6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Back In The Days Of Early Rock, May 7, 2009
This review is from: Rock Around the Clock- The Decca Rock 'N' Roll Collection (Audio CD)
Certain record labels are associated with various genres. Chess Records with that Chicago blues sound. Motown with "soul". Vanguard with folk. Sun with early hard rock and rockabilly. And so on. From what I have been told and have read there is a thriving market in collecting specific record labels. Fine. What interests me here is the Decca label. In the fight to survive in the cutthroat and quirky music business various record production companies searched for talent that would sell. In the 1950's in the early struggle to grab the rock `n' roll market Decca was right up there with Sun and later RCA in the hunt to grab that market.
This collection, uneven as it is, represents the winners and losers from that fight. Not all compilations are born equal but at least classifying by record label let's one discover what one company though was saleable at any given time. And some of the material here represents the classics of early rock as it came out of R&B, swing, country and western and the million other influences that swirled around at the time. So in one place you get Bill Halley, Louis Jordan, Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Jackie Wilson, the Shirelles and a host of other legitimate rock hall of famers, or at those who belong in some hall of fame. Then you get the likes of Red Foley, Bill Riley (doing "Is That All To The Ball"), Jimmy and Johnny (doing the entirely forgettable "Sweet Love On My Mind"). Give me a break, please! However, on balance this is a nice little slice of rock history for rock buffs and label collectors alike.
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