Fabulous Wailers

Fabulous Wailers, The Wailers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 5, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Norton
• ASIN: B00009LVZD
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #416,239 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

As any quick perusal of old Top 40 rock & roll station playlists will attest, singles were where the shakin' action was, as rock & roll albums were scarce as hen's teeth back in those pre-Beatle days. But when the record companies decided to issue one, it was usually an artifact of high rockin' value and some major influence. Naysayers to the contrary, this debut album by the Northwest's first great rock & roll combo is just such an artifact. The Wailers dispensed crude, greasy, largely instrumental rock & roll music for those who came to shake it up and shake it down, and it's all on fine, rhythmic, open display here. This album is amazing in its own simplistic, nuthin'-special way, its crudity almost palpable. There's only one vocal aboard, Kent Morrill's "Dirty Robber," later covered and torched by the Sonics. Everything else is built on the riff-sturdy bones of their biggest hit, "Tall Cool One." With two guitars, piano, sax, and drums -- no bass player anywhere on here, another crudeness indicator of the times and locale it was recorded in -- all blasting away like they're working a VFW Hall dance, hoof shakers like "Wailin'," "Shanghaied," "Beat Guitar" (featured in the soundtrack of the misguided Jerry Lee Lewis bioflick Great Balls Of Fire), and "Gunnin' For Peter" stand loud and proud as teen hall pre-Beatle rock & roll at its finest. Even more amazing is that the tonal crudity of this recording is enhanced even further on the stereo pressings of this album! Northwest grunge in its original 1950s incarnation that can be appreciated by everyone who hears its basic message, unless you happen to have something against three chords and a lot of energy. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fabulous Wailers, February 8, 2008

By 

Larry J. Killion "tacwash" (Tacoma, WA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fabulous Wailers (Audio CD)

I LOVE this album. It was the first LP by the boys from Tacoma and I practically wore the record out back in the 33 and 1/3 day. When I came back home from the Army in '65, the old record had disappeared from my "stuff". When I saw the cd on Amazon I LEAPED at the chance to get it. I checked the mailbox daily till it got here and cranked it up on repeat for 8 solid hours. It doesn't get any better than that. It's the best rock and roll record I ever owned. I went to high school with Rich Dangle and often attended live gigs by the Wailers back in the early '60s. See my photo album of the Wailers on my classmates.com profile. Thanks for the cd.

Larry Killion (tacwash)

5.0 out of 5 stars every real rocker needs this disc!, September 15, 2006

By 

PNW forever (TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fabulous Wailers (Audio CD)

I wouldnt normally have a bad word to say about ACE Records (UK) and really dont have one now, except that THIS DISC of the same material, has SIX MORE TRACKS! The original lp tracks AND FOURTEEN BONUS TRACKS. A great bargain for Wailers and/or Pacific Northwest music fans!