Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town: The Complete Record Releases 1957-1959

Ricky Neslon - Lonesome Town: The Complete Record Releases 1957-1959
Fantastic Voyage Records - FVTD056

Tracklist: I'm Walkin'/A Teenager's Romance/You're My One And Only Love/Be-Bop Baby/Have I Told You Lately That I Love You/Honeycomb/Boppin' The Blues/Be-Bop Baby (album version)/Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (album version)/Teenage Doll/If You Can't Rock Me/Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On/Baby I'm Sorry/Am I Blue/I'm Confessin'/Your True Love/True Love/Stood Up/Waitin' In School/Shirley Lee/Someday/Good Rockin' Tonight/I'm Feelin' Sorry/Down The Line/Unchained Melody/I'm In Love Again/Don't Leave Me This Way/My Babe/I'll Walk Alone/There Goes My Baby/Poor Little Fool/Believe What You Say/My Bucket's Got A Hole In It/I Got A Feeling/It's Late/One Of These Mornings/Believe What You Say (album version)/Lonesome Town/Tryin' To Get To You/Be True To Me/Old Enough To Love/Never Be Anyone Else But You/I Can't Help It/You Tear Mr Up/It's All In The Game/Restless Kid/You'll Never Know What You're Missing/That's All/Just A Little Too Much/One Minute to One/That's All/Just A Little Too Much/One Minute To One/Half Breed/You're So Fine/Don't Leave Me/Sweeter Than You/A Long Vacation/o Long/Blood From A Stone/I've Been Thinkin'/I Wanna Be Loved/Mighty Good/My Rifle, My Pony And Me

The good folks at Fantastic Voyage go from strength to strength, with the latest release featuring all the 1950’s recordings of the great Ricky Nelson. With 61 tracks on two discs together with a previously unreleased 78 minute interview, this is an essential purchase, especially with an asking price of under a tenner. Even if you have the Bear Family box set you’ll need this for the interview.

I’m sure everyone reading this blog will know the Ricky Nelson, where he started his career as a member of his family’s “Ozzie and Harriet Show” before forging a career in rock ‘n’ roll in equal parts due to good looks, a good voice, some great songs from the Burnette’s and Baker Knight among others, and a crack band knicked from Bob Luman that starred the superb James Burton. As well known as the story is, there’s plenty of songs on show here that aren’t so famous. They come Verve and Imperial , courtesy of his singles and his first four albums, 'Ricky', Ricky Nelson', 'Ricky Sings Again' and 'Songs By Ricky'.

Items like Waitin’ In School, Poor Little Fool, Believe What You Say and Mighty Good hold up against the finest music of the era and need no introduction. But the less informed will get to hear such gems as There Goes My Baby, You Tear Me Up, Be True To Me and I’ve Been Thinking.

He worshipped Carl Perkins and the Sun artists, and it’s a mark of his talent is how well his covers stand up to such illustrious originals, such as Your True Love, I’m Feelin’ Sorry, Down the Line and Boppin’ The Blues.

If you’re after a something a bit softer, there’s Never Be Anyone Else But You and Sweeter Than You among others. From the country side you get two belters in Half Breed and Restless Kid. This is a brilliant release that you should snap up now. From rockabilly to teen rockaballads, this has it all. A great cover photo as well to round things off.

Rockin' Song of the Week No.80 - Ricky Nelson - Mighty Good

Ricky Nelson - Mighty Good
Imperial 5614 (1959)

As mighty good as it felt to Ricky, it sounds mighty good to the rest of us. Ooh wee. Ricky Nelson always had a crack band behind him and together with his easy-on-the-ear vocals and great songwriters, his singles nearly always hit the spot. Even by his high standards, Mighty Good features pretty high on the Rickster Scale. Amazingly, the song was cut fifty years ago today at Master Recorders in Hollywood with Jimmy Haskell producing.

The band was the usual suspects James Burton (guitar), James Kirkland (bass), Gene Garf (piano), Richie Frost (drums) and Billy Strange also on guitar. Kirkland and garth were soon to be replaced by Joe Osborne and Ray Johnson, but that’s irrelevant. The other song cut on the date was I Wanna Be Loved but it was the top side of Imperial 5614 that floats my boat.

