Customer Reviews

Time Life The Rock 'N' Roll Era 1961

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4 star:		(1)
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Various Artists / Rock N' Roll Era: 1961
Label: Time-Life
Year: 1987
Track Title
1. Runaway -- Del Shannon
2. I Like It Like That -- Chris Kenner
3. Decicated To The One I Love -- The Shirelles
4. Quarter To Three -- Gary U.S. Bonds
5. The Lion Sleeps Tonight -- The Tokens
6. There's A Moon Out Tonight -- The Capris
7. Blue Moon -- The Marcels
8. Will You Love Me Tomorrow -- The Shirelles
9. Tossin' And Turnin' -- Bobby Lewis
10. Shop Around -- The Miracles
11. My True Story -- The Jive Five
12. Runaround Sue -- Dion
13. Mother-In-Law -- Ernie K-Doe
14. Raindrops -- Dee Clark
15. Peppermint Twist -- Joey Dee & The Starliters
16. Hats Off To Larry -- Del Shannon
17. Those Oldies But Goodies -- Little Ceasar & The Romans
18. Please Mr. Postman -- The Marvelettes
19. Stand By Me -- Ben E. King
20. You Don't Know What You've Got -- Donner, Ral
21. The Mountain's High -- Dick & Dee Dee
22. Daddy's Home -- Shep & The Limelites

The heavily-promoted and massive Time-Life "mail order only" series of CDs of about 12-15 years ago constantly reminded you that "you can't get these in any store" and seemed intent, at the time, to corner the market on everything from the Big Band Era to Pop, Country, R&B, Soul and R&R. In addition to single artist releases, they put out year by year volumes covering the best hits of 1940 to (as far as I can tell) 1969, interspersed with theme releases such as The Unforgetable `50s, The Late `50s, The `60s: Last Dance, and R&B Gems II, among many many more.

Since there was little real competition in terms of sound quality and program notes at the time, I suppose quite a few bought into the hype, although it was an expensive venture since they also charged quite a bit more for each disc than the normal going rate. Now here we are with options like Ace Of London, Eric Records, Jasmine, Bear Family, Collectables, Collector's Choice, Rhino, Varese-Sarabande, Razor & Tie, etc., and suddenly these Time-Life releases are popping up for sale all over the place, and mostly at prices considerable less than when they were first issued.

Rest assured that if the song you are seeking is among the 22 contained contained in this volume (and re-listed by another reviewer) that it is the original rendition, and that the sound quality is impeccable. In addition, you get an insert containing four pages of background notes written by Washington music critic Joe Sasfy, and a complete chart detail/label information discography. In this volume you also get nice photos of The Jive Five, The Miracles, Dick And Dee Dee, Ral Donner, and The Marvelettes.

A fine collection of nearly 2 dozen of the original rhythm and blues, Doo Wop, and rock and roll hit songs from 1961.
The sound quality of these original recordings is very good.
Well worth the price to relive these great memories.

Recently I, seemingly, have endlessly gone back to my early musical roots in reviewing various compilations of a Time-Life classic rock series that goes under the general title The Rock `n' Roll Era. And while time and ear have eroded the sparkle of some of the lesser tunes it still seems obvious that those years, say 1955-60, really did form the musical jail break-out for my generation, the generation of '68, who had just started to tune into music.

And we had our own little world, or as some hip sociologist trying to explain that Zeitgeist today might say, our own sub-group cultural expression. I have already talked about the pre 7/11 mom and pop corner variety store street corner hangout with the tee-shirted, engineered-booted, cigarette (unfiltered) hanging from the lips, Coke, big-sized glass Coke bottle at the side, pinball wizard guys thing. And about the pizza parlor juke box coin devouring, hold the onions I might get lucky tonight, dreamy girl might come in the door thing. Of course, as well, the soda fountain, and...ditto, dreamy girl coming through the door thing, naturally, eternally naturally. And the same for the teen dance club, keep the kids off the streets even if we parents hate their music, the eternal hope dreamy girl coming in the door, save the last dance for me thing. Needless to say you know more about middle school and high school dance stuff, including hot tip " inside" stuff about manly preparations for those civil wars out in the working class neighborhood night, than you could ever possibly want to know, and, hell, you were there anyway (or at ones like them).

Ya but see, that was all basically innocent indoor stuff. Today I want to talk about the outdoors stuff, the, hell, we are all adults, the sex stuff. And just to show I am not being just another prurient interest dirty old man I would, in reviewing this compilation, direct your attention to the very, very on point album cover art work here (as I have on others in this series as well). What could be more on point that a guy and his honey (or a gal and her honey if you want to look at it that way) sitting, star-light nighttime sitting, nighttime after that last dance high school opening shot young love sitting, in some early 1960s model convertible (maybe dad's borrowed, maybe in new-found teen discretionary spending America his, probably the latter from the feel of the scene) in the local lovers' lane. And one "bashful", befuddled, "where do we go from here?" guy getting an innocent seeming kiss from said honey. Nice, right

Sure all that stuff is nice for public consumption but like I said before, we are all adults, and that cutesy eyewash will just not do. So here is my expose. Every town, hamlet, hell, any place that has at least one teen-aged couple had its local lovers' lane where more fierce lovin' went on that I would every have time to tell about, although Billy and Sue will be glad to fill in their friends come Monday morning in the boys' and girls' room at school. Our local lovers' lane happened to also double up during the daytime as a beach, a very public beach. Can you believe that? Wasting all that good natural teenage dreamy night scene on people going swimming, digging for clams or some silly sea animals, sunning themselves, or having some ill-thought out family picnic. Christ, what a scene.

No, a thousand times no, this place was meant for the sun to go down on, a big blazing sun turning fast into the blue-pink night, boy and girl in car (or poverty-bound, not privy to that discretionary spending mentioned above, walked there and are now sitting moony-eyed on the seawall). And all car-bound or wall-bound "watching the submarine races."
What? Yes, intensely, forthrightly, intelligently watching the submarine races. Oh come on now, you all had your own local expressions for doin' the do. Naturally, if you are from the great plains night, or rockymountain high, or some Maine forest this was not possible but doin' the do is. And what is doin' the do? Oh well, yes we are all adults but I just remembered this cyberspace thing allows for small, peeking eyes, so I will leave you to figure it out. Or wait until Monday morning in the "lav" and ask grinning Billy and blushing Sue. Know this though that old car radio (or transistor radio, if seawall-bound) was blasting out tunes from this compilation: Here's my selection for "getting in the mood" songs in the face of the great white-waved, Atlantic Ocean night:

<em>There's A Moon Out Tonight</em>, The Capris (hopefully this was a double-header, the last dance at school and kingdom come mood-setter in that old convertible); <em>Blue Moon</em>, The Marcels (not bad as a runner up to The Capris as everybody starts to get a little swoony); <em>Dedicated To The One I Love</em> and <em>Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?</em>, The Shirelles (incredible harmonies, and let me tell you sometime when the kids are not around about my own story of young love when the sun comes up in the morning, ya, the morning, and how I got a version of the will you still love me question); <em>Runaround Sue</em>, Dion (every boy, oops, young man's dread);<em> Hats Off To Larry</em>; Del Shannon; <em>Stand By Me</em>, Ben E. King (great lyrics); and <em>Daddy's Home</em>, Shep and The Limelites ( good for going home from that gentle beach night).