"Screamin' Jay Rocks [aka "Rocks]" by SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS (2008 Bear Family CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…I Put A Spell On You…"

I suppose if you were to nitpick - Screamin' Jay Hawkins never really 'rocks' (in the true sense of the word) on any of these 31 odes to lunacy, coffins and fragrant armpits - but he doesn't half put a grin on your face every time he opens his flamboyant and very unPC mouth. Lewd, crude and genuinely crackers in the frontal lobe area (he'd regularly expose his penis to old ladies in the audience on stage on a Saturday night and end up in jail on Sunday morning) - Screamin' Jay Hawkins was the real deal - the funniest shock-entertainer in Rock 'n' Roll's long pantheon of wild men and women. And this fabulous near eighty-minutes of musical mayhem is testament to his unhinged genius. Here are the degenerate and depraved details...

Released September 2008 in Germany - "Screamin’ Jay Rocks" by SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS is on Bear Family BCD 16687 AR (Barcode 4000127166876) and breaks down as follows (77:57 minutes):

1. Little Demon (1956, Okeh 4-7072, B-side of "I Put A Spell On You")

2. Baptize Me In Wine (1954, Timely 1004, A)

3. Not Anymore (1954, Timely 1004, B-side of "Baptize Me In Wine")

4. In My Front Room (unissued 1955 Mercury recording, first appeared on the 1990 2CD compilation "Spellbound! 1955-1974" on Bear Family BCD 15530)

5. This Is All (1955, Mercury 70549, A)

6. What That Is (unissued 1955 Mercury recording, first appeared on the 1990 2CD compilation "Spellbound! 1955-1974" on Bear Family BCD 15530)

7. (She Put The) Wamee (On Me) (1955, Mercury 70549, B-side of "This Is All")

8. Well I Tried (1955, Wing 90005, A)

9. Talk About Me (1955, Wing 90055, B-side of "Even Though")

10. Take Me Back (1956, Grand 135, A)

11. I Is (1956, Grand 135, B-side of "Take Me Back")

12. $10,000 Lincoln Continental (Take 2) (unissued 1955 Reco-Art Recording, first appeared on the 1991 CD compilation "From Grand To Gotham" on Interstate Music Ltd SJH CD 71829)

13. You Ain't Foolin' Me (unissued 1956 recording, first appeared on the 1991 CD compilation "At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins" on Acadia ACAM 8116)

14. Yellow Coat (first issued on the 1958 USA Mono LP "At Home With Screamin' Jay Hawkins" on Epic LN 3448)

15. I Put A Spell On You (1956, Okeh 4-7072, A - B-side is Track 1 "Little Demon")

16. Frenzy (1957, Okeh 4-7087, B-side to "Person To Person")

17. Alligator Wine (1958, Okeh 4-7101, A)

18. There's Something Wrong With You (1958, Okeh 4-7101, B-side to "Alligator Wine")

19. Person To Person (1957, Okeh 4-7087, A)

20. You Made Me Love You (1957, Okeh 4-7084, A)

21. Little Demon (Alternate Take) (unissued 1956 recording, first appeared on Disc 2 of the 4CD Box Set "Loud, Fast & Out Of Control: The Wild Sound Of 50's Rock" by Various Artists on Rhino R2 75704)

22. Armpit No. 6 (1958, Red Top 126, A)

23. Just Don't Care (1962, Enrica 1010, B-side of "I Hear Voices")

24. Strange (1964, Roulette 4579, B-side of "The Whammy")

25. The Whammy (1964, Roulette 4579, A)

26. Party Doll (unissued 1964 recording, first appeared on the 1997 CD compilation "Lotta Boppin' (And Plenty Scream' Too): Roulette Rock & Roll, Vol. 4" on Sequel NEM 921)

27. All Night (unissued 1966 Decca recording, first appeared on the 1990 2CD compilation "Spellbound! 1955-1974" on Bear Family BCD 15530)

28. Mountain Jive (unissued 1966 Decca recording, first appeared on the 1990 2CD compilation "Spellbound! 1955-1974" on Bear Family BCD 15530)

29. Do You Really Love Me (1969, Phillips 40645, B-side of "Constipation Blues")

30. Please Don't Leave Me (first issued on the USA LP "Because Is In Your Mind" on Phillips PHS 600-336 in 1970)

31. Knock-Kneed Nana (Take 7) (previously unissued 1958 Columbia recording - first issue here)

"Rocks" comes in a (three-flaps) foldout card digipak with a detachable oversized booklet offering fans a chunky 64-pages of stunningly detailed liner notes by long-time fan BILL MILLAR. The text is peppered with up-close and personal black and white stills from a gig at The Washington Hotel in Mayfair, London in January 1965 and then The Ram Jam Club in April 1966. You get reproductions of a great Ebony Magazine advert from 1957 with the "Spell-maker" (Dr. Scholl's sandals ahoy!) - publicity poses with his trademark skull 'n' crossbones stage get up and even 'labour' papers to enter the UK in February 1966. The Richard Weize and George White discography from 1952-1970 starts on Page 41 and doesn't finish until Page 62. The CD reflects the Okeh label for "I Put A Spell On You" and the single in its label bag is pictured beneath the see-through CD tray - as usual - a very tasty job done by BF.

