Buddy Holly – Hollybilly, 1956: The Complete Recordings
El Toro ETCD 1012
Disc One
Baby, Won’t You Come Out Tonight? – Love Me [With Studio Chat] – Don’t Come Back Knockin’ – Midnight Shift – Blue Days, Black Nights – Rock Around With Ollie Vee [Fragment] – Rock Around With Ollie Vee [July 1956 Version] – Because I Love You – Changing All Those Changes [Clovis Demo Version] – I Guess I Was Just A Fool – It’s Not My Fault – I’m Gonna Set My Foot Down – Rock-A-Bye Rock – Girl On My Mind – That’ll Be The Day – Ting-A-Ling – I’m Changin’ All Those Changes [Fragment] – I’m Changin’ All Those Changes [Nashville Version] – Modern Don Juan – You Are My One Desire [False Start] – You Are My One Desire – Rock Around With Ollie Vee [November 1956 Version]
Disc Two
Honky Tonk [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Good Rockin’ Tonight [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Brown-Eyed Handsome Man [Lubbock Demo] – Bo Diddley [Lubbock Demo] – Rip It Up [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Blue Monday [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Blue Suede Shoes [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Shake, Rattle & Roll [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Ain’t Got No Home [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Holly Hop [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Bo Diddley [Undubbed Clovis Demo] – Brown-Eyed Handsome Man [Undubbed Clovis Demo] – Have You Ever Been Lonely?#1 [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Have You Ever Been Lonely? [Fragment] – Have You Ever Been Lonely?#2 [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Gone [Fragment] – Gone #1 [Undubbed Lubbock Demo] – Gone #2 [Undubbed Lubbock Demo]
Someday, if all the legal issues are resolved or most likely when his recordings fall into the public domain, someone will release an ultimate and definitive Buddy Holly boxset. In the meantime we’ll enjoy this reissue of his early material recorded in 1956.A storming gig by a young boy from Memphis called Elvis convinced the young Buddy Holly that his future was in rockabilly, not in hillbilly and precipitated the end of his partnership with Bob Montgomery. CD 1 contains the full session recorded for the first time under Holly’s name in Nashville (later issued on album by Decca under the name “That’ll be the day”) completed with studio chats, fragment of unissued takes and false starts. Also presents on this first cd are the demos made with Norman Petty at Clovis and released here without those lame overdubs made by The Fireballs. The second cd is made of home-recordings when Buddy was back in his hometown of Lubbock. This raw sides of Buddy Holly playing covers of Elvis, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Big Joe Turner and Clarence Frogman Henry as well as “Have You Ever Been Lonely” (no less than four takes are included here) and the country hit “Gone” are a thrilling testimony. Two instrumentals (Holly Hop and Honky Tonk) were recorded on that informal sessions and they show a guitarist gaining in confidence. Later overdubbed, the takes present are the original masters. The booklet is interesting, well done with the singles reproduced inside. These are essential recordings and we can only hope El Toro will continue the job with the following years.
Buddy Holly – Not Fade Away, 1957: The Complete Recordings
El Toro ETCD 1016
DISC 1: 1.I’m Lookin’ For Someone To Love 2.That’ll Be the Day 3.Last Night – (Undubbed Original Version) 4.Maybe Baby – (First Version) 5.Last Night 6.Words Of Love – (Demo) 7.Words Of Love 8.Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues 9.Not Fade Away – (alternate take) 10.Not Fade Away 11.Everyday 12.Ready Teddy 13.Valley Of Tears 14.Tell Me How 15.Buddy’s Hone Call To Paul Cohen OF Decca Records 16.Go Boy Go – (KDAV Demo, with Gary Dale) 17.Gone – (KDAV Demo, with Gary Dale) 18.Go Boy Go – (Norman Petty Demo, with Gary Dale) 19.Golden Rocket, The – (Norman Petty Demo, with Gary Dale) 20.Gone – (Norman Petty Demo, with Gary Dale) 21.I Overlooked An Orchid – (Norman Petty Demo, with Gary Dale) 22.On My Mind Again – (with Billy Walker) 23.Viva La Matador – (with Billy Walker) 24.Whole Lot Of Lovin, A – (Take 1, with Jim Robinson) 25.Whole Lot Of Lovin, A – (Take 2, with Jim Robinson) 26.Whole Lot Of Lovin, A – (Take 3, with Jim Robinson) 27.Whole Lot Of Lovin’, A – (with Jim Robinson) 28.It’s a Wonderful Feeling – (with Jim Robinson) 29.Starlight – (Original With Echo, with Jack Huddle) 30.Believe Me – (Original Without Echo, with Jack Huddle) 31.Starlight – (with Jack Huddle) 32.Believe Me – (with Jack Huddle)
