More "Hard to Find" Quality
Bud Buschardt | Dallas, TX USA | 04/25/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Eric and Hit Parade CDs have given us a lot of high quality hard to find hits and near-hits with very few, if any, errors in the entire series. Such is the case with "Hard to Find Jukebox Classics, 1958, Rhythm & Rock." A lot of these hits are available only on complete artist anthologies and not often found in collections. Mono was still the word in 1958 Rock'n'Roll although this CD gives us "Summertime, Summertime" by the Jamies, "I Cried A Tear" by LaVern Baker, "What Am I Living For?" by Chuck Willis and the somewhat rare "Stardust" by Billy Ward & His Dominoes in true stereo.
A few of the mono tracks that are not found on many various artists CDs include the Shirelles mild hit "I Met Him On A Sunday," The Kalin Twins with "Forget Me Not," Ersel Hickey's "Bluebirds Over The Mountain," and Sam Cooke's "Lonely Island" that is only available on one of his anthologies that I can think of at the moment. Congratulations to the producers on getting the correct original Khoury/Judd version of "Mathilda" by Cookie & His Cupcakes. Most compilations feature a later version recorded for Paula Records."
Hit Parade series marches on into 1958
Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 07/22/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This new entry from the Hit Parade label of Canada is a companion piece to their Hard To Find 1958 Pop Classics compilation. In this collection, the emphasis is on r'n'b and rock tunes yet runs the gamut from the raucous "I Put a Spell on You" to the squishy yet engaging "Summertime, Summertime". And while the new king of the rock and roll domain, Elvis Presley, is not represented here, the artists and tunes included illustrate the increasing dominance of early rock and roll over the waning adult pop of the early fifties during the watershed year of 1958.
Among the generous 26 tracks, as the series title declares, are many seldom collected tracks notwithstanding their popularity in their day. Among the notable "lost hits" are Billy and Lillie's "La Dee Dah", "Down the Aisle of Love" from the Quin-tones and Billy Ward and his Dominoes' version of the old chestnut "Star Dust". A few multi-hit artists are represented by one of their lesser hits in the likes of the Kalin Twins' "Forget Me Not", their follow up to "When" (also included here), the Shirelles early hit "I Met Him on a Sunday" and Sam Cooke's "Lonely Island". For good measure, a couple of in-the-forefront hits such as Danny and the Juniors' number one hit "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" are interspersed with the rarities. As has been the case with other titles in this series, the one anomaly here is the inclusion of several tunes from outside the titled time period, ie. tunes that had long disappeared from the charts by 1958.
As has come to be expected with these Hit Parade titles, production quality is superior. Most of the tracks appear in mono as this was still the dawn of the stereo age but a few tracks (4,21-23) are presented in true stereo. Rounding out the package is a twelve-page booklet with background on the included songs and artists. If issue must be taken with this well-executed piece in the outstanding Hit Parade series, it would be the apprearance of multiple tunes by the same artist in several cases and the inclusion of songs predating the intended time span. Minor quibbles aside, this still warrants a place in the music library of the fan, casual and avid alike, of the early rock music era."
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1