It opens with the lesser-heard "Little Demon" - the anarchic B-side to his 1956 lifelong signature tune "I Put A Spell On You" (over 35 cover versions of it and counting). "Little Demon" has lyrics like "...done put pretty hair on grandma's bald head..." - nice. After two dullish early 1954 cuts - things pick up big time with the Fats Domino piano-rolling R'n'B of "In My Front Room" showcasing his great rasping voice. "This Is All" is the same - a breakneck vocal hovering over a slow-rolling brass-filled Rhythm 'n' Blues section which features Mickey Baker (prominently) on Guitar with Big Al Sears and Sam 'The Man' Taylor on Saxes.

He goes all Muddy Waters got my-Mojo-working on the blues "$10,000 Lincoln Continental" and he names all the garish colours of his wardrobe in "Yellow Coat" - witty Rock 'n' Roll and up there with anything Chuck Berry could write. The wonderful "I Put A Spell On You" still makes me giggle but even better is "There's Something Wrong With You" with its manic giggles and lines like "...roast baboon salad smothering in bubblegum...you ain't all there..." But the absolute bomb is "Armpit No. 6" about his woman's odours where he says "...she's stone from the sticks...with her own kind of perfume...armpit No. 6..." and then starts sniffing! "Just Don't Care" is brill Fifties boogie while "Strange" and "The Whammy" are full of his trademark manic voodoo rhythms and racy lyrics - what a blast!

If Screamin' Jay Hawkins didn't exist - you'd imagine God would have to invent him. He died in 2000 aged 70 with six wives behind him and approximately 33 children (I say approximately). And isn't that just 'so' Rock 'n' Roll...

PS: The "Rocks" Series by Bear Family features the following artists:

1. Chuck Berry [see REVIEW}

2. Pat Boone

3. Johnny Burnette [see REVIEW]

4. The Cadillacs [see REVIEW]

5. Eddie Cochran

6. Bobby Darin

7. Fats Domino

8. Connie Francis

9. Don Gibson

10. Glen Glenn

11. Bill Haley

12. Roy Hall

13. Slim Harpo [see REVIEW]

14. Dale Hawkins

15. Ronnie Hawkins

16. Screamin' Jay Hawkins [see REVIEW]

17. Wanda Jackson [see REVIEW]

18. Sonny James

19. Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids

20. Sleepy LaBeef

21. Brenda Lee

22. Jerry Lee Lewis [see REVIEW]

23. Smiley Lewis [see REVIEW]

24. Little Richard

25. Bob Luman [see REVIEW]

26. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers

27. Carl Mann

28. Amos Milburn [see REVIEW]

29. Ella Mae Morse [see REVIEW]

30. Ricky Nelson

31. Carl Perkins

32. Roy Orbison

33. Lloyd Price [see REVIEW]

34. Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood) [see REVIEW]

35. Charlie Rich [see REVIEW]

36. Jack Scott

37. Shirley & Lee

38. The Treniers

39. Big Joe Turner [see REVIEW]

40. Conway Twitty

41. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps

42. Rusty York [see REVIEW]

The Bear Family "Rockin' Rollin'" Series features:

1. Johnny Horton

2. Marvin Rainwater

3. Marty Robbins Vol.1

4. Marty Robbins Vol.2

5. Marty Robbins Vol.3 

"Rusty Rocks" by RUSTY YORK. A Review Of The 2004 CD Compilation By Bear Family.

"…Sugaree…You Know I Love You So…"

Released on Bear Family BCD 16543 AR, "Rusty Rocks" is a 28-track CD compilation featuring his recordings between 1957 and 1964.
It's part of Bear Family's "Rocks" Series - which in April 2004 had only 5 other releases - but now in January 2012 sports 42 - and rising (see list below and other titles reviewed).

