Customer Reviews

The Fabulous Teens & Beyond

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Paul Evans helped rock'n roll over the bridge and into the mainstream of American music. When he recorded "Seven Little Girls..." he set the pace for future artist in novelty music. ACE has taken almost all of Paul's music and put it in this great package...."Midnight Special", "Happy Go Lucky Me" (Used in a 1998 Movie "PECKER"), The Brigade Of Broken Hearts", "Hello, This Is Joannie" and his own composition "Roses Are Red" are all included and sound great on this package. This package is a musical history lesson from a man that was (and still is) a great entertainer.

I loved Paul's three major hits and bought them all as 45's. However, since I never heard any more from him, I naively concluded he had no more to offer. This disc pleasantly dispels that notion and shows that he deserved a better musical fate. If his "Roses Are Red" had been produced in a manner similar to Bobby Vinton's version, one wonders if Paul might have achieved similar success. An enjoyable cd.

THis is a wonderfull cd,, filled with refreshing clean 50's music ,,rockabilly style,, a great voice that fits just right with the musci.. I love it.

Paul Evans is a lesser-known transitional figure from the waning days of rock `n' roll's first pass. His best remembered (and most anthologized) hit single is the 1959 novelty "(Seven Little Girls) Sitting in the Back Seat," which was followed by a cover of "Midnite Special" that's equal parts Johnny Rivers and Pat Boone. His last top-40 hit was the 1960 banjo-driven pop novelty "Happy-Go-Lucky-Me," a tune that's turned up in recent years in both film and on television. He worked as a songwriter, writing Bobby Vinton's chart topping "Roses are Red (My Love)," and returned to the charts with a couple of middling country entries in 1978 ("Hello, This is Joannie (The Telephone Answering Machine Song") and 1979 ("Disneyland Daddy").

Ace's 28-track anthology focuses primarily on his work from 1959 and 1960, adding his two later country hits and his previously unissued original of "Roses Are Red (My Love)." The latter is a surprisingly close template to Vinton's later hit, though without a few of the finishing touches that converted the song into chart gold. Evans' original has a twangy guitar in place of the hit's Floyd Cramer-styled piano, the backing chorus is more pop than Nashville Sound, and though Evans' vocal is heartbroken, it's not as dramatically so as Vinton's. The bulk of Evans' earlier recordings include easy swinging rockabilly and toned down R&B covers, produced with guitar, bass, drums, piano and sax.

None of the covers measure up to the readily available originals, but unlike the neutered works of Pat Boone, Evans seems to understand what he's singing, even if he can't muster the sort of verve these songs deserve. The backing musicians do a good job, though on tracks like "60 Minute Man" the stinging guitar and soulful background singers give way to a lead vocal whose growl is unconvincing. Evans is better off singing songs of lost love, such as the rolling "After the Hurricane," and excels on his clever novelty tracks, which include the march time "The Brigade of Broken Hearts" and the country lampoon, "Willie's Sung With Everyone (But Me)."

Evans' cover versions provide a novel view of how artists scrambled to cope with the musical changes wrought by rock `n' roll, but a rocker Evans was not. Neither his voice nor attitude have the grit or abandon of a rock `n' roll singer and though his covers are well intended, they're more cute than convincing. His original work, particularly his pop songs and novelties ring truer to his artistic character. Ace's compilation gives you the chance to hear it all, including his original hit singles from 1959 and 1960, and his later re-emergence on the country chart in the late `70s. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

Paul Evans had a grin a guitar and a couple of Top 10 hits that hardly anyone knows/recalls anymore. "Midnight Special" is a classic American folk song held deeply tucked by historians in their leather binders and tattered sheet music..was it first sung by field workers? Ledbelly? who knows? only that Paul had the first true popular hit.Johnny Rivers/Creedence Clearwater followed with what is now better known versions sad. Paul had a fun novelty song, "7 Little Girls Sitting in the Back Seat", big hit late '50s that even parents liked.. kinda sexy but innocent.
Last hit, a top 10, was, "Happy Go Lucky Me". Truly weird and wonderful his gulp and giggle vocal made it fun. It was featured in John Waters' 1998 film, "Pecker", and might have helped folks rediscover Paul's other recordings.
This CD has a nice overview of Paul Evans. It sounds fine although I must say that the original Guaranteed 45's have a ring that sings late scratchy and with a light that shines...

A PS: Paul wrote "Roses Are Red", a signature song for Bobby Vinton..
sentimental sweet awkward with a signed yearbook ending ..

I bought this for the song 'SEVEN LITTLE GIRLS....' --- a novelty song that I remembered from my childhood. There is some real good rockabilly on this record as well. Well worthwhile!! I'm surprized that Paul Evans was not a SUPERSTAR in that time period.

It is Horrible. That's all I can think to say. This guy must have used a kareoke--he wouldn't be able tp afford a band and no studio would possibly spring for one. iF SOME OF THE OLD GONE ROCK STARS COULD HEAR THIS THEY'D BE SPINNING IN THEIR GRAVES LIKE PINWHEELS. Iis tone deaf, he accents the wrong phrases and worse he tried to imitate the folks who first recorded it instead of using his own style. Listen to this before you buy. Please.