Mighty Good was written by regular Ricky Nelson tunesmith Baker Knight and was a typical Nelson rocker in that James Burton picks his ass off throughout. The female backing vocals round out the sound and compliment Ricky’s controlled performance. As well as underpinning the beat, Jimmy B gives another in his long line of wonderful solos. At a time was rock ‘n’ roll was making way for the Bobby Soft era, Mighty Good showed that Ricky was a genuine rocker.

Rockin' Song of the Week No.58 - God Bless Robert E. Lee - Johnny Cash

God Bless Robert E. Lee comes Johnny Cash’s 1983 album, Johnny 99. Although JC was no longer a regular on the charts he was by no means a fading light. No longer the shooting star that had blazed across the Memphis sky thirty years before, he had become more like the North Star – always there, solid, reliable and something reliable to guide your ship home.

The good thing about him being off the charts was that he was able to record, what, how and where he wanted without having to appease fickle, radio friendly ears. The Man In Black was now a middle aged, seasoned pro who could cut what he fancied, something that made Johnny 99 such a good album. For start he recorded it in North Hollywood at the Magnolia Sound Studios, away from the restrictive 2 hour - 4 song Nashville formula. The band was a mix of the West Coasters James Burton, Hal Blaine and Glen D Hardin and his own country boys, Bob Wootton and Marty Stuart.

The songs were taken from writers across the country with Nashville exiled Englishman Paul Kennerley providing a pair of peaches. That’s The Truth tells how you don’t really find the truth about a gal until the lights go out and the duet with June, Brand New Dance, which would have been an absolute classic if the wife had been replaced by the sister-in-law, Anita. Even better were the two numbers from Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, Johnny 99 and brilliant opener, Highway Patrolman, which allowed JC to preach about right and wrong like only JC could. Another highlight is Guy Clark’s New Cut Road which sees James Burton show why his clean picking was so revered.

God Bless Robert E. Lee comes from the pens of B Borches and the amazingly talented Mack Vickery, whose portfolio is up there with the best in the business. It pays tribute to the General’s common sense when the war was slipping away from the Confederacy. JC has the voice of authority, and his reading here sounds like a narration for the History channel. If Johnny had chosen a second career in this area, Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones would have been out of work. When he sings he heard a Yankee say “yesterday Nashville fell”, his deep tone sounds like the thundering cannon blasts that would have been guilty of felling that Southern jewel. The music is strong an delicate in turns, like the quiet waiting and then sudden battle cries of the Civil War in question. It all takes place behind the Dixie beat, and is up there with his Ragged Old Flag for best compatriot song of his illustrious career. I’d love to hear Elvis do this ala An American Trilogy, with the band and his voice it would have been a goose-bumper. I could also imagine Jerry Lee Lewis doing it, a great addition it would have been to When Two Worlds Collide or Killer Country.

Bobby Lee Trammell Remembered

Earlier this year the great Arkansas rockabilly artist Bobby Lee Trammell passed away. Like all great rockabilly stories it involves Memphis somewhere along the line. In BLT's case he made his stage debut thanks to the charitable Carl Perkins and soon auditioned for Sam Phillips, but a lack of patience saw him head to California where he came to the attention of promoter and label owner Fabor Robinson. Anyhoot, here's to man deemed too wild for Ozzie and Harriet.

MY TOP 3 BLT's
1. You Mostest Girl - one of the greatest Elvis style rock 'n' rollers. I would love Elvis to have cut this at either the Big Hunk O' Love session or for the Elvis Is Back album. Cut in March 1958 at Western recorders in Hollywood, this peach should have made him a star. Thanks to a four-piece black harmony group and some crisp backing, it's his finest ever moment.
2. I Sure Do Love You Baby - from Bob Luman's band he used James Burton on lead guitar, James Kirkland on bass and himself on rhythm guitar, the b-side of Shirley Lee is a fine slab of mid tempo rockabilly.
3. My Susie J, My Susie Jane - Same setting as You Mostest Girl this time from the back end the 1958 summer, and a straight ahead rocker with sax, backing vocals, piano and a sparkling solo from the great Joe Maphis. His third single, this one really should have been a hit. Brilliant.