It comes in Bear Family's now standard packaging for this series – a 3-way foldout card digipak containing a detachable oversized booklet inside (52 pages for this issue). Pages 2 to 33 feature an in-depth essay on Charles Edward York (his real name) by noted writer and musicologist COLIN ESCOTT, Pages 35 to 40 show photos from Rusty’s own 'Scrapbook' - while Pages 41 to 50 have a full Discography on all 28 recordings (and more) by Bear's own RICHARD WEIZE. The text throughout is peppered with trade adverts from Billboard and Cashbox, black and white and colour photos of Rusty in the USA and Europe as well as reviews and posters for Dick Clark Shows in Hollywood and Michigan. It’s the usual classy act from Bear.

And then of course there's the great sound courtesy of JURGEN CRASSER. I’ve raved about his mastering work before (see my TAG for him and reviews for the astonishing "Blowing The Fuse" series (16 compilations) and the "Sweet Soul Music" series (10 discs). Musically it's Rock'n'Roll and Rockabilly with a little Pop on the later Sixties stuff, but it sounds great - full of atmosphere, echo and life.

TRACK LIST:
1. Sugaree
2. Sweet Love
3. The Girl Can't Help It
4. Mean Woman Blues
5. Peggy Sue
6. Great Balls Of Fire
7. Shake 'Em Up Baby
8. Red Rooster (Instrumental)
9. Sweet Talk
10. Peggy Sue (2)
11. Sadie Mae
12. Tore Up Over You
13. Tremblin'
14. Love Struck
15. La Dee Dah (Duet with BONNIE LOU]
16. Cajun Blues/Frosty (Instrumental)
17. Goodnight Cincinnati, Good Morning Tennessee
18. Sweet Love (2)
19. You'd Better Leave My Baby Alone
20. Baby What You Want Me to Do See [as BILL STAMPER]
21. Don't Do It
22. One, One, One, Wonderful (Instrumental)
23. Molly Darlin' [as BILL STAMPER]
24. Tremblin' (Alternate)
25. Tore Up Over You (Alternate)
26. The Girl Can't Help It (2)
27. A Fallen Star
28. Margaret Ann

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 22, 23 and 24 are from the 1979 vinyl album "Rusty York: Rock And Roll Memories" on Jewel JRC 917

Tracks 4, 5, 6, 12, 16, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 28 are from a 1994 CD compilation called "Cincinnati Fireball" on Gee Dee 270 103

Tracks 24 and 25 are 'Alternate Takes' of "Tremblin'" and "Tore Up" and are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The other tracks (and some above) are either 7” single releases or from rare US compilations – and many are seeing the CD light of day for the first time.

Born in Kentucky – Rusty York's lone chart entry is the fabulous "Sugaree" – a song I've loved and featured on many a rocking CD compilation. Its ultra-rare original US 45 is repro’d on the CD label (P.J. Records 100). "Sugaree" has a great history. Written by country singer Marty Robbins, it was aired by gospel group The Jordanaires on Capitol as their first secular release in late 1956. York’s version rearranged it into a faster beat and was recorded April 1959 as a casual B-side, but the finished Rock'n'Roller demanded release. It was immediately hawked around RCA, Mercury and other big record companies - but none showed any interest. Undeterred – it was put out on the self-published P.J. Records in April 1959 (P for was Pat Nelson and J for Jackie DeShannon). They pressed up a thousand copies at a time and sold them from cars. 10,000 singles later - it was picked up by Note Records that summer (Note 10021) and then at the end of the year released on the mighty Chess label. Chess 1730 finally charted on the Billboard Top 200 at a lowly ranking of 77. Hank Ballard and The Midnighters even put out a version on King in June 1959. "Sugaree" is just one of those irresistibly brill Rock'n'Roll records that never dates. Bolstered up by great Saxophone work from Jimmy Risch – it boogies along and wins fans every time. It's rare instrumental B-side "Red Rooster" is also on here.

The rest of the tracks comprise of like-minded cover versions – Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", Little Richard's "The Girl Can't Help It", "Mean Woman Blues" (sung by Elvis Presley in 1957 on his "Loving You" album) and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls Of Fire". He sounds like 1950's Buddy Holly on the pretty "A Fallen Star". The cool Rockabilly of "Shack 'Em Up Baby" turned up on "All I Wanna Do Is ROCK" – Bear Family's budget-priced CD sampler for the "Rocks" series (a great introduction). I also particularly like the two versions of 1957's "Sweet Love" which is very Gene Vincent in his prime. The instrumental "Cajun Blues/Frosty" too features JIMMY RISCH on sax, but also has some excellent guitar work from York himself. Even the 1961 material like "Tore Up Over You" and "Love Struck" is good – sounding not unlike period Jerry Lee Lewis. There's also a tremendous boogie cover of Jimmy Reed's shuffling Blues classic "Baby What You Want Me To Do" which was put out as a 45 in 1964 with "Molly Darlin'" on the A (REM Records REM 330 - credited to BILL STAMPER). The only real turkey for me here is a terrible duet with Bonnie Lou on "La Dee Dah" – a sappy 1959 "cha cha cha" song on King Records – I guess it's been included due to its rarity.

