Search - Various Artists :: All-Time Greatest Hits of Rock & Roll, Vol. 1

Not quite complete--but let the good times roll anyway !!!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"All-Time Greatest Hits of Rock & Roll, Vol. 1 is the first CD in a three CD set that gives us just some of the very best hits in rock and roll music. The title of this series is still somewhat misleading as I can't imagine how three CDs could possibly cover all the "greatest" hits of any genre of music. However, what we do get has excellent sound quality although the artwork is nothing special.



Bill Haley and His Comets start things off great with their awesome "Rock Around The Clock." This tune has excellent electric guitar work; and Bill Haley sings this out flawlessly! This is easily one of my all time favorites from the early years of rock and roll and it makes a great highlight on this CD. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps features some great singing and they sing and play this to perfection--and beyond! The guitar work in the musical interlude is very hot and impressive, too. Listen also for "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly and The Crickets; Buddy sings this so well; the drums and percussion enhance the number quite a bit. I also like the way Buddy uses his full vocal range on this tune.



Chuck Berry weighs in with his "Sweet Little Sixteen;" this is still great for dancing with your partner and the melody rocks well! Chuck Berry could really sing! Fats Domino, another major figure in early rock and roll history, also contributes his "Whole Lotta Loving;" this rocks hard even today and Fats sings this better than anyone ever could have sung it. I'm amazed.



"Mother-In-Law" playfully pokes fun at the stereotypical nasty mother-in-law; this tune by Ernie K. Doe is excellent--I have always loved this tune. The brass and the drums enhance the melody quite a bit and overall this tune is very memorable as well. The Clovers also do their "Love Potion #9." "Love Potion #9" sounds great and I like the guitar work again--guitar work was always a big part of these early rock and roll melodies. It still is the same today.



The Falcons do their "You're So Fine" with style and grace; this number has a doo wop flavor to it as the backup singers harmonize so well. I love it! The CD also ends strong with Shirley & Lee performing their awesome classic entitled "Let The Good Times Roll." They sing this flawlessly and this is yet another tune I have always enjoyed. Great!



Overall, what we do get is here is wonderful; but even with three CDs in this series it'll never be enough to call it a "greatest hits" rock and roll collection. This disappoints me somewhat; but since they do have three CDs in this series I will only take off one star for this review. Rock and roll enthusiasts--get this now and let the good times roll!

"

A bit overstated but good

pspa | Boston, MA USA | 02/25/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know about the title, and I have NO clue what the Ike and Tina Turner song is doing in any collection entitled All Time Greatest Hits, but that said this is a reasonably entertaining collection of mostly great hits from the early 60s and 50s. Can't beat Mother in Law by Ernie K. Doe, an underrated all time great."