Post Description

Bill Haley - The Warner Bros Years


The rating of this six-CD set is no joke -- yes, Bill Haley was supposed to be an irrelevant artist during the 1960s, but he did, in fact, generate well over 100 good and far-better-than-decent sides that are contained in this set. No, there's nothing remotely as earth-shattering or important as his best work for Decca from 1954-1955, and even most hardcore fans of that material may find the cost of this set difficult to justify; but take it from someone who shelled out for this box, it's worth a LOT more than you'd ever guess without hearing it -- Haley and his band still knew how to work a song, as demonstrated several dozen times on this set. The title is actually a bit misleading, since the sides that Haley recorded for Warner Bros. Records amount to less than a third of the contents of this box. Disc one is given over to the principal contents of Haley's two Warner albums and their accompanying singles, which include his versions of a brace of rock & roll oldies (among them recuttings of "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll," as well as hits identified with Jerry Lee Lewis, et al.) and some excellent country standards. Disc two wraps up the Warner Bros. sides (apart from a series of outtakes that appear on disc six) in surprisingly strong form, including a good version of "Let the Good Times Roll, Creole," and unearths a pair of mysterious recordings -- "Jack in the Box" and "Pistol Packin' Mama" -- by Haley and his band with an unidentified baritone singer; it also offers four songs that he recorded for Gone Records in the early '60s, and an album's worth of tracks (including a hot version of "Yakety Sax") that Haley and company recorded for the Guest Star label in 1962. None of this is bad stuff -- it's often a good deal better than, say, the songs that Elvis Presley was doing in his movies of the era, and it shows that Haley was still a solid, viable performer and musician a good decade after his breakthrough, and six years beyond the point where most pop historians have usually written him off. Franny Beecher was with him until the Roulette sides were done -- and Johnny Kay was a good substitute on the Guest Star sides -- and Rudy Pompilli was there all the way, honking away in generally fine style. Disc three is largely devoted to Haley's sides for the Newtown and Nicetown labels from 1963, and his dance recordings for the Apt Records label in 1965, and his abortive liaison with United Artists Records in 1968; some of the Newtown/Nicetown numbers are embellished with the sound of keyboards and backing vocals, but the core of Haley's music is there, and he's in much finer form even on those tracks than he was on many of the late Decca sides; only the novelty tunes like "Tongued-Tied Tony" and "Tenor Man" fall flat to varying degrees, but his rippling version of "Flip, Flop & Fly" is more than adequate compensation for such lapses. Finally, disc four brings us up to 1969 and Haley's participation in Richard Nader's Rock 'N' Roll Revival shows, and the concerts -- best known for their partial release on various Buddah and Kama Sutra albums, but included here in their entirety -- that he played at New York's Bitter End. Discs five and six, together in a narrow double-pack, are comprised of outtakes, demos, the live sides recorded for Gone Records at the Roundtable, and various tracks of indeterminate date and origin. The box comes with Bear Family's usual thoroughly annotated booklet and complete session information, and it's certain to delight and amaze even serious Bill Haley fans, as well as anyone else who ever wondered about the later work of this lost hero of rock & roll.

                      Tracklisting 
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CD 1

   1. (00:01:55) Bill Haley - Happy Homer
   2. (00:02:19) Bill Haley - Candy Kisses
   3. (00:01:58) Bill Haley - Tamiami  Instr
   4. (00:02:03) Bill Haley - I Almost Lost My Mind
   5. (00:02:09) Bill Haley - Loveletters In The Sand
   6. (00:01:53) Bill Haley - Blueberry Hill
   7. (00:02:24) Bill Haley - Kanses City
   8. (00:02:51) Bill Haley - A Whole Lot Of Shaking Going On
   9. (00:02:13) Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock
  10. (00:02:36) Bill Haley - Stagger Lee
  11. (00:02:15) Bill Haley - Blue Suede Shoes
  12. (00:01:41) Bill Haley - Hot To Trot  Instr
  13. (00:01:54) Bill Haley - I M In Love Again
  14. (00:02:43) Bill Haley - My Special Angel
  15. (00:02:08) Bill Haley - Crazy Man
  16. (00:02:33) Bill Haley - Shake Rattle And Roll
  17. (00:02:41) Bill Haley - Bouquet Of Roses
  18. (00:02:31) Bill Haley - This Is The Thanks I Get
  19. (00:02:17) Bill Haley - I Don,T Hurt Anymore
  20. (00:01:53) Bill Haley - Anytime
  21. (00:02:04) Bill Haley - Singing The Blues
  22. (00:02:44) Bill Haley - Cold Cold Heart
  23. (00:02:20) Bill Haley - Detour
  24. (00:02:12) Bill Haley - Afraid
  25. (00:02:07) Bill Haley - One Has My Love  The Other Has My Heart
  26. (00:02:04) Bill Haley - No Letter Today
  27. (00:02:17) Bill Haley - The Wildside Of Life
  28. (00:02:00) Bill Haley - There A New Moon Over My Shoulder

