Buddy Holly - Reminiscing/Showcase
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Buddy HollyEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Import, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2000-12-18
Music Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
Soundtracks:
- Reminiscing
- Slippin' and Slidin'
- Bo Diddley
- Wait 'Til the Sun Shines, Nellie
- Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight
- Brown Eyed Handsome Man
- Because I Love You
- It's Not My Fault
- I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
- Changing All Those Changes
- Rock-A-Bye Rock
- Shake, Rattle & Roll
- Rock Around With Ollie Vee
- Honky Tonk
- I Guess I Was Just a Fool
- (Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest
- You're the One
- Blue Suede Shoes
- Come Back Baby
- Rip It Up
- Love's Made a Fool of You
- Gone
- Girl on My Mind
Free Music Notes for Reminiscing/Showcase
Free Music Review: EVEN IF YOU NEVER HEARD OF BUDDY HOLLY....
Hit: 5 Stars
Anyone remotely interested in rock & roll, rhythm & blues, C&W, or contemporary pop owes it to themselves to check these out. Even if you never heard of Buddy Holly, there is almost certainly something in this early rock collection to surprise and delight you.
"REMINISCING"/ "SHOWCASE" is an unexpected reissue of two "lost" Holly albums which appeared posthumously in 1963 and 1964, but were subsequently withdrawn due to complex royalty litigation.
Both were produced by Holly's manager/producer Norman Petty at his studio in Clovis, New Mexico, using mostly previously unreleased material obtained from a wide range of sources. Petty was criticized at the time because many of these were underproduced demos which he upgraded with overdub work by guitarist George Tomsco and The Fireballs. He insisted that his intention was to bring the material up to commercial quality, but (unlike the Jack Hanson Orchestra overdubs of Holly's work by Coral records) not depart from Holly's intentions, and obscure as little of Holly's original work as possible. He probably succeeded as far as such is possible; only minimal additions were made to many tracks, and several were left completely unaltered.
Released in 1963/64, these albums revived interest in Holly's music after the disasterous Jack Hanson Orchestra overdubs of 1960 (BUDDY HOLLY STORY, VOL II), and reaffirmed Holly's rock and country roots with some first rate performances of fresh material. "REMINISCING" made the Top 10 in the U.K and charted three singles: 'Reminiscing', 'Bo Diddley', and 'Brown-Eyed Handsome Man'. (And 'Reminiscing' was covered by the Beatles on the Hamburg tapes.) "SHOWCASE" while less successful was in many ways the better album, with stronger material despite occasionally poor fidelity.
REMINISCING/SHOWCASE RUNDOWN:
(1) 'Reminiscing'/ 'Come Back Baby' [overdubbed for stereo/ undubbed]
Buddy befriended King Curtis on the road and persuaded him to cut four sides in the Clovis studio for $500. Here are two of those sides. (On the other two Buddy produced and played guitar, with Curtis on sax, for Waylon Jennings' first single 'Jole Blon'/ 'When Sin Stops'.)
The 'Reminiscing' bass/drum overdub walks in the footprints of the original and seems intended only to create separated tracks for stereo. Stereo versions of most monaurel albums were being created in this and other ways in 1963.
(2) 'You're the One' [undubbed]
Holly on acoustic guitar improvised this at a local radio station where Waylon Jennings was DJ. That's Waylon slapping his thighs for rhythm accompaniment. (NOTE: This track was subsequently overdubbed rather wretchedly for the 1969 album GIANT. Other albums listing this song do not necessarily have the undubbed version.)
(3) 'Love's Made A Fool of You' [undubbed]
Holly made this great finished demo in Clovis in 1958, intending it for the Everly Brothers whom he befriended on the road. They had to decline due to contractual obligations to their own writers, and the track appeared for the first time on SHOWCASE. Shortly afterward folk artist Tom Rush issued a fine cover.
(4) 'Slippin' and Slidin''/ 'Wait Til the Sun Shines Nellie'/ 'Ummm, Oh Yeah' (actually Mickey & Sylvia's 'Dearest') [overdubbed]
These are high quality acoustic tapes made on an Ampex recorder in Holly's New York apartment shortly before his death. 'Slippin' and Slidin' is especially intriguing; Holly tries this classic rocker slow and sexy with a bit of humming and 'bum-bum-bum' thrown in. And 'Dearest' is one of the prettiest and most intimate things he ever recorded.
Though the Fireballs' overdub work shows originality and restraint, Holly's undubbed Ampex/acoustic originals have a stark haunting beauty that is unrivaled. Unfortunately they're also unavailable except for poor quality bootlegs but.... Check out undubbed 'Peggy Sue Got Married' over the opening credits of that film. And undubbed 'Love is Strange' has mysteriously emerged as track 22 on the otherwise indifferent "BUDDY HOLLY:THE LOVE SONGS" (ASIN: B00005952P).
(NOTE: Petty overdubbed 'Dearest' again in 1969 for the album GIANT, and as wretchedly as 'You're the One'. Other albums listing this song may not have the 1964 version -- and the undubbed track is too much to hope for.)
(5) 'Rock Around With Ollie Vee'/ 'Girl on My Mind' [undubbed]
Produced by legendary Owen Bradley for Decca in Nashville, 1956. Buddy was briefly signed there to cover the rock & roll fad, but Bradley hated the music and Holly was dropped after one failed single. 'Ollie Vee' was an obscure Decca item when re-introduced on SHOWCASE. Written by Holly's friend and fellow Lubbock musician Sonny Curtis, it's probably the best of the Nashville sessions, and holds up very well as solid, classic rock 'n' roll. 'Girl on My Mind' seems inspired by Johnny Ray, and shows why Bradley and Buddy were such a poor fit -- the recording is neither country nor rock.
(6) 'Gone'/ 'I Guess I Was Just A Fool' [overdubbed/ undubbed] (thanks Cal!)
Two country demos from 1956. 'Gone' was a Ferlin Husky hit. 'I Guess I Was Just A Fool' sounds inspired by Elvis' 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget Her'. Ferlin Husky played Lubbock's Cotton Club in 1955 with Elvis (billed "The Hillbilly Cat") his opening act. Buddy and Bob Montgomery, as local talent "Buddy & Bob," were allowed to open for Elvis. It seems likely that incident inspired both these demos.
(For some 1955 "Buddy & Bob" demos see HOLLY IN THE HILLS [B000069RE3]. But 'Wishing' on that album was actually made in 1958, along with 'Love's Made A Fool of You', for the Everlys.)
(7) 'I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down'/ 'Changing All Those Changes'/ 'Rock-a-bye-rock'/ 'Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight'/ 'Because I love You'/ 'It's Not My Fault' [overdubbed]
These are rockabilly demos (the last 2 are ballads) recorded in various Lubbock area studios in 1956. Though overdubbed by the Fireballs for added punch, when compared to the undubbed originals it's clear the overdubs in no way distorted the intention of the originals. Powerful and effective rockabilly. (Undubbed on "BUDDY HOLLY COLLECTION" - ASIN B000002OPE, & "FOR THE FIRST TIME ANYWHERE" -ASIN B00008FD1M).
(8) 'Bo Diddley'/ 'Brown Eyed Handsome Man / 'Honky Tonk / 'Shake, Rattle & Roll'/ 'Blue Suede Shoes'/ 'Rip It Up' [overdubbed]
These '50s standards are again heavily overdubbed for punch, but again the Fireballs are pretty much on the money. Holly's vocals lack fidelity on the last three tracks; these were probably made on an old wire recorder at the home of Buddy's best friend (and later Crickets drummer) Jerry Allison.
TECHNICAL NOTES: Overall this CD's sound quality is very good. But 'Honky Tonk' and 'I Guess I Was Just A Fool' open with a sound 'wow' like a slow turntable start. This is NOT a flaw on the source material but sloppy engineering, so hopefully BGO will have corrected it by the time others buy this. That brief "gargle" in Holly's vocal on 'Fool' is actual damage to the master tape. Otherwise, great sound.
ALBUM COVER TRIVIA: The Holly silhouette on REMINISCING is actually a photograph of him at a window seat on an aircraft to Australia, were he toured with Jerry Lee Lewis and others in 1958. Petty took the photograph, and later air brushed the aircraft window to produce the spotlight effect.
BOTTOM LINE:
This album at this price is worth buying and owning no matter who you are or what kind of music you like. There's truly an impressive variety of material here. And after all these years, Holly's vocals still have that fresh excitement and startling originality of a first class star.
ALSO RECOMMENDED:
BGO's companion "CHIRPIN' CRICKETS"/"BUDDY HOLLY" (ASIN B000056ILC). During his brief 18 months of stardom Holly released just these two albums, mostly recorded at Norman Petty's modest studio in Clovis, New Mexico. Though only the first album is credited, both are solidly backed by The Crickets: Jerry Allison (drums), Joe B. Mauldon (bass) and sometimes Niki Sullivan (rhythm guitar). Buddy's vocals and Stratocaster are an unbeatable combination, and these two albums contain most of the innovative and original rock and roll recordings that established his enduring reputation.
These albums are available separately with bonus tracks on MCA. CHIRPIN' CRICKETS [B0001JXQGA] contains all 16 Holly/Crickets releases on Brunswick. BUDDY HOLLY [B0001XAQTQ] would have been a worthy companion with all Coral releases in Holly's lifetime, but two singles are omitted: Heartbeat/Well All Right and Raining in My Heart/It Doesn't Matter Anymore. A 19 track CD is not unreasonable and this one would have been exceptional.
CHIRPIN' CRICKETS/BUDDY HOLLY (with or without bonus cuts) plus REMINISCING/SHOWCASE will give you four albums of prime Holly with no duplicate songs.
INTERVIEWS:
Excerpts of Holly interviews can be found intercut with tribute songs and other material on several albums of varying quality. But for those who are interested, one disk is the real deal: THAT'S WHAT THEY TELL ME - THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY [ASIN B00008MHBC] offers 9 unedited interviews that run a total of 25:21 -- and nothing else.
(POSTCRIPT/CLARIFICATIONS - 11/9/05: The overdubbing on 'Gone' is the same as the original vinyl album, not an addition to the CD. All tracks on both these albums are to my ear identical to the 1963/64 vinyl releases. The vinyl albums were available in both mono and stereo, but it is the stereo versions on this CD. The overdubbing was less obvious and a more natural fit on monaurel albums without separated tracks. Undubbed tracks on the stereo albums were/are monaurel without any "reprocessed stereo" effects. The original liner notes from both vinyl albums are included in the CD booklet but were never very helpful. BGO had plenty of space in the booklet for such information, but as Cal Stout points out they failed to rise to the occasion. I'm sympathetic with Cal but grateful to have this CD at all. It is unclear whether MCA is prevented from reissuing REMINISCING/ SHOWCASE by the same litigation that prevents reissue of THE COMPLETE BUDDY HOLLY or release of the undubbed acoustic tapes. Basically I tend to agree with purists who say the old vinyl records sounded better than CDs -- but engineers from that period will tell you that you also need a tube operated amplifier to fully recreate the "warmth" and immediacy of that sound.)
Reminiscing/Showcase Poster
UK 2 on 1 release features 2 of the late rock icon's early 60's releases together on 1 CD, 'Showcase' originally released on Coral in 1964 and 'Reminiscing' originally released on Pair in 1963. Standard jewel case. 2000 release.Pop Music CDs
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