Rock 'n' Roll Bell Ringers [Import]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ace Records UK
• ASIN: B0009A3POE
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,905 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. JUKE BOX BABY - Michael Stewart Quartet

2. I WANT YOU TO BE MY BABY - Sy Oliver & Orchestra with Jim Brown

3. MAMBO BABY - Jim Brown & the Four Bells

4. SEVENTEEN - Sy Oliver & Orchestra with Jim Brown

5. TWEEDLE DEE - Ellie Russell with the Three Belles

6. MAYBELLENE - Sy Oliver & Orchestra with Jim Brown

7. BLACK DENIM TROUSERS AND MOTOR CYCLE BOOTS - Barry Frank

8. DUNGAREE DOLL - Ellie Russell with Michael Stewart Quartet

9. WHY DO FOOLS FALL IN LOVE - Barry Frank

10. STRANDED IN THE JUNGLE - Jimmy Leyden

11. HONKY TONK PART 2 - Studio 'B' Seven

12. A ROSE AND A BABY RUTH - Barry Frank

13. HOUND DOG - Buddy Lucas

14. THE FOOL - Edna McGriff

15. WHEN MY DREAMBOAT COMES HOME - Buddy Lucas

16. I'M STICKIN' WITH YOU - Bob Miller

17. START MOVIN' (IN MY DIRECTION) - Edna McGriff

18. RAUNCHY - Jimmy Carroll & Orchestra

19. JAILHOUSE ROCK - Artie Malvin

20. THE STROLL - Tony Wilson

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

It all started in a charity shop in the Derbyshire market town of Alfreton. I was doing my regular rounds in search of interesting records for my collection and for my record fair stock and, finding only the usual Jim Reeves, 'Hot Hits' and 'Keep Fit With Eileen Fowler' LPs in the rack, asked if these were all the records they had. 'We've got a box of those small ones in the back room' said the nice lady, and within seconds I was delving through the contents of a large, battered cardboard box.

Amongst the 'small ones" was a batch of singles and EPs on Gala, a cut-price label of the late 50s, notable for its plastic, rather than vinyl, pressings, and for the ground-breaking gimmick of putting artist photos on its labels. I recognized one artist's name, Edna McGriff, and returned home with a copy of her Edna McGriff's The Name EP and with a various artists EP on which she had one track, for a total expenditure of one pound.

I had sometimes wondered what had happened to Edna McGriff, who had one US R&B hit with Heavenly Father on Jubilee in 1952, but who had seemingly vanished without trace shortly afterwards. Searching for information about her on the Internet led me to a site which aimed to list and illustrate every release on the first incarnation of the US Bell label, which was the source of many Gala releases. To my surprise, amongst the unknown names such as Barry Frank and Artie Malvin, I found that well-known artists like Buddy Lucas and the Sy Oliver Orchestra had recorded for Bell which, like Gala, had been a budget-price label.

As a postscript to one of my occasional e-mails to Ace Records' John Broven about the state of English cricket, I mentioned this unknown but interesting catalogue of recordings, many of them covers of the big hits of the 1950s rock 'n' roll era. John, who forsook leafy Sussex to make his home in leafy Long Island a few years ago, didn't hang about. With a lead from another Brit. exile Alan Warner (well remembered by many at Liberty Records UK and now at EMI Music Publishing, Hollywood), John had tracked down and met Arthur Shimkin, who owned Bell Records before those Gary Glitter and Cellar of Soul days, and agreed a deal for the release of an album's worth of these long-forgotten sides. Freddy Elzinga, who runs that Gala web site and whose interests lie not on the musical high street but on the dark lanes and alleyways which lead off it, also came on board at this point. We can all thank him for the attractive picture sleeves that make up the montage for the CD's front cover and adorn the booklet itself.

So here's the first fruit of the team's labors. You'll know just about every tune on ROCK 'N' ROLL BELL RINGERS, but very few of you will have heard these versions before. Thanks to Arthur Shimkin's use of top flight New York session men (luminaries like Charlie Shavers, Panama Francis, Billy Mure and Al Caiola play on many tracks) the quality goes far beyond that of the average cheapo cover version, and the arrangements are often fresh and new rather than simply aping the originals. Now you can discover the delights of Jailhouse Rock by Artie Malvin, Johnny B Goode by Sam Cee, not to mention Baby Talk by a certain Tom & Jerry (better known under their real names of Simon & Garfunkel) on this first serious look at the wonderful world of the dime store Bell label.

It's almost like a budget priced Golden Age Of American Rock 'n' Roll and the jivers among you will love it!

By Mike Atherton for Ace UK

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great collection of obscure '50s R&R Covers!, January 14, 2010

By 

Thomas Bumbera (Maplewood, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rock 'n' Roll Bell Ringers (Audio CD)

Many thanks to the folks at Ace for rounding up these difficult-to-find '50 rock 'n' roll covers. These were issued on the highly collectible Bell label with wonderful, tacky picture sleeves (reproduced in the beautiful accompanying booklet, with extensive notes). Of note to R&B fans will be several vocals by the very talented and terribly overlooked Edna McGriff. A first-class job all around.

3.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 - Period covers of `50s rock and R&B, December 28, 2009

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock 'n' Roll Bell Ringers (Audio CD)

The modern-day music market teems with cover albums featuring past-their-prime artists attempting to re-create their hit singles; there are often passed off with misleading cover art that fails to indicate these are re-recordings. But once upon a time covering other people's hits was more of an art form, adding dashes of new creativity even as the copy rode the coattails of someone else's stardom onto the charts. These twenty-six singles were originally released on the Bell label as covers of 1950s R&B and rock classics, with band arrangements that are polished and expertly played. A few of the top-line names, such as Sy Oliver, Edna McGriff and Jimmy Carroll will be familiar, as will be some of the ace New York session players, including Billy Mure, Al Caiola and Charlie Shavers.

The song selections will be familiar to anyone who's heard a `50s hit collection, but the singers will mostly draw question marks. Jim Brown won't make you forget Chuck Berry as he sings "Maybellene," but hot guitar licks and a rousing sax solo signal that there's top-flight talent on board, and Edna McGriff's version of Lee Hazelwood's "The Fool" is more hit parade than Sanford Clark's rockabilly original, but it still packs a punch. The low twang, heavy sax and rolling piano of Jimmy Carroll's "Big Guitar" fits into the Las Vegas Grind genre, and though Johnny Newton never became a household name, he sounds right at home on the Impalas' "Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)." The album closes with Tom & Jerry (soon to be known as Simon & Garfunkel) covering Jan & Dean's pre-surf hit "Baby Talk."

The Bell label specialized in quickie covers sold at a low price; but even in their hurry to beat an original single to the charts, they lavished a surprising amount of attention on these recordings. The arrangements, bands and recordings often outstrip the talent of the singers they could round up, but there's a quality to these sides, and an authenticity of era, that greatly surpasses the middling results of current labels recreating 50 year old hits. These are no substitute for the originals, but given the mechanics of the record industry at the time and the passage of decades, they've gained an historical patina that elevates them beyond cheap knock-offs. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]