Customer Reviews

The Golden Era of Rock 'n' Roll: 1954-1963

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Compiled to celebrate rock and roll's 50th anniversary this year, this Hip-O three-disc, 62 song set features some of the best sound treatment these evergreens have received in the CD era. Gavin Lurssen's exceptional remastering allows you to clearly hear the Coasters' bass-tenor harmony-comedy in 1958's "Yakety Yak" and the Cadets' in 1956's still-weird operetta "Stranded in the Jungle." You hear the rollicking piano behind the guitar solo in Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City," and the twangy guitar intros to Richie Valens and the Everly Brothers' (not to mention original twangy guitar Duane Eddy's) signature songs.

And signature songs, one from each artist, is all executive producer Andy MacKaie's team seemed to have room for in this expansive collection. One song each from titans like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Rick Nelson and Buddy Holly. In most cases he safely relied on their first hits ("Maybelline," "Tutti Fruitti") but also allowed hints of the 1960s producer-dominated era in tracks from the Four Seasons and Beach Boys. Hearing "Rock Around the Clock" and "Tequila" again recalls how popular these songs remained in films and television more than three decades after first charting.

Despite Billy Altman's pedantic liner notes, the set deserves five stars for the sheer number and quality of hits present (more than 30 #1 hits and more than enough songs associated with the era.) Too many artists are missing for "The Golden Era" to be definitive: no Elvis, nothing from the Cameo-Parkway or Phil Spector eras, a curious Sam Cooke track. But this collection is a worthwhile introduction or summary of rock and roll's first 10 years, an era fading from oldies station playlists and for today's senior citizens (teenagers when Elvis hit in 1954) becoming the anachronism the big bands were to a previous generation. Essential music, worthwhile here but more so in individual anthologies from Berry, Holly, and others.

This is one of the best self-contained collections of music from the early years of Rock `n' Roll. The set includes 62 songs (all original versions), digitally remastered, and chronologically arranged on three CDs. Out of those 62 songs, 35 went #1 on the pop or R&B charts (and nine of those were #1 on BOTH the pop AND the R&B charts), 10 made it to #2 and six topped out at #3. Groups and artists featured in this collection include "Bill Haley & His Comets", Buddy Holly, Dion, "The Angels", Brenda Lee and "The Beach Boys". And no less than 33 of the acts on "The Golden Era" are members of the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". Just a few of the songs on this collection include the first #1 Rock `n' Roll song of all time "Rock Around the Clock", the "Marcels" version of "Blue Moon", and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". One track to take note of is the Cadets "Stranded In The Jungle". The version included on "The Golden Era" features "jungle noises" I've never heard on any other version. This is the perfect compilation for someone just starting off his or her Rock `n' Roll collection. And for the collector who has all of these already, now they're all in one collection.

This compilation has nearly all the tracks from American Graffiti's soundtrack, and so much more. This is exactly what I've been looking to fit my eclectic taste. All the hits are here, this side of Great Balls of Fire and Willie and the Hand Jive. Those two would have made this compilation perfect, but perfection is hard to come by when dealing with era compilations.

I wasn't around back when these songs were blasting on the radio, but I grew up listening to this music - thanks, mom! If you want to experience the sound of this era, this three-set cd collection is perfect. I've been looking for Maybellene, Be-Bop-A-Lula, Peggy Sue, Sea Cruise and Blue Suede Shoes and they're all here on the same set!

Try ebay before you buy here. I found this set relatively cheap over there. There were about five sellers when I bought mine, all vying for the lowest price.

This is great road music for those of you in my generation brave enough to try something new and break away from the Death Cab for Cutie/Outkast conformity we hear all the time on mainstream radio.

For those of you who grew up on this stuff, please let me reintroduce you to your old friends. This cd has almost all of them.

This collection features the period from 1954 to 1963, rock n roll had the services of some of the greatest artists to hit the air waves ~ thus enters the Golden Era of Rock N Roll. Creativity of unequaled talent, tunes that were designed to make the masses come alive ~ and alive they all came with wanting more of the same.

This 3-CD -Set concentrates on the highs and strong years, plus cohesive introduction to a lasting genre rich with American music, this my friends was the beginning and probably some of the best tunes during the decades. Rock N Roll classics include thirty three number one hits, with a total of sixty two never to be forgotten songs from Chuck Berry, The Champs, The Crows, Big Joe Turner, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, The Flamingos, Bill Haley & His Comets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, The Moonglows, The Penguins, Carl Perkins, The Platters and Jackie Wilson ~ with much more and many songs that will bring back those days of long ago.

