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"…Start Getting' With It Baby…You’re Acting Like A Square To Me…"
Released December 2002 on Bear Family BCD 16631 AR - "Wanda Rocks" by WANDA JACKSON offers up 35 slices of Wanda's sexy Rockabilly and Rock 'n' Roll – and not surprisingly it's a peach. "Rocks" covers 1956 to 1963 on the Capitol label and at a crammed 79:58 minutes - doesn't scrimp it on content or value for money.
Like all the
titles in this extensive series, "Rocks" comes in a 3-way foldout
card digipak with a large detachable booklet in the centre (48-pages for this
one). The CD label itself repros the 45” for "Fujiyama Mama" – a big
hit for her in 1957 - complete with its Capitol Records label bag - and that's
again repro’d in full on the flap beneath the see-through tray (a nice touch).
The substantial
booklet features extensive liner notes from Page 5 to 26 by noted musicologist
COLIN ESCOTT with a Discography for all 35 tracks from Page 35 to 42 by ROSS
WAPENSKY and Bear Family’s owner RICHARD WEIZE. Photos of Wanda with admirers
GENE VINCENT, ELVIS PRESLEY and Producer KEN NELSON pepper the rest of the
booklet – as well as in-studio-recording snaps with Country stars MERLE HAGGARD
and HANK THOMPSON (provides an Intro on Page 2). There are black and white
publicity shots, trade adverts and sheet music - and all of it rounded off on
the last few pages with full track-listings for two of their extensive Box Sets
on her – "Right Or Wrong" (4CDs) and "Tears Will Be The Chaser
For Your Wine" (8CDs). A typically top job done by Bear Family - as befits
their reissue legend.
The remastered
sound is by one of their best tape engineers JURGEN CRASSER. Crasser handled
the stunning "Blowing The Fuse" series from 1945 to 1960 (I've
reviewed all 16 volumes) and the "Sweet Soul Music" series from 1961
to 1975 (all 15 volumes reviewed too). Alive, clean and full of well-recorded
Capitol Records class - the sound is wonderful.
Tracks from her
big albums are featured as follows:
1. "Wanda
Jackson", 1957 Mono LP on Capitol T-1041 (7, 8, 9, 10)
2. "Rockin'
With Wanda", 1958 Mono LP on Capitol T-1384 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12)
3. "There's
A Party Goin' On", 1961 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1511 (13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25).
4. "Right
Or Wrong", 1961 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1596 (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
5.
"Wonderful Wanda", 1962 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1776 (32)
6. "Two
Sides Of Wanda", 1964 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-2030 (34, 35)
The 3 remaining
tracks are "Riot In Cell Block No. 9" and "Funnel Of Love"
(tracks 20 and 21) that first appeared as unreleased tracks on Bear's
"Right Or Wrong" 4CD box set of 1993 - while her own "You Bug Me
Bad" (track 33) was a 7" single on Capitol F 4833 in 1962.
Musically –
Wanda Jackson came across like a female Gene Vincent – like Elvis' mischievous
little sister – and her less-than wholesome image beloved her to Rock 'n'
Rollers everywhere. Not for Wanda to be standing on the porch of her mid Fifties
suburban home with an apron around her bluster dress waving at hubby as he
comes home from work with a pipe in his mouth – Wanda was all big hair, big
chest and big lips – Wanda was in the hotel bar with the boys in the band -
downing whiskeys and socking any local in the jaw who got fresh. "Cool Love" (lyrics above) give a good indication of her attitude that virtually set up a
template for decades to come as to how women ‘rocked’.
Being Capitol,
her band consisted of top session men - Buck Owens and Roy Clark on guitar,
'Skeets' McDonald on Bass with Merrill Moore and 'Big' Al Downing on Piano. And
when she got her Country-tinged croaky voice behind great material like The Drifters' classic "Money
Honey" and the Jessie Mae Robinson 1957 winner "Let's Have A Party" recorded by Elvis for his 1957 "Loving You" soundtrack album (released as just "Party" in the UK where it hit No. 2) - Wanda made it her own.
On Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" she sings those salacious wild-abandon lines "…let's have some fun tonight…" like she meant it.
As the years moved on and styles changed, she did too - but with her trademark
rockin' vibe still in tow. The superb "Fallin'" is so early Sixties Presley,
while "Tongue Tied" is great fun as well as boppin' like the old days (and in
handsome Stereo).
Like a force of
nature, like life itself, just looking at a photo of the ballsy Wanda Jackson
makes me smile. And this little cracker from those nice reissue people in
Germany – does her legacy proud. And Wanda's "Rocks" is such
good fun too...
