Tracks: 1) Calling All Comets; 2) Rockinʼ Thru The Rye; 3) A Rockinʼ Little Tune; 4) Hide And Seek; 5) Hey Then, There Now; 6) Goofinʼ Around; 7) Hook, Line And Sinker; 8) Rudyʼs Rock; 9) Choo Choo ChʼBoogie; 10) Blue Comet Blues; 11) Hot Dog Buddy Buddy; 12) Tonightʼs The Night.
REVIEW
Like its predecessor, this LP puts together a few songs originally released as singles, but it also throws on some LP-only tracks — a first for Bill and the boys. In addition, to reflect the burgeoning democratic spirit of the outfit, the emphasis here is more on The Comets than on Bill Haley. Several of the numbers are complete instrumentals; and, surprisingly, plenty of lead vocal time is given to guitarists Franny Beecher and Billy Williamson, so that Bill himself only handles the lead on four numbers in toto. The fact that he did not seemingly have a problem with that actually says a lot about Bill — with most of the rockʼnʼrollers around flaunting their big egos, Billʼs relative reticence and humility actually make him stand out in the crowd, though it would take a keen eye to actually notice that.
Of the Haley-sung vocal numbers, ʽRockinʼ Thru The Ryeʼ is the obvious highlight, not least because it is the first attempt to adapt a classic old bit of poetry to the newly emerged rockabilly genre — Robert Burnsʼ ʽCominʼ Throʼ The Ryeʼ is given an unexpected twist, but, since the latter had originally been written in the style of a party folk tune, it would make perfect sense to adapt it to contemporary folk values, and the band does fine, placing another early rockabilly classic under their belt. Nobody in his right mind would call this the emergence of Celtic folk-rock, but as a subtle demonstration of the all-encompassing powers of young baby rockʼnʼroll, it works perfectly as long as you are even aware of the origins of the song (thereʼs hardly anything in the melody to betray them, though I guess an innocent bystander might be confused as to the exact reasons why this hillbilly from Pennsylvania would start singing "Bonny me lassie is on the beat").
Some of the new tunes sound a little silly and hoedown-ish (even in 1956, it would probably be a little distasteful to start a song called ʽA Rockinʼ Little Tuneʼ with the sound of an accordeon, no matter how well played). But in general, the instrumentals are fine. Rudy Pompilliʼs sax rarely ventured on a wilder spree than on ʽCalling All Cometsʼ, and it sounds particularly delicious when punctuated by wild-west-style twanging from Beecherʼs guitar. Beecher himself gets to rip it up on ʽGoofinʼ Aroundʼ, playing sped-up jazzy licks like a maniac schoolboy (presaging a similar, if much more progressive, attitude from Ten Years Afterʼs Alvin Lee), and on ʽBlue Comet Bluesʼ, one of those angular, slow-paced compositions that lies at the foundations of «blues rock» as a genre, even if no one would probably remember this, what with «blues rock» always being associated with the likes of John Mayall and Canned Heat.
One thing that is really satisfying is that the band clearly wishes to experiment: try as you might, you shall not find even a single tune here that would blatantly rewrite any of Haleyʼs biggest hits — no clones of ʽRock Around The Clockʼ or ʽRazzle Dazzleʼ in sight. Instead, in addition to the «Celtic» trace of ʽRockinʼ Through The Ryeʼ, we find a touch of «Oriental exotica» on ʽRudyʼs Rockʼ, which begins as a standard dance number and then unexpectedly shifts to a jungle-style tribal attack in the middle section, or a pinch of old school vaudeville or two (ʽHey Then, There Nowʼ, ʽTonightʼs The Nightʼ). Perhaps it does not always work as well as intended, and most of the «experiments» are just bouts of meek synthesis with well-established conservative genres, but in the context of a Fiftiesʼ pop band such «experimentation» already places them on the genreʼs cutting edge.
On the down side, tinkering with all these traditions means that this LP does not pack nearly as much punch as its predecessor — not to mention that it