Great job by Andy McKaie, Billy Altman, Dana Smart, Pat Lawrence and Hip-O Records, this is worth their weight in GOLD! Where were you when these songs were played? Or did you enjoy them later in your years after your parents brain-washed you! Whatever the reason, here they are now and completely re-mastered for your enjoyment, don't pass this one up ~ it has something for everyone...gotta love it!

Total Time: 3-CD-Set ~ Hip-O Records 62002 ~ (4/13/2004)

This is for people who love the Rock and Roll of the 50's and Early 60's.
This is not some collection made in someones garage with sub-par recordings, infact it is just the opposite.
All songs are by the original performers and the sound quality is suberb. The songs appear to be remastered and sound like they were recorded yesterday.
You get all the Rock and Roll artists along with the Do-wap artists like the Platters, The Skyliners.
Personally I am not a huge fan of music from the 50's, but this is where I go when I want to hear something from that era.
All of the classics are on here, Bill Haley, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochoran, Ray Charles and the list just goes on and on.............Enjoy

Back in the mid-1950s when rock 'n' roll took off like a runaway rocket, doo-wop pretty much ruled the airwaves. You'll find the best of these in the first two Doo Wop Box collections. But there was plenty of great rock 'n' roll by both black and white artists that didn't fall into the doo-wop category, and some of the best of that is represented here. The first disk, covering 1954 to 1957 is the best of the three. This is where you'll find Bill Haley's all-time classic "Rock Around the Clock", Big Joe Turner's original "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (Haley recorded it later, but Turner's is the best), Chuck Berry with "Maybelline", Gene Vincent's "Be-Bop-A-Lula", Carl Perkins's unforgettable "Blue Suede Shoes" (Well you can knock me down, step on my face, slander my name all over the place, you can do anything that you wanna do, but uh-uh, honey, lay offa my shoes), Little Richard screaming "Bob-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom" on "Tutti Frutti", Shirley and Lee letting the "Good Times Roll", the incomparable Bo Diddley singing his signature song, Laverne Baker with "Jim Dandy", and the Cadets' hysterical "Stranded In the Jungle" that used to have me on the floor laughing every time I listened to it.

The second disk covers 1958 to 1960 and has some great tracks including Jerry Lee Lewis with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", Mickey and Sylvia's "Love is Strange", the Del Vikings' "Come Go With Me", The Elegants singing "Little Star", the Coasters' hilarious "Yakety Yak", and the Flamingos' exquisitely beautiful "I Only Have Eyes For You".

The third disk goes from 1960 up to 1963 and is the weakest of the three, but there is still some very good stuff on here: Ray Charles with "What'd I Say?", Richie Valens singing "La Bamba" which was the flip side of the more popular "Donna" and was way better than "Donna" (some of the DJs back then had a bad habit of pushing the wrong side of some records), The Skyliners with "Since I Dont Have You", Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City", Brenda Lee with "Sweet Nothin's", and Gary U.S. Bonds singing "A Quarter To Three". The rest of the third disk is more or less forgettable, but the first two make up for the weakness of the third.

I'm giving the collection four stars instead of five because of a couple of appalling omissions. First, of course, is the absence of Elvis Presley who had an enormous impact on rock 'n' roll and no golden era collection can be called complete without at least two of his early hits (I'd go with "Dont Be Cruel" and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"). Secondly, no Ike and Tina Turner. How in the world could they leave out "A Fool In Love"? And third, a couple of songs don't represent their artist's best. The Everly Brothers, for instance, are on here with "Bye Bye Love" which was their first hit, but "Wake Up Little Suzie" was by far the better record.

Taken as a whole, though, "The Golden Era of Rock 'n' Roll" is a very good collection indeed. For those old enough to remember it, listening to these CDs will bring back a lot of good times and good memories. For the young folks, it's a great introduction to early rock 'n' roll.

Judy Lind

I was somewhat disappointed. Some of the songs were not by the original artists, though not a big problem since I should have checked that, but the sound reproduction was poor. The discs sound like the songs were recorded right off the old 45s and not a good job at that. I have other discs from the 50s, 60s and 70s and they have superior sound reproduction.

This collection has most of the greatest Rock 'n' Roll songs of the 50s and early 60s. There are even the songs that you know you've heard but couldn't have put a name to!
The fact that there is no Elvis is no drawback as any Rock 'n' Roll fan should probably have a classic Elvis record anyway!
The best compilation around.

This is an excellent collection of music offering nostalgic memories of forgotten one hit wonders as well as many more enduring artists. The music is well chosen. It is fun to play this at parties attended by those of us in our sixties and see who can name the artists.

Good music from the original artists. Many great songs, but done by the artist that first released them and sometimes not by the most popular rendition of the song.