CD 2

1. (00:02:25) Bill Haley - Hawk
   2. (00:02:27) Bill Haley - Chick Safari
   3. (00:01:36) Bill Haley - So Right Tonight
   4. (00:02:22) Bill Haley - Let The Good Times Roll
   5. (00:02:05) Bill Haley - Jack In The Box
   6. (00:01:57) Bill Haley - Pistol Packin  Mama
   7. (00:02:40) Bill Haley - Honky Tonk  Instr
   8. (00:02:40) Bill Haley - Flip Flop And Fly
   9. (00:02:21) Bill Haley - Spanish Twist
  10. (00:02:26) Bill Haley - My Kind Of Women
  11. (00:01:34) Bill Haley - Riviera  Instr
  12. (00:02:00) Bill Haley - War Paint  Instr
  13. (00:02:08) Bill Haley - See You Later Aligator
  14. (00:02:27) Bill Haley - Abc Boogie
  15. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - Panic  Instr
  16. (00:02:11) Bill Haley - I Ve Got News For Hugh
  17. (00:02:00) Bill Haley - Don T Mess Around
  18. (00:02:06) Bill Haley - The Wobble
  19. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - This Is Goodbye  Goodbye
  20. (00:02:13) Bill Haley - Train Of Sin
  21. (00:01:49) Bill Haley - Altar Of Love
  22. (00:02:11) Bill Haley - Helena  Instr
  23. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - Yakety Sax
  24. (00:02:22) Bill Haley - Mish Mash  Carrie Grant
  25. (00:02:39) Bill Haley - Let The Girls Sing

CD 3

1. (00:02:11) Bill Haley - Stop Look And Listen
   2. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - Burn That Candle
   3. (00:02:04) Bill Haley - Dim  Dim The Lights
   4. (00:02:11) Bill Haley - There S A New Moon Over My Shoulder
   5. (00:02:02) Bill Haley - Pepito  Instr
   6. (00:02:12) Bill Haley - Haley A Go Go  Instr
   7. (00:02:35) Bill Haley - Tongue Tied Tone
   8. (00:02:29) Bill Haley - Jealous Heart
   9. (00:02:44) Bill Haley - Rock On Baby
  10. (00:02:30) Bill Haley - That S How I GotTo Memphis
  11. (00:02:54) Bill Haley - Ain T Love Funny  Ha  Ha
  12. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - Jingle Bell Rock
  13. (00:02:19) Bill Haley - Rockin Around The Christmas Tree
  14. (00:02:44) Bill Haley - Flip Flop And Fly
  15. (00:02:31) Bill Haley - What Can I Say After
  16. (00:02:31) Bill Haley - Tenor Man
  17. (00:02:20) Bill Haley - Tandy
  18. (00:03:08) Bill Haley - Carolines Pony
  19. (00:02:52) Bill Haley - Dance Around The Clock
  20. (00:02:38) Bill Haley - Up Goes My Love
  21. (00:02:17) Bill Haley - White Parakeet  Instr
  22. (00:02:21) Bill Haley - Midnight In Washinton
  23. (00:02:38) Bill Haley - You Call Everybody Darling
  24. (00:03:45) Bill Haley - One Phone Call  Instr
  25. (00:03:21) Bill Haley - You're Too Much
  26. (00:02:16) Bill Haley - Little Manie Janie  Inst
  27. (00:02:39) Bill Haley - Cottonfields
  28.(00:03:07) Bill Haley - Tally Ho Rock  Instr
  29. (00:04:58) Bill Haley - Double Mint Rock And Roll

CD 4

1. (00:05:22) Bill Haley - Shake Rattle And Roll
   2. (00:02:10) Bill Haley - Dance Around The Clock
   3. (00:03:10) Bill Haley - Rip It Up
   4. (00:05:03) Bill Haley - Night Train  Instr
   5. (00:02:25) Bill Haley - Guitar Boogie  Instr
   6. (00:02:13) Bill Haley - Razzle Dazzle
   7. (00:04:11) Bill Haley - You Are My Sunshine
   8. (00:02:35) Bill Haley - Rock A Beatin  Boogie
   9. (00:02:50) Bill Haley - Skinnie Minnie
  10. (00:02:51) Bill Haley - Johnny Be Goode
  11. (00:03:38) Bill Haley - Kansis City
  12. (00:02:50) Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock
  13. (00:04:03) Bill Haley - When The Saints Go March
  14. (00:04:34) Bill Haley - Rudy S Rock  Instr
  15. (00:03:23) Bill Haley - Rock The Joint
  16. (00:02:02) Bill Haley - Fingers On Fire  Instr
  17. (00:02:52) Bill Haley - See You Later Alligator
  18. (00:06:21) Bill Haley - Wipe Out  Instr
  19. (00:03:49) Bill Haley - There Goes My Everything
  20. (00:03:26) Bill Haley - Alabama Bound
  21. (00:03:13) Bill Haley - A Whole Lot Of Shaking I
  22. (00:03:04) Bill Haley - Rock Around The Clock