To sum up – I liked this compilation a lot. Rusty York may be a criminally forgotten figure in the Rock’n’Roll and Rockabilly pantheon – but this superb "Rocks" compilation by the incomparable Bear Family does him and his recorded legacy proud.

PS: The "Rocks" Series by Bear Family features the following artists:

1. Chuck Berry [see REVIEW}
2. Pat Boone
3. Johnny Burnette [see REVIEW]
4. The Cadillacs
5. Eddie Cochran
6. Bobby Darin
7. Fats Domino
8. Connie Francis
9. Don Gibson
10. Glen Glenn
11. Bill Haley
12. Roy Hall
13. Slim Harpo [see REVIEW]
14. Dale Hawkins
15. Ronnie Hawkins
16. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
17. Wanda Jackson [see REVIEW]
18. Sonny James
19. Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids
20. Sleepy LaBeef
21. Brenda Lee
22. Jerry Lee Lewis
23. Smiley Lewis [see REVIEW]
24. Little Richard
25. Bob Luman
26. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
27. Carl Mann
28. Amos Milburn [see REVIEW]
29. Ella Mae Morse [see REVIEW]
30. Ricky Nelson
31. Carl Perkins
32. Roy Orbison
33. Lloyd Price
34. Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood) [see REVIEW]
35. Charlie Rich [see REVIEW]
36. Jack Scott
37. Shirley & Lee
38. The Treniers
39. Big Joe Turner [see REVIEW]
40. Conway Twitty
41. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
42. Rusty York [see REVIEW]

The Bear Family "Rockin' Rollin'" Series features:

1. Johnny Horton
2. Marvin Rainwater
3. Marty Robbins Vol.1
4. Marty Robbins Vol.2
5. Marty Robbins Vol.3

"Chuck Berry Rocks" aka "Rocks" by CHUCK BERRY (2011 Bear Family CD Compilation Of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD   

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Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

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"…Dancin' And Hummin' A Rock 'n' Roll Melody…"

With the US reissue label Hip-O Select having filled the marketplace with 3 x 4CD retrospectives in 2005, 2007 and 2009 covering 'all' of Chuck Berry’s Chess recordings – and with endless cheapo Universal double CD sets that will offer the same material and more - then this 2011 Bear Family single CD might seem superfluous to requirements. But I'm glad to announce that it isn't. The big draw here for collectors will be Bear’s top quality remastered sound and a thoroughly researched booklet. Here are the details…

Released November 2011 - "Chuck Berry Rocks" by CHUCK BERRY on Bear Family BCD 17139 AR (Barcode 4000127171399) stretches to a chunky 80:01 minutes and features 32 tracks. 

All bar one were Chess 7" singles - from his first "Maybelline" on Chess 1604 in 1955 to "Dear Dad" on Chess 1926 in 1965. The only exception here is "Betty Jean" which featured on the 1960 LP "Rockin' At The Hops". Most of the Fifties recordings are MONO while the Sixties stuff is in STEREO (neither the booklet nor the outer card wrap indicates which is which).

1	Maybellene	2:20
2	Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)	2:23
3	You Can't Catch Me	2:43
4	No Money Down	2:57
5	Brown Eyed Handsome Man	2:16
6	Roll Over Beethoven	2:24
7	Too Much Monkey Business	2:56
8	School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)	2:42
9	Rock And Roll Music	2:32
10	Oh Baby Doll	2:36
11	Sweet Little Sixteen	3:03
12	Reelin' And Rocking	3:16
13	Johnny B. Goode	2:39
14	Around & Around	2:39
15	Beautiful Delilah	2:08
16	Carol	2:47
17	Memphis, Tennessee	2:14
18	Sweet Little Rock And Roller	2:21
19	Run Rudolph Run	2:43
20	Little Queenie	2:41
21	Almost Grown	2:21
22	Back In The U.S.A.	2:28
23	Betty Jean	2:30
24	Let It Rock	1:45
25	Bye Bye Johnny	2:04
26	Jaguar And Thunderbird	1:50
27	Go-Go-Go	2:33
28	Nadine (Is It You?)	2:33
29	You Never Can Tell	2:42
30	Promised Land	2:23
31	No Particular Place To Go	2:43
32	Dear Dad

