“Buddy Holly” by Buddy Holly - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1958Album Chart of the Decade: 1950s

TJR says

The “Chirping” Crickets had been a really good album in 1957, the “solo” LP released just a few months later (in February 1958) raised the bar higher still. It amazes me to think that he was still only 21 at this stage, as all this great material came flooding out. “I’m Gonna Love You Too” gets things off to a good start, coming on like a countrified “Oh Boy”. The vocal hiccups are in great order, and they’re set to the max on the infamous “Peggy-Sue”-oo-oo-oo-ooo-a-hoo-hoo” which immediately follows. There’s a great cover version of “Valley Of Tears” which had been done by Fats Domino in 1957, and here Buddy shows a blusier sensibility. The version of Little Richards’ “Ready Teddy” is fantastic, the band are really rocking as Side 1 comes to a conclusion. By sheer contrast, “Everyday” opens Side 2 in a completely different style – pretty as a picture, it has a simplistic, xylophonic beauty which has enchanted me forever. Hey-a-hey-hey. This leads us into “Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues”, an all-time classic, and absolutely one of the tracks of the year. It’s probably the sexiest recording Buddy ever made. The prettiness returns on “Words of Love”, with its’ glorious melody lines and infectious sense of rhythm. Right at this point, we’ve just experienced a 3-track run as good as you can expect from the great albums from any decade. Second from the end, “Rave On” is the crowning glory on an LP which, when it got hot, was damn hot. Crazy feelin’, got me reelin’, the big thumbs up.

The Jukebox Rebel
01–Aug–2008

Tracklist
A1 [02:14] 7.2.png Buddy Holly - I’m Gonna Love You Too (Joe B. Mauldin, Niki Sullivan, Norman Petty) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
A2 [02:30] 7.9.png Buddy Holly - Peggy Sue (Charles Hardin Holley, Norman Petty, Jerry Allison) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
A3 [02:07] 6.0.png Buddy Holly - Look At Me (Charles Hardin Holley, Norman Petty, Jerry Allison) Pop
A4 [02:22] 7.2.png Buddy Holly - Listen To Me (Charles Hardin Holley, Norman Petty) Pop
A5 [02:09] 7.6.png Buddy Holly - Valley Of Tears (Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew) Blues / Rhythm n Blues
A6 [01:32] 8.3.png Buddy Holly - Ready Teddy (Robert Alexander Blackwell, John Marascalco) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
B1 [02:09] 9.6.png Buddy Holly - Everyday (Charles Hardin Holley, Norman Petty) Pop
B2 [02:12] 9.5.png Buddy Holly - Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues (Ruth Roberts, Bill Katz, Stanley Clayton) Blues / Rhythm n Blues
B3 [01:56] 9.4.png Buddy Holly - Words Of Love (Charles Hardin Holley) Pop
B4 [01:37] 6.6.png Buddy Holly - You’re So Square (Baby I Don’t Care) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
B5 [01:50] 10.0.png Buddy Holly - Rave On (Norman Petty, Bill Tilghman, Sonny West) Rock n Roll / Rockabilly
B6 [01:57] 6.4.png Buddy Holly - Little Baby (Charles Hardin Holley, Norman Petty, C.W. Kendall Jr.) Blues / Rhythm n Blues

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