Various Artists - Rocket Ship

Artist:

Various Artists

UPC:

4001043550527

Description:

This is a theme compilation -- 34 rock & roll songs dating from the late 1950s and early 1960s, hooked around flying saucers, space ships, satellites, Sputnik and similar subjects, though mostly they`re about sex. There are some serious professional musicians represented, such as country-rockabilly veterans Alden Holloway (pictured with a double-necked guitar) and Dell Vaughn, but some of this CD is in a loose, wild rockabilly vein. Gene Vincent`s "Spaceship to Mars" would`ve fit in perfectly, and Terry Dunavan`s "Rock It on Mars" even recalls the Vincent number, but there`s cooler and more interesting stuff here: the Love Brothers` unissued acetate of "Flying Saucer Rock `n Roll" is rockabilly punk at its most primitive -- real A-Bones type material; the Rockers` "Rock, Rock, Rocket Ship," which isn`t far behind and has a crunchy bass; Holloway`s "Blast Off," which has crisp Chet Atkins licks, a cool tenor sax solo and some catchy choruses; Vaughn`s "Rock the Universe," which has a real roadhouse band feel to it; Monte Mead`s "Cape Canaveral" on the Fortune label, with its crisply arranged country-style guitars and a solid, hard beat; "Moon Beat" by the Fabulous Imperials; and Jimmy Stewart`s raw, hard country raunch "Rock on the Moon," stuff that makes Carl Perkins seem almost urban. Buck Trail`s "Knocked Out Joint on Mars" gets the equation of sex, space and guitars assembled in the right order, with a good beat; Stewart`s "Rock on the Moon" is tighter and has a better dance beat. Jackie Gotroe`s "Rock It to the Moon" strips the formula to its basics, with lyrics that equate girls, moon rockets and blast-offs, with a hot guitar break in the middle and a better melody than the competition -- even it gets outdone for scatology, however, by Stan Beaver`s "Got a Rocket in My Pocket." Billy Nix`s "Moon Twist" is about as much fun as a twist record done by a guy who obviously prefer rockabilly could possibly be -- Nix melds the two forms beautifully, nice and slow but never sluggishly. Carl & Norman`s "Shooting for the Moon" is a different twist, a comical harmony number (with nice piano ornamentation dressing up a basic country band backing) that equates a failed rocket launch with frustrated romantic possibilities. "Light My Rockets" is a more upbeat look at the same scenario by Neil Alan. Gene Lanzi`s "Countdown 4-3-2-1" stands out as the only real instrumental here, a tense guitar piece (with Lanzi providing narration every so often). Billy Hogan`s "Shake It Over Sputnik" is a silly topical number about southern pride, the Jupiter-C and the space program, and it (and the last numbers) tends to be a little more tuneless than those that precede them -- they`re fun, and they fill out the CD, but that`s about all. ~ Bruce Eder

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Flying Saucers Rock`n Roll - Love Brothers
2. Rock, Rock, Rocket Ship - The Rockers
3. Satelite Rock - The Rebelaires
4. Blast Off - Alden Holloway
5. Rock It on Mars - Terry Dunavan
6. Rock the Universe - Dell Vaughan
7. Knocked Out Joint on Mars - Buck Trail
8. Cape Caneveral - Monte Mead
9. Moon Beat - Fabulous Imperials
10. Rock on the Moon - Jimmy Stewart
11. Rock It on the Moon - Jackie Gotroe
12. Moon Twist - Billy Nix
13. Rock Old Sputnick - Nelson Young
14. Shooting for the Moon - Carl and Norman
15. Satelite - Rocks
16. Light My Rockets - Neil Alan
17. Satelite Rock - Jimmy Copeland & the Jayteens
18. Space Dance - Royce Simpson
19. Rockin` on the Moon - Deacon & the Rock & Rollers
20. Got a Rocket in My Pocket - Stan Beaver
21. Little Moon Men, The - Lee George
22. Trip to the Moon - Wesley Reynolds
23. Countdown 4-3-2-1 - Geno Lanzi
24. Rocking on the Moon - Ronnie Sando
25. Boppin` Martian, The - Dick Robinson
26. Shake It Over Sputnik - Billy Hogan
27. Rock Moon Rock - Daniel James
28. Man from Mars - Butch Paulson
29. Orbit Twist - Rufus Shoffner
30. Rocket to the Moon - John Wesley Caves
31. Moon Rocketin` - Les Vogt
32. Moon Twist - Chuck Dallis
33. Honey Moon Trip to Mars - Jack Tucker
34. Rockin` Space Girl - Jimmy Grubbs

Album Information

Release Date:

06/26/2000

Type:

Collection

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Label:

Buffalo Bop

Catalog Number:

BBCD 55052

Original Release Year:

1997

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.

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