If you’re looking for some roots of modern rock and R&B that is on the more obscure side, you’ve found a friend on this series called “Atomic Rockers”. Issue 01 came out about a month ago, and these latest two are what hopefully will be part of a long line of followups.
What is included on these discs are around 28 obscure juke joint jumping tunes that show the wide wake that was created by Elvis, Little Richard, Doo Wop and Kansas City swing. Few of these artist are familiar to your ears, as they had one semi-hit, or if you know who they are, the songs here are from the hidden corner of their closets. But what finds there are!
For Volume 02, famed tenor sax session man Lee Allen (who is on just about every Little Richard solo) sears through “Hot Rod Special” while there are some sassy chicks like Janice Peters who oozes through “A Girl Likes”. Street corner symphonies are delivered by The Flamingos on “Nobody Loves Me Like You” and The Five Chancellors on “There Goes My Girl”. There are tons of blue eyed pop and soul, with a pre-testosteroned Neil Sedaka in a pop mood on “Going Home To Mary Lou” and rockabilly boys Bobby Dean, The Cures, and Russ Marlo bopping and the high school hop on “Go Mr. Dillon”, Crazy Crazy Party” and “Tom Cattin’”. Put on your buck shoes for this one!
Volume 03 includes a few more instrumentals that its predecessor, with a hard hitting “Let’s Bop” by Big Dave and His Orchestra, a wild “Hava Nageela” by Gene Rockwell, and a trip to East La with The Individuals’ “La Bamba” and The I.B. Special’s “Spanish Twist”. Pre-Beatles and clean cut rockers include Rick Nelson’s “My One Desire” and Bobby Darin’s “Bullmoose” while earthy R&B is represented by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters on “Sweet Mama Do Right”. Music for Cruise Night!