"Okay, so maybe, as a proud native of the Grand Canyon State, I'm hopelessly biased, but this first album from Coolidge, AZ's favorite son is among my handful of all time top picks! There is a quality to Duane's early music (recorded entirely at Lee Hazelwood's Pheonix studio) that can only be fully- FULLY- appreciated by other desert-dwellers. Duane's sound is wide-open spaces, echoing canyons, and dry, clean air! It is a jeep ride through the creosote flats of the great Mojave and Sonoran wildernesses! Absolutely inimitable.Having said this I would also like to praise the remarkable eclecticism of this first and greatest All-Instrumental Rock and Roll album. I have heard this album- at least in sections- for about 30 years now (older brother is possibly world's biggest Duane fan!) and I have only recently come to respect the range of styles represented here. Hazelwood and Eddy pulled every possible trick out of their bags in late, great '58: there is real rockabilly ("Cannonball" w/ Al Casey- Duane's truest rockabilly outside of his later "Theme From Dixie"); standard Rock and Roll ("Rebel Rouser"); proto-surf (the legendary "Movin' and Groovin'"); country-rock ("Detour"); standard country ("Anytime"); REAL- (no foolin')- BLUES ("Three-30-Blues"); Rhythm and Blues ("I Almost Lost My Mind"); just a hint of jazz stylin' ("The Lonely One"); and even a stab at what would later be called Folk Rock ("Lonesome Road"). Absolutely incredible!So buy it, tape it, put the top down, and roll on on out! Al"
Incredible Sound Quality
John Gardner | Houston, Texas | 03/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you want to hear songs like "Rebel Rouser" and "Cannonball" as they were meant to be heard, this is the CD to buy. The vibrations of the bass string have a presence missing on other CDs containing the same songs."
An absolute classic!
Charles Wilder | Dover, NH United States | 04/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I bought the album when it came out, it was great then and it's a classic today! As a budding guitarist in the fifties I learned so much from Duane Eddy! "Ramrod" was the first instrumental I played before an audience. All of my crowd loved his tunes to dance to. He had a great band to back him up, and he sold a ton of records. Other than a compilation this is his best album in my opinion! Great 50's Rock and Roll! I highly recommend it. Not a bad cut on it!!"
Great music - looks like a bootleg
Charles Wilder | 09/21/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Although the music is great, the copy I bought cuts out in the middle of the biggest hit on the album, Movin' 'n' Groovin'. It sounds like a mastering error. Also, the packaging is atrocious. The cover is a blurry color xerox. The back has really cheesy graphics. Look for the vinyl original."
A sometimes overlooked rock and roll classic.
Charles Wilder | 04/22/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album should be included on every list of inluential rock and roll albums. First, all the tracks could have been hit singles. Five of them were, including "Rebel 'Rouser," THE anthem for every guy cruising the drive-ins with the car windows rolled down in the Summer of '58. Gil Bernal's wailing sax solo (unbilled) is as hot as Duane's guitar on this one. The great Plas Johnson (also unbilled) is featured on "Ramrod" and "Movin''n Groovin." Second, "Have Twangy Guitar Wiil Travel" is also possibly the first rock and roll album in stereo. And finally, it was on the charts for over two years. Even other rock and roll stars bought this one. With this album, Duane Eddy proved words were not necessary to be a rock and roll star! It's great to have a CD version on Jamie...the original label...with three "bonus tracks" from the same sessions. One of these, "Mason-Dixon Lion" is a great rave-up. It could have been a hit single on its own. If you don't have "Have Twangy Guitar Will Travel" in your music collection, your music collection isn't complete."