Search - Buddy Holly :: Gotta Roll: Early Recordings 1949-55

Roots of Holly

Barry McGloin | Canberra, Australia | 04/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well it's a strange thing. Purely coincidentally I'd been reading Philip Norman's `Buddy' and enjoying it too, having equally enjoyed John Goldrosen's more recording focussed account years ago before the 2003 Canberra bushfire destroyed all my books and recordings, together with the house.



Among them were LPs, EPS and singles by Buddy Holly and The Crickets, the lot, which I'd started with the 'Listen To Me' EP in the early sixties. Holly was a major tuner of my musical ear, but since the fire I have bought the 2 CD collection, an almost excellent compilation, and left it at that. I bought it mainly out of nostalgia. Many of the lyrics are now too adolescent for comfort and some of the music too sweet and poppy, the background vocals hokey, a product of the black and white 50s, the innocence of youth, the yearning for connection and the certainty of salvation, and damnation. It's from another time and place and has historical and sentimental value, I thought, leave it at that.



It's now fifty years on. The 'oldsters' like myself who grew up with Buddy may still enjoy him. Today's youth are into music more relevant to their time, culture and taste. On my radio program, `Mystery Train', for St Pat's Day this year I played `The Fields of Athenry' by Dropkick Murphys, punk Irish American band who had played it at the funeral of Sgt. Andrew Farrer, killed in Iraq on his 31st birthday. He had requested that the song be played at his funeral if anything should happen to him. He left a wife and two young boys and was due to return home, when he had planned with his wife to renew their vows to another Dropkick's song, `Forever'. A tragedy of the times, light years away from the music of Buddy Holly.



So, I'd picked up Philip Norman's `Buddy', because I haven't found the Goldrosen yet and I was reading about Buddy and Jack Neal playing together. Out of curiosity I checked Amazon to see if they had issued the box set on CD. My LP box set provided fuel for the bushfire, a brilliant production and the book and liner notes on each LP were beautifully done. It wasn't quite complete - the early undubbed recordings were issued later on `For the First Time Anywhere', but it was pretty near perfect. Nope, MCA haven't released it and if they leave it much longer the only people interested will be in their black and white Heaven (assuming some deathbed fervour has launched them in the right direction).



But I was amazed to discover this recent release. I must admit I'm a sucker for rare tracks. Here are the Wichita Falls, Clovis and Lubbock demos, plus tracks by Jack Neal, Sonny Curtis and Ben Hall, most of which Buddy had played on but didn't sing, although the vocals are especially fine and strong - Jack Neal reminding me a little of Paul Siebel.



Well, it's not essential, but if you have an interest in Holly's roots, or even enjoy roots music in general and I'm talking Hank Williams, Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe, Sun Presley, then you will find echoes throughout the CD. For me, when I heard the undubbed `Down The Line', the opening track, it made me smile. Here was Buddy close up with precise, punchy guitar and he and Bob Montgomery singing the new rockabilly in my face backed by a slap bass beat. Then on `Don't Come Back Knockin' Buddy holds the note on "dooooor", higher than the later version and it reminded me of Dylan. There's more here that reminds you of Dylan, `Baby Let's Play House' where he also holds the higher note "tonighhhhht" and the roots connection throughout made me think of Dylan at Holly's Duluth concert just two days prior to the plane crash. Dylan said that Buddy looked him straight in the eye. A biblical allusion could be made (and it's a wonder Bob didn't make it). Passing the musical chalice, perhaps.



The sound is marred to varying degrees on a number of tracks by the (ancient and rare) tape or acetate source, only to be expected, but you should find yourself compensated by the songs and performance. Hey, listen to early Son House or Skip James. This CD contains the two earliest recordings by Buddy and Bob before their voices had broken, and to me they sound like the Carters!



The gloss booklet contains some rare early photos and the text gratefully acknowledges the biography `Remembering Buddy' by John Goldrosen and John Beecher which apparently is an update of the book I read many years ago. It also refers you to a website which I found particularly useful in order to clarify the musicians on each track http://www.buddyholly.user.fr/ Interestingly the lead guitar on `Down the Line' is attributed to Sonny Curtis, but it sure sounds like Buddy to me.



It would be fascinating to know where he would have gone musically had he lived. He was such an innovative and musically curious character, having moved through bluegrass and western, rockabilly, rock trio, pop to finally singer songwriter. Yet he was also very much a product of his times. Comparable fifties musician composers are Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, James Brown, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles. Sam sadly was murdered, but was about to release 'A Change is Gonna Come', a monumental song both lyrically and musically. JB moved from r`n b becoming the self proclaimed Godfather of Soul, then Funkmeister Extraordinaire for a couple of decades. Uncle Ray, the real Godfather of Soul, incorporated jazz, pop and country into his musical melange.



The only two who didn't really go any further are the two guitarist rock `n roll musicians, Chuck and Carl. Chuck, the great fifties wordsmith had some hits earlier in the 60s but effectively petered out (excuse the Ding A Ling pun). Of course their legacy ensured a good livelihood, the Beatles recording a number of Carl Perkins tracks. Chuck, and Buddy too, were among the few artists to be recorded by both the Stones and Beatles (Arthur Alexander, Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy being others). How would Buddy have coped with the Dylan led lyrical innovation, the raunch and rock of the Stones, the Beatles fantastic musical lunacy, the Hendrix, Cream, Barrett, Page guitar explorations, the bloated `pop is art concept' of the late sixties? The singer songwriter, `outlaw country', reggae, punk development of later years? The difference between Chuck, Carl and Buddy was that Buddy was capable of the introspective personal lyric, he had a head full of mint melodies, could be intimate and tough, was keen to utilise other musical genres, such as blues, folk, jazz, gospel and was happy to adapt studio technology to achieve his aural vision. I reckon Holly would have been there, thrilled us in fact.





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Historically significant

marty1957 | Melbourne, Australia | 11/30/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This collection of rarities from Buddy Holly and his Lubbock associates is certainly an historically significant one if you're a die-hard Buddy Holly fan and /or music collector. Highlighting Buddy's formative years before he hit the big time, the tracks are mostly country & western (with the emphasis on "Western")with a touch of rockabilly. The only drawback however is the quality of the original recordings. Even modern technology hasn't been able to resurrect these to a pleasurable listening experience. Most tracks seem muffled with lots of pops and crackles and even with a good pair of headphones are difficult to decipher. That said though, the actual music is good and worthy of a place on your Buddy Holly shelf."

Interesting Music

Y2bjs Reviews | Melbourne Australia | 03/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has a very interesting collection of songs from this mastermind of Rock and Roll.While its hardly his best work,it certainly is a great idea to put these songs all together shortly before he hit the bigtime.

I'm sure he would have been proud of this Cd,but i think surprized at how sort after his songs have become.

While his best music came from 1956,you might call this "The Making Of" this legend."