DISC 2: 1.Peggy Sue – (alternate take) 2.Peggy Sue 3.Listen To Me 4.That’ll Be the Day – (Promotional Recording) 5.That’ll Be the Day – (Promotional Recording) 6.Oh, Boy! – (Undubbed Original Version) 7.Oh, Boy! 8.That’ll Be the Day – (Promotional Recording) 9.I’m Gonna Love You Too 10.Send Me Some Lovin’ – (Original Undubbed Demo) 11.It’s Too Late – (Original Undubbed Demo) 12.Send Me Some Lovin’ 13.It’s Too Late 14.Man From Texas – (with Jim Robinson) 15.Honey, Honey – (with Gary Dale) 16.Look To the Future – (with Gary Dale) 17.By the Missio Wall – (with Fred Crawford) 18.Wreck Of the Old ’97 – (with Carolyn Hester) 19.Scarlet Ribbons – (with Carolyn Hester) 20.Sugartime – (Take 1, with Charlie Phillips) 21.One Faded Rose – (with Charlie Phillips) 22.One Faded Rose – (Take 1, with Charlie Phillips) 23.Sugartime – (with Charlie Phillips) 24.One Faded Rose – (with Charlie Phillips) 25.Humble Heart – (with Sherry Davis) 26.Borken Promises – (with Sherry Davis) 27.Moondreams – (with Norman Petty Trio/The Picks) 28.Moondreams – (instrumental, with Norman Petty Trio) 29.Moondreams – (roses, with Norman Petty Trio)
DISC 3: 1.You’ve Got Love 2.Maybe Baby 3.Empty Cup, An (And a Broken Date) 4.Rock Me, My Baby 5.That’ll Be the Day – (Unidentified Live Fragement) 6.That’ll Be the Day – (Live On Ed Sullivan) 7.Peggy Sue – (Live On Ed Sullivan) 8.Interview With Ed Sullivan 9.Little Baby 10.You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care) 11.Look At Me 12.Mona – (Rehearsal) 13.Mona – (Take 1) 14.Mona – (Take 2) 15.Mona – (Take 3) 16.Peggy Sue – (Live On Arthur Murray) 17.Don’t Do Me This Way! – (First Version, with Rick Tucker) 18.Patty Baby – (with Rick Tucker & the Picks) 19.Don’t Do Me This Way! – (with Rick Tucker & the Picks) 20.Promotional Spot For Bill Randle #1 – (with Bill Randle) 21.Promotional Spot For Bill Randle #2 – (with Bill Randle) 22.Promotional Spot For Don Passerby #1 – (with Don Passerby) 23.Promotional Spot For Don Passerby #2 – (with Don Passerby) 24.Promotional Spot For Don Passerby #3 – (with Don Passerby) 25.Promotional Spot For Don Passerby #4 – (with Don Passerby) 26.Interview With Red Robinson – (with Red Robinson) 27.Promotional Spot For Red Robinson 28.Interview With Freeman Hoover – (with Freeman Hoover) 29.Promotional Spot For Interview With Freeman Hoover – (with Freeman Hoover) 30.Interview With Dale Lowery – (with Dale Lowery)
El Toro pursues its superb work of reissue of Buddy Holly’s complete recordings. Three cd’s have been necessary to gather every sides Buddy Holly played on in 1957. The amount of work is impressive both from Holly and 50 years later from the label. 1957 was the year of “That’ll Be The Day”, “Words Of Love”, “Peggy Sue”, “Maybe Baby” and many more… In addition to those classics you’ll find demos (a rough one of “Words Of Love”), early versions (an interesting take of Maybe Baby in its early stage of conception), alternative takes (Peggy Sue, with 4 takes you can assist at the creation of Mona), every known live appearances (That’ll Be The Day and Peggy Sue on the Ed Sullivan Show). The undubbed versions are also present giving back those jewels their original splendour. Hardcore fans would be pleased to find a couple of interviews and promotional recordings for DJ’s with new lyrics adapted to the radio stations. A touching moment is to hear Buddy Holly’s phone call to Paul Cohen of Decca records about his contract. The rest of the sides are made of artists Buddy Holly and the Crickets backed, mainly hillbilly boppers but also pop and country tunes and even a Cha cha. As anecdotic as they could sound they are none the less essential to understand the evolution of the band and reveal a relatively unknown side of the boys. I’m waiting for the 1958 package eagerly.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis