Rockin' With Ricky

Ricky Nelson - Rockin' With Ricky
ACE Records CH85

Side A
Mighty Good
Milkcow Blues
If You Can't Rock Me
Be-Bop Baby
There's Good Rockin' Tonight
It's Late
Waitin' In School

Side B
Shirley Lee
There Goes My Baby
Boppin' The Blues
I Got A Feeling
My Babe
Stood Up
Down The Line

For many, Ricky Nelson is considered part of the clean cut wave of manufactured 'Bobbies' that flooded the charts after Elvis got drafted, teen idols produced by record companies desperate to regain control from the rock 'n' roll phenomenon. I first heard them called 'Bobbies' by Jerry Lee Lewis and the name fits as most of them were called Bobby. But to lump Ricky Nelson in with them is doing him a serious disservice. Despite the fact that he was a radio, TV and film star who had a very clean cut image and was very photogenic he could rock 'n' roll with the best of them, as this album proves.

The fourteen tracks on this LP were recorded for Imperial Records between 1957 and 1960 and showcase Ricky's rock 'n' roll and rockabilly credentials. Any of them stand comparison with any of the acknowledged greats of the time. Every track on this album is great, six of them made it into the Billboard top 40 and three of them into the UK top 40. Most of the tracks are cover versions but they all stand up to the originals and sometimes surpass them. For instance compare Ricky's 'Milkcow Blues' with Elvis' (not the original, I know, but most likely the version covered), personally I'm not sure who did it better. Ricky's version is a prime slab of rockabilly, recorded in 1960 when most rockabilly/rock 'n' roll artists had moved into country or pop. That's not to say that Ricky was not a pop singer, he was, and a lot of the good stuff was hidden away on the B-sides of pop singles, which is the case for 'Milkcow Blues', but name me one Elvis single from 1960, A or B-side, that rocked as much.

The guitarist on all theses tracks is a young James Burton, just starting out on his career. The "Master of the Telecaster" would go on to play with just about everybody in country and rock 'n' roll, most famously he led Elvis' TCB Band in Vegas. He's currently touring but it seems that he's mostly doing the Elvis Vegas stuff rather than anything on this album. Still worth going to see though, I would if I was well enough, he's playing locally.

I was given this album for my seventeenth birthday, almost thirty(!) years ago, and it's always been a favourite. I could easily pick any of the tracks on this album to share with you but I've gone for 'Milkcow Blues' because it's fantastic and I've spent half of this post banging on about, his amazing version of Little Walter's 'My Babe' and one of his biggest hits 'Stood Up'. I hope that if you consider Ricky a 'Bobby' these tracks will change your mind. Play loud............

(To compare with Elvis, click here)

Arthur Alexander - The Greatest

Arthur Alexander - The Greatest
Ace Records - CDCHD 922 - 1989

Tracks:
01 - Anna
02 - You're The Reason
03 - Soldier Of Love
04 - I Hang My Head And Cry
05 - You Don't Care
06 - Dream Girl
07 - Call Me Lonesome
08 - After You
09 - Where Have You Been
10 - A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues
11 - Don't You Know It
12 - You Better Move On
13 - All I Need Is You
14 - Detroit City
15 - Keep Her Guessing
16 - Go Home Girl
17 - In The Middle Of It All
18 - Whole Lot Of Trouble
19 - Without A Song
20 - I Wonder Where You Are Tonight
21 - Black Night

Arthur Alexander is quite rightly seen as a pioneer of the country-soul sound. In 1961 he recorded 'You Better Move On/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues' at a fledgling Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Producer Rick Hall was convinced he had a hit and shopped it around to the major record companies in Nashville but none were interested. So he played it for influential DJ Noel Ball, who was a scout for Dot Records. He agreed with Hall's conviction and sent a copy to Dot's president Randy Wood, who gave it the go ahead. By early 1962 'You Better Move On/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues' was heading up the Billboard charts, peaking at 24 after Arthur appeared on American Bandstand. This started a run of highly influential (if not overly successful) singles and albums for Arthur on Dot throughout the early sixties.

This CD contains the best of the recordings made by Arthur during his time at Dot Records, 1961 to 1965. The music is a glorious mix of R&B, country, early soul and pop which may explain why he didn't have great success. The American music industry was still very segregated at the time and music that had crossed divisions tended to fall down the cracks. This was not the case in the UK, most of the singles were released on the London label in the UK, but the market was limited. However, many that did buy the singles were in bands themselves and Arthur's songs became staples of the beat groups. Most famously 'You Better Move On' was covered by the Rolling Stones, 'Anna' by the Beatles and 'A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues' by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates.

Incidently, Rick Hall had a 2% lease deal on the master of 'You Better Move On/A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues'. This amounted to $10,000 which was enough to begin construction of a new Fame Studios where he would record two dozen million selling singles including Aretha Franklin's first major hit 'I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)'.

Here for your listening pleasure is Arthur singing 'You Better Move On', 'Anna' and 'Soldier Of Love'. Enjoy, you'll hear nothing better all day................

Poetry And Jazz At The Blackhawk

Kenneth Rexroth - Poetry And Jazz At The Blackhawk
BGP Records - BGP 1019
Originally Released As FANTASY Records 7008 In 1960

Side A
Married Blues
Quietly
Nicholas
State And 32nd
The Deserted Courtesan
In The Wood
Go, Lovely Rose

Side B
The Shadows
The Orchard

Poetry set to jazz is considered a very 1950's and particularly Beat Generation phenomena, but Kenneth Rexroth had been doing it as far back as the 1920's. This album from 1960, finds him setting his own poems and his translations to some very cool west coast jazz at San Francisco's Blackhawk club. Despite his, at times, peculiar delivery I think this album works really well and I've enjoyed it for years. 

Unfortunately the original LP did not list who the band were and this reissue by ACE Records does nothing to put that right. After a bit of research I found a chap on line who has an original copy of the LP with guide notes inside by drummer Hank Uribe. These notes (you can see them here) list the group as:

John Mosher - Bass

Clair Willey - Piano

Dickie Mills - Trumpet

Brew Moore - Sax

Hank Uribe - Drums

Whether this is the group that appears on the album or performed it soon after the album's release, using the LP as a guide, is still not 100% definite. However, Brew Moore was associated with the Beat scene, recorded for Fantasy and regularly worked at the Blackhawk so there's a very good chance he's playing sax on this album. 

Kenneth Rexroth was not really a part of the Beat Generation. As an already published and recognised poet, he acted as a kind of elder statesman and mentor for many of the Beat poets, and certainly did a lot to help Alan Ginsberg and Gary Snyder gain recognition. He was master of ceremonies for the famous poetry reading at the Six Gallery, San Francisco in 1955 that first publicly introduced the Beats, was a witness for the defence at Alan Ginsberg's obscenity trial and appears in Jack Kerouac's 'Dharma Bums' as Reinhold Cacoethes. Sadly he would end up being critical of the Beat Generation and when called the 'Father of the Beats' by TIME magazine, he replied "an entomologist is not a bug" (so there!).

Whether he was a cool patron of the Beats or a grumpy old man, this album is very cool. Listen to a couple of tracks and see.....

The Soul Of Ike & Tina

Ike & Tina Turner - The Soul Of Ike & Tina Turner - KENT - 014
Originally Released On KENT (US) 1964-1966

Side A
Goodbye So Long
If I Can't Be First
Chicken Shack
I Don't Need
I Wish My Dreams Would Come True
Hard Times
Flee Flee Fla

Side B
It's Crazy Baby
Gonna Have Fun
Am I A Fool In Love
Something Came Over Me
Hurt Is All You Gave Me
Don't You Blame It On Me
I Can't Believe What You Say

This is a compilation of tracks Ike & Tina recorded between 1964 and 1966 for the Bihari brothers' KENT records of L.A. Containing upbeat r&b and a few ballads, these tunes are definitely geared towards the dance floor. Their big hit 'A fool In Love' is revisited with 'Am I A Fool In Love' and the very similar sounding 'Hard Times' which features Tina testifying at the start. 'It's Gonna Work Out Fine' (their other big hit) is also revisited with 'Something Came Over Me' featuring Ike's vocals and tremello heavy guitar. Unfortunately none of the tracks on this album crossed over into the Billboard chart's top 40, which was always Ike's goal, but today they are considered classics.

All the tracks on this album are great but for me the best are three tracks below, 'I Can't Believe What You Say', 'Chicken Shack' and 'Flee, Flee, Fla' enjoy....