Customer Reviews

That'll Flat Git It! Vol. 2: Rockabilly From The Vaults Of Decca Records

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

 

 

Drop this platter in the disc player and you're sure to wear out your boppin shoes. This CD features one of Rockabilly's wildest ever, Johnny Carroll. What can I say about Johnny? Frantic, nervous, surely kept the girls on the edge of their seats (if not tearin his threads off). The CD also contains a whole slew of other Decca gems re-issued in all their original glory. The lyrics are typical rockabilly fare. In other words if you are looking for meaningful social commentary, you're in the wrong bloody place. Don Woody? "Barking up the Wrong Tree" and "Bird Dog" are a couple of the best boppers around! ARF ARF!!!!

Matt "DJ Mattfink" Strickland

Given the meteoric rise and short original lifespan of Rockabilly, one might be tempted to consider it a passing fancy. But given the deep roots it shared in both hillbilly and rhythm 'n' blues, and the lasting impact it would have on rock 'n' roll, the explosion of sound in the mid-to-late-50s is seen to be a whole more than an industry-fueled fad. Bear Family's seemingly endless "That's Flat... Git It" series chronicles the scads of lesser known artists and rare sides that were the ice berg of music holding up the tip that appeared on the charts via Elvis, Carl Perkins and others.

Volume 2 focuses on sides waxed for Decca in the U.S. The label's country A&R chief, Paul Cohen, ran both country roster artists and new finds through a single or two, cutting them loose if they didn't hit (and losing Buddy Holly in the process!). Most of the sessions were arranged and produced by legendary studio guitarist Grady Martin (whose acoustic lead was famously featured on Marty Robbins' "El Paso"), and recorded in Owen Bradley's studio, with Bradley often playing piano.

Bear Family selected thirty tracks (all in glorious mono) previously anthologized on a four-volume UK anthology, and added Bill Millar's exquisitely detailed notes and discographical information. The highlights are numerous, including Don Woody's hiccuping (and barking) "You're Barking Up the Wrong Tree" (how could the Cramps not have covered this?!), and Autry Inman's jivey "Be Bop Baby" (not to be confused with Ricky Nelson's like-named song). Jimmy & Johnny's "Sweet Love On My Mind" paved the way for latter-day revivalists like Dave & Deke, and The Five Chavis Brothers "Baby, Don't Leave Me" seem to presage the Kingsmen and other 1960s Northwest powerhouses.

Throughout, the guitars ring with the authority and bravado that moved Rockabilly past its roots. The comfort with which both fingerpicking and electric flatpicking fit the genre is an indication of its two musical roots. Though not the wildest side on this set, country legend Webb Pierce's "Teenage Boogie" shows how short a leap it was from hard-driving country-boogie to rockabilly. Roy Hall's tracks are reminiscent of Bill Haley & The Comets, including a looser R&B-influenced cover of "See You Later Alligator," and an early version of "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that takes it down-low, rather than barn-burning.

Child prodigy guitarist Jerry Kennedy, who'd go on to a successful career as a record industry executive, shows himself to be a fine rockabilly vocalist on "Teenage Love is Misery," and Roy Orbison's original rhythm guitarist, Peanuts Wilson, cut the truly peculiar "Cast Iron Arm," penned by Orbison and producer Norman Petty.

Those looking for an introduction to rockabilly might want to start with the hits (that is, not this series of compilations), but anyone looking to explore the breadth and depth of the sound will find this a terrific anthology.

You can't really go wrong with any of the collections in this series. But Vol. 2 stands out. It's just killer track after killer track. Perhaps we can thank Grady Martin for it. He was the bandleader and lead guitarist on most of these sessions, which were recorded for Decca during the brief period when all the record labels were trying to cash in on the rockabilly craze.

Great series from Bear Family.Volume2 is the best with the Sun records 17 and 14 close behind.You cant go wrong with these or any of the series most have 30 songs or more and the sound is fantastic!!

This compilation is one of the hottest from this series. It represents Decca'a hottest rockabilly. The rockiest performer here it is of course Johnny Carroll, whose Hot Rock, Wild Wild Women, Crazy Crazy Lovin', Corrine Corrina and Trying To Get To You are already rockabilly classics. Sweet Love On My Mind is another rockabilly classic mostly known by Johnny Burnette And His Rock 'n' Roll Trio here performed by Jimmy And Johnny.
Eddie Fontaine is known by his hit Nothin' Shakin' (covered by The Beatles). Here you can hear a hot rocker Cool It Baby. Ten Little Women of Terry Noland is a song that The Blue Cats before they were named The Blue Cats covered. Roy Hall is another legendary rockabilly or maybe more boogie woogie piano player, here featured with five numbers (Diggin' The Boogie, Off-Beat Boogie, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Bill Haley's See You Later Alligator and Three Alley Cats). Don Woody is another treasure and is known only to really die hard rockabilly fans.
You gotta have this

That'll Flat Get It, Vol. 2 (Bear Family Records): Volume 2 is another great collection. This one even has a cut from Country Legend Webb Pierce doing his Rockabilly best with a tune called "Teenage Boogie" (1956). Some of the little stories in the booklet on this CD are nearly as outrageous as the music (check out the blurb about Eddie Fontaine!). Highly Recommended.