PS: The "Rocks" Series CD-Only Compilations (released 2002 to 2026) by Bear Family Records of Germany features the following artists (alphabetical order):
1. Hank Ballard (Bear Family BCD 17580)
2. Chuck Berry (BCD 17139 AR) [see REVIEW]
3. Eddie Bond (BCD 17726)
4. Pat Boone (BCD 16933 AR)
5. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown (BCD 17537)
6. James Brown (BCD 17775)
7. Roy Brown (BCD 17749)
8. Sonny Burgess (BCD 17629)
9. Johnny Burnette (BCD 16992 AR) [see REVIEW]
10. The Cadillacs (BCD 16281 AR)
11. Jimmy Cavallo (BCD 17648)
12. Sanford Clark (BCD 17664)
13. The Coasters (BCD 17526)
14. Eddie Cochran (BCD 17136 AR)
15. Jackie Lee Cochran (BCD 17785)
16. James Cotton (BCD 17651)
17. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (BCD 17555 AR)
18. Bobby Darin (BCD 16310 AR)
19. Bo Diddley (BCD 17751)
20. Fats Domino (BCD 16825 AR)
21. The Drifters (BCD 17278 AR)
22. Champion Jack Dupree (BCD 17536)
23. Duane Eddy (BCD 17249 AR)
24. The Everly Brothers (BCD 17321 AR)
25. Charlie Feathers (BCD 17688)
26. Narvel Felts (BCD 17594)
27. The "5" Royales (BCD 17522)
28. Connie Francis (BCD 16318 AR)
29. Don Gibson (BCD 16991 AR)
30. Glen Glenn (BCD 16671 AR)
31. Big John Greer (BCD 17743)
32. Bill Haley (BCD 16807 AR)
33. Roy Hall (BCD 16747 AR)
34. Wynonie Harris (BCD 17746)
35. Dale Hawkins (BCD 16826 AR)
36. Ronnie Hawkins (BCD 16873 AR)
37. Screamin' Jay Hawkins (BCD 16687 AR)
38. Wanda Jackson (BCD 16631 AR) [see REVIEW]
39. Etta James (BCD 17750)
40. Sonny James (BCD 16679 AR)
41. Benny Joy (BCD 17645)
42. Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids (BCD 16872 AR)
43. Sleepy LaBeef (BCD 15981 AR)
44. Brenda Lee (BCD 16886 AR)
45. Jerry Lee Lewis (BCD 16396 AR)
46. Smiley Lewis (BCD 16676 AR) [see REVIEW]
47. Little Richard (BCD 17138 AR)
48. Bob Luman (BCD 16985 AR)
49. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers (BCD 16545 AR)
50. Mac Curtis (BCD 17719)
51. Carl Mann (BCD 16684 AR)
52. Jimmy McCracklin (BCD 17552)
53. Scotty McKay (BCD 17519)
54. Clyde McPhatter (BCD 17614)
55. Memphis Slim (BCD 17687)
56. Amos Milburn (BCD 16926 AR) [see REVIEW]
57. Roy Milton (BCD 17712)
58. Ella Mae Morse (BCD 16672 AR) [see REVIEW]
59. Ricky Nelson (BCD 16856 AR)
60. Roy Orbison (BCD 15916 AR)
61. Little Junior Parker (BCD 17535)
62. Carl Perkins (BCD 16752 AR)
63. The Platters (BCD 17558 AR)
64. Lloyd Price (BCD 16999 AR)
65. Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood) (BCD 16639 AR) [see REVIEW]
66. Jimmy Reed (BCD 17572)
67. Louis Prima (BCD 17318 AR)
68. Charlie Rich (BCD 16513 AR) [see REVIEW]
69. Billy Lee Riley (BCD 17597)
70. Marty Robbins (BCD 17245 AR)
71. Jack Scott (BCD 16841 AR)
72. Ronnie Self (BCD 17656)
73. Shirley & Lee (BCD 15785 AR)
74. Slim Harpo (BCD 17129 AR)
75. The Treniers (BCD 16164 AR)
76. Ike Turner (BCD 17679)
77. Big Joe Turner (BCD 17215 AR) [see REVIEW]
78. Conway Twitty (BCD 16670 AR)
79. Ritchie Valens (BCD 17525)
80. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps (BCD 17134 AR)
81. Johnny Guitar Watson (BCD 17764)
82. Link Wray (BCD 17600)
83. Rusty York (BCD 16543 AR) [see REVIEW]
Series Sampler Compilations from 2024 and 2025
84. Bear Family Records Rocks, Vol. 1 (BCD 17734)
85. Bear Family Records Rocks, Vol. 2 (BCD 17735)
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
