor was his voice, which wasn't good, not even in the untraditional rock 'n' roll way. It isn't bad on some tracks, but is a major annoyance on others. All in all, this was a respectable rock 'n' roller who had his moments, but not enough of them. The better tracks on this album are, however, quite good and the rockabilly enthusiast may pick up the compilation for those tracks. His opening Berry covers are fun, and while they aren't a match to the originals, they are better than anything Brian Setzer has produced. "One of These Days" has some very cool riffs and should've been a bigger hit than it was. The highlight of the collection is definatly "Who Do You Love". Its obvious from this cover that early on Robbie Robertson is a godly guitarist. The riffing and soloing are amazing, and the early use of distortion is fantastic. This compilation may be worth buying for rockabilly fans who already have the essentials. However, if you are new to the genre, pick up some Gene Vincent or Link Wray instead.

The ultimate collection by the greatest ballad legends from the history of country music with all of his favorite fifties and sixtiesclassic hits like "Forty Days", "Who Do You Love" and"Mary Lou". Actually speaking on my uncle's behalf he is from Winnipeg, Manitoba. To his own review and taste of music opinion here to give for imformation on Ronnie Hawkins he's know well!

If you like real raw late 50's rockabilly and the beginning of rock 'n roll and want to hear the early "Band".. buy this. Also get the book "This wheel's on fire" by Levon Helm THEN listen to this CD. It makes the two become intertwined and you can appreciate both a lot more.

Great CD !

Once again the true story of Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks is not being told. First and foremost they where always a better live act than their first two albums attest to. They played the delta circuit here in Arkansas before heading north to Canada where their really made their name. All of the original Hawks are from Arkansas and with the exception of Levon Helm had started out with Harold Jenkins. This collection does not do their fierce reputation justice. While it is true to the original recording it is tame in comparison to their wild rip-roaring performances. The Band is given much of the credit that is actually due to the originals. Jimmy Ray Paulman (guitar), Will "Pop" Jones (piano), Levon Helm (drums) and my father Jimmy "Lefty" Evans (bass). Any fan of rockabilly or 50's music should pick this one up. And by the way "Who do you Love" was performed by the original Hawks well before they taught it to Robbie Robertson!

Fantastic Disc from the start to the finish. I've been playing alot of the tracks on KNON 89.3 Dallas,Texas, during the Rock-A-Billy Review Show. Would highly recommend!

The Mean Eyed Cat
KNON Radio 89.3
Dallas, Texas

Well, this one's a stinker. Oh I know all the hype about how great he was etc.etc. and how he kicked off the Band, but this is, to my jaded ears, pretty run of the mill, early rock 'n' roll. Largely forgetable. Except for "Bo Diddley". It's hard to tell it's the same band as the rest of the album. For my money it's worth the price of admission for this one song. There's a slight reprise, albeit in a different guise at the end in "Down In The Alley", that sounds almost like they're going into "Bo Diddley" part 2, but it doesn't quite make it. But the rest of the album - naa.