It’s commonly accepted that before the Beatles and Dylan, rock albums were packed with halfhearted covers and other filler. But there had to be some that were strong listens from start to finish. Does anyone know of any early rock LPs they could recommend?
Starting with 1956, I’ve always been fond of Gene Vincent Bluejean Bop Capitol T764.
I would look for some early Muddy Waters from this period, I have listened to his best of CD from this period and it was some great rockabilly stylings, well it was before rockabilly but you an hear it there.
James Brown, Live at the Apollo (1963)
I can’t name any specific albums, but you might want some Carl Perkins or Jerry Lee Lewis. Chuck Berry and Little Richard too.
Buddy Holly, maybe.
Elvis’ self-titled album - the one the Clash nicked the design of for London Calling:
Song list:
- Heartbreak Hotel
- I Was The One
- Blue Suede Shoes
- I’m Counting On You
- I Got A Woman
- One-Sided Love Affair
- I Love You Because
- Just Because
- Tutti Frutti
- Trying To Get To You
- I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)
- I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’)
- Blue Moon
- Money Honey
- Shake, Rattle And Roll
- My Baby Left Me
- Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
- I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
The first album by the Coasters. There was also a Greatest Hits album in 1959 that was even better.
I’ll add The Shadows and Gene Vincent to the list…artists who show up over and over again in rock biographies as huge influences.
Yeah, Gene Vincent’s would be Blue Jean Bop - great tracks with the amazing Cliff Gallup on lead guitar:
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Blue Jean Bop - Amazon.com Music.
ETA: Duh - mentioned in post #2…
Originally issued in 1963, The Wham Of That Memphis Man by Lonnie Mack has been re-issued many times (I have a vinyl copy on Rounder Records from the 80s).
Mack is an under-appreciated pioneer of blues-rock guitar who influenced a lot of guitarists, like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck and Duane Allman.
He’s also a soulful vocalist who can sing gospel, blues, rock and country with the best of them, and The Wham Of That Memphis Man has a little bit of everything.
Live at the Star Club, Hamburg (1964).
"It’s Everly Time"and "A Date with the Everly Brothers". No fillers there. You can hear their crucial influence on the Beatles when you compare them with the Fab Four’s early albums released only two or three years later.
Really? Cool! Was The Star Club a known Music spot, or was it already famous as a key club for The Beatles during their time in Hamburg?
Nevermind
Sorry for the double post, but I misread my cite and posted bullshit above. I try again:
According to wiki, the Beatles had the opening gig for the club on April, 13th 1962. But it became the hottest place for rock’n roll in Germany, maybe in whole continental Europe for the next years. Almost the whole early American rock’n roll aristocracy and many great British bands played there.
Nope, that was 1991.
This is not the song list of the original album. For instance, Heartbreak Hotel wasn’t on the album. Wiki:
The original album is super cool, so it deserves its place in this thread in any case.
Thanks, good info.
This is an interesting thread.