The Very Best of the Coasters

Coasters

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 22, 1994)
• Original Release Date: March 22, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B00000337X
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #131,802 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Riot in Cell Block #9 - The Robins

2. Smokey Joe's Cafe - The Robins

3. Down in Mexico

4. Searchin'

5. Idol With the Golden Head

6. Young Blood

7. Yakety Yak

8. Charlie Brown

9. Along Came Jones

10. That Is Rock & Roll

11. I'm a Hog for You Baby

12. Poison Ivy

13. What About Us

14. Run Red Run

15. Little Egypt

16. Shoppin' for Clothes

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were attempting mini-radio plays in the writing and production work with the Coasters that provided all concerned with a string of hits that ran from 1955 into the early '60s. They added a few things to their memories of chestnuts like The Shadow Knows, however: the new R&B's stomp and swing, along with a subversive edge that made this kid stuff sound knowing to adults. As finely calibrated as anything to come out of the era's recording studios, sides like "Young Blood," "Searchin'," and "Along Came Jones" are definitely raucous, definitively hilarious. Inspirational verse, from "I'm a Hog for You": "One little piggy ate a pizza / One piggy ate potato chips / But this little piggy's comin' over your house / He's gonna nibble on your sweet lips." --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...Baby That Is Rock and Roll...", June 3, 2003

By	Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Great comedy, like great music, depends on timing. The Coasters, here with a brief but smile-inspiring set of their greatest hits, used near perfect musical and comedy timing to create hit R&B and pop spoofs which to many still define the 1950s goofy, innocent spirit.

The Coasters used Carl Gardner's tragicomic high and Will "Dub" Jones' low voices to create sly tales of teen rebellion and frustration ("Yakety Yak," "Charlie Brown," "What About Us") pop culture commentary ("Along Came Jones," "Searchin" with its lists of classic detectives) and even salacious humor ("Little Egypt," "Young Blood," "Poison Ivy.") Kids still gravitate to these songs ("Yakety Yak" was used in a recent anti-litter campaign) , which expressed their ennui and even cynicism in clever, humorous ways. In their song "That Is Rock and Roll" the Coasters even announce as much, saying, "You say the music's for the birds and you can't understand the words...but honey if you did, you'd really blow your lid..."

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote, produced, and played on most of these hits, which also featured stellar sax work by the legendary King Curtis. Leiber and Stoller borrowed the sound and feel of early radio dramas for these hits, mentioning lifting the "Gangbusters" opening for "Riot in Cell Block #9"). Small wonder years decades later they'd form the highlights of "Smokey Joe's Café," a Broadway show named for their hit with the pre-Coasters Robins.

Carl Gardner continued leading versions of the Coasters into the modern era, re-recording these songs on occasion live and in studio. Buy only Coasters CDs released on the Atlantic, Atco or, in this case, Rhino labels to be assured the original hits. Better still, seek these songs among the essential mid-80s, seven-volume "Atlantic Rhythm and Blues Collection" (now out of print) to enjoy them amid even more outstanding music of the era.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good time classics, October 17, 2000

By	"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

The formula here is simple: songs that are catchy, fun, light-hearted, and performed with enthusiasm as well as harmonic skill, and does it ever work. Poison Ivy has got to be one of the great unrecognized classics of the Fifties, and the rest of the songs from the immediately recognizable to those you are hearing for the first time are all just plain fun.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun, August 6, 1998

By A Customer

This is alot of fun to listen to and brings back great memories. If you only require a collection of their biggest hits,this is the one. Every song is an original classic. Enjoy!