"Chuck Berry Rocks" comes in Bear's now standard packaging for this series – a 3-way foldout card digipak containing a detachable oversized booklet inside (52 pages for this issue). The CD itself repros the "Around & Around" 45 on Chess 1691 with it's famous Blue label. Pages 5 to 40 feature an in-depth essay on the American Rock 'n' Roller by noted writer and musicologist BILL DAHL whose affection and awe of Berry’s influence seem to know no bounds (in a typically scholarly way he cites both book and internet 'sources' for his liner notes). Pages 31 to 49 have a full Discography on all 32 recordings by label boss RICHARD WEIZE with contributions from BILL DAHL and FRED ROTHWELL. The text is peppered with black and white photos of the great man doing his trademark 'duck walk' on Television and Live settings, some Tel-Mar Studio shots of recording sessions and one particularly tasty moment where he shares a 'Love You' card from two female British fans at the Lewisham Odeon in London in the Sixties. 

While it’s the usual classy act from Bear, I’d have to express extreme disappointment in not seeing any COLOUR photos of either those stunning album sleeves or Berry in action. Apart from one colour photo that begins the Discography – I’d confess that the endless black and white shots give the booklet a rather monotonous look that somehow undermines Dahl’s great written work. But that’s quickly forgotten once you start playing this baby…

I’ve raved about JURGEN CRASSER and his mastering work before (see my TAG for him and reviews for the astonishing "Blowing The Fuse" series (16 compilations) and the "Sweet Soul Music" series (10 discs). The best way to describe the sound here is 'clean' – Berry’s Chess recordings are for the most part notoriously 'lo-fi' – but here there is very little hiss on any of the tracks. The recordings are still suitably ramshackle and even crude, but there’s a power in them now that 'just' pips the otherwise superlative remasters Erick Labson did for those 3 Hip-O Select tomes (and Universal's "Gold" double CD set).

Another nice aspect to the sound achieved here is that Chuck’s in-house musicians gave his records a certain glorious Rock ’n’ Roll feel – and principal among them is the mighty JOHNNIE JOHNSON. His rattling and fabulous piano playing is now a little more to the fore – and what an audio treat that is (he passed away in 2005 – inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 as one the great sidemen).

Highlights – I loved rehearing the lesser-heard "Dear Dad", "Let It Rock" and "Sweet Little Rock And Roll" (lyrics above) which Rod Stewart covered so well on his underrated "Smiler" album in 1973. And the STEREO takes are particularly alive too – the Leroy Davis and James Robinson brass/Johnnie Johnson piano on "You Never Can Tell" and the wonderful "No Particular Place To Go" which still sounds so totally kicking ("…stole a kiss at the turn of a mile…") And on that point – the lyrics – witty, smart, full of cool Americanisms – he really did chronicle the teenage experience (and thankfully no dire "Ding A Ling" to pollute the proceedings).

The incomparable Bear Family folks – class and quality - they may cost you – but the best always does.

PS: The "Rocks" Series by Bear Family features the following artists:

1. Chuck Berry [see REVIEW]

2. Pat Boone

3. Johnny Burnette [see REVIEW]

4. The Cadillacs

5. Eddie Cochran

6. Bobby Darin

7. Fats Domino

8. Connie Francis

9. Don Gibson

10. Glen Glenn

11. Bill Haley

12. Roy Hall

13. Slim Harpo [see REVIEW]

14. Dale Hawkins

15. Ronnie Hawkins

16. Screamin' Jay Hawkins

17. Wanda Jackson [see REVIEW]

18. Sonny James

19. Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids

20. Sleepy LaBeef

21. Brenda Lee

22. Jerry Lee Lewis

23. Smiley Lewis [see REVIEW]

24. Little Richard

25. Bob Luman

26. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers

27. Carl Mann

28. Amos Milburn [see REVIEW]

29. Ella Mae Morse [see REVIEW]

30. Ricky Nelson

31. Carl Perkins

32. Roy Orbison

33. Lloyd Price

34. Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood) [see REVIEW]

35. Charlie Rich [see REVIEW]

36. Jack Scott

37. Shirley & Lee

38. The Treniers

39. Big Joe Turner [see REVIEW]

40. Conway Twitty

41. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps

42. Rusty York [see REVIEW]

The Bear Family "Rockin' Rollin'" Series features:

1. Johnny Horton

2. Marvin Rainwater

3. Marty Robbins Vol.1

4. Marty Robbins Vol.2

5. Marty Robbins Vol.3