Customer Reviews

Time Life The Rock 'N' Roll Era Lost Treasures II

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Another in the massive Time-Life "mail order only" series of CDs of about 15 - 20 years ago which, for the mosr part, has been surpassed in terms of both liner notes and sound quality by releases from the likes of Ace Of London, Eric Records, Jasmine, Bear Family, Collectables, Collector's Choice, Rhino, Varèse-Sarabande, etc. However, if you're an oldies collector/fan you will recognize from the following listing of the tracks, showing label details and chart performances, that many here were not only impossible to find on a quality CD at the time of its release, but are still considered very hard to find.

1. Seventeen - Boyd Bennett & His Rockets - King 1470 - # 5 Top 100/# 7 R&B August 1955; 2. Later Alligator - Bobby Charles - Chess 1609 - # 14 R&B March 1956; 3. Nothin' Shakin' - Eddie Fontaine - Argo 5309 - # 64 Hot 100 September 1958; 4. Sugaree - Rusty York - Chess 1730 - # 77 Hot 100 July 1959; 5. You Can Make It If You Try - Gene Allison - Vee-Jay 256 - # late 1957 release peaked at # 3 R&B/# 36 Hot 100 in early 1958; 6. Teardrops On Your Letter - Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - King 5171 - # 4 R&B/# 87 Hot 100 March 1959; 7. Buzz Buzz A-Diddle-It - Freddy Cannon - # 51 Hot 100 May 1961; 8. Clap Your Hands - The Beau-Marks - Shad 5017 - # 45 Hot 100 June 1960; 9. Talk That Talk - Jackie Wilson (with Dick Jacobs & His Orch) - Brunswick 551`65 - # 3 R&B/# 34 Hot 100 December 1959; 10.There Is Something On Your Mind - Big Jay McNeely & Band with vocal by Haywood "Little Sonny" Warner - Swingin' 614 - # 5 R&B/# 44 Hot 100 July 1959; 11. Darling Lorraine - The Knockouts - Shad 5013 - peaked at # 46 Hot 100 January 1960; 12. Sugar Bee - Cleveland Crochet & Band with vocal by Jesse "Jay" Stutes; 13. Henrietta -Jimmy Dee & The Offbeats - Dot 15664 - # 47 Top 100 January 1958; 14. Poor Boy - The Royaltones - Jubilee - # 17 Hot 100 November 1968; 15. You Can Have Her - Roy Hamilton (with The Sammy Lowe Orch) - Epic 9434 - # 6 R&B/# 12 Hot 100 February 1961; 16. Here I Stand - Wade Flemons & The Newcomers - Vee-Jay 295 - # 19 R&B/# 80 Hot 100 December 1958; 17. What's A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You?) - Timi Yuro (with Bert Keyes & His Orch) - Liberty 55469 - # 12 Hot 100/# 16 R&B August 1962; 18. Dance By The Light Of The Moon - The Olympics - Arvee 5020 - # 47 Hot 100 December 1960; 19. The Ballad Of Thunder Road - Robert Mitchum (with Jack Marshall & His Orch) - Capitol 3986 - # 62 Hot 100 September 1958 and # 65 Hot 100 March 1962; 20. Life's Too Short - The Lafayettes RCA Victor 8044 - # 87 Hot 100 July 1962; 21. Alone ((Why Must I Be Alone?) - the Shepherd Sisters (Lance 125 - # 18 Top 100 October 1957; 22. Dark Moon - Bonnie Guitar - Dot 15550 - # 6 Top 100/# 14 Country June 1957.

Tracks 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 13 and 20 were the only charted hits for the artists concerned. Later Alligator was recorded in 1955 by Charles and covered later in 1956 by Bill Haley & His Comets as See You Later, Alligator. Nothin' Shakin' was first released on Sunbeam 105, while Sugaree, written by Marty Robbins, came out initially on P.J. 100 and then on Note 10021. Teardrops On Your Letter was, according to Hank Ballard, supposed to be the B-side to The Twist, but his producer thought otherwise, resulting in The Twist finishing at a disappointing # 16 R&B and being upstaged a year later by Chubby Checker, who performed it with the exact same arrangement. The driving Henrietta was first released on T-N-T 148 in 1957.

Easily one of the most enduring of the Time-Life series with decent sound and informative notes, but the question is, are you prepared to pay the current high asking price or search around for the song/songs shown here that you want for your collection?