1. Oh Boy
2. Not Fade Away
3. You've Got Love
4. Maybe Baby
5. It's Too Late
6. Tell Me How
7. That'll Be The Day
8. I'm Looking For Someone To Love
9. Empty Cup (And A Broken Date)
10. Send Me Some Lovin'
11. Last Night
12. Rock Me My Baby
Another year, another album. And what a dorky looking cover! Hard to believe that architects of a genre like rock music could also double as captains of the chess club.
This is indisputably the best rock album so far (out of three, I know, but still). I can understand better the impact that Buddy Holly made, because this is the most recognizably 'rock' album so far, rather than the thrown-together country/rockabilly of Elvis' debut, and the R&B swagger of Fats Domino. More emphasis is placed on the electric guitar than before, probably due to the growing influence of Chuck Berry (Remember him? The guy that doesn't have an album on this list? One of the more glaring omissions in this book so far). Another striking feature of this album is the songwriting, mostly shared between members of the group. Although they're more famous for being Buddy Holly's backing group, they pretty much set the template for the rock band as we know it, by writing and performing their own material.
As for the record itself, it's plagued by the same problems that every rock LP in the 50s had: the spectre of filler. It just hadn't occurred to most people to make the album tracks as good as the singles yet. Most of the tracks have something cool and distinctive about them, which is a start! The cool reverbed vocals in 'It's Too Late', the inventive guitar parts in practically every song, the bluesy swagger of the verses in 'Rock Me My Baby' before being shoved into a rather unfortunate chorus. Which brings me to my biggest complaint: the backing vocalists. I guess they figured the album didn't sound 'full' enough or whatever, so they had this vocal group called The Picks overdub their singing onto almost all of the tracks. And they don't. Shut. Up. It's a miracle that Buddy can even get a hiccup in with all their cheesy 1950s caterwauling. For example, in 'An Empty Cup (And A Broken Date)', they decide to repeat everything he sings, as if we couldn't understand it. Last time I checked, background vocals are meant to be in the background of the song, not fighting for the lead like a pack of ravenous wolves. I guess their purpose was to make the album more marketable to pop audiences but all it made me want to do is wish that they died in a plane crash instead.
If you can try to ignore the overbearing background vocals, these are some great hooky 50s rock songs. Even the most filler-y of tracks here trumps most of the rockers on Elvis' first album. And I haven't even mentioned the singles, all of which are great. 'That'll Be The Day', 'Oh Boy', and 'Maybe Baby' are quintessential 50s white rock and roll. It's not like white people couldn't rock, but for the entire duration of the 1950s black people were kicking our asses. If it weren't for British people, they probably still would be! I guess I should be ending this review before my review turns into some sort of musical race war and the NAACP boycotts my blog, depriving it of its precious 2 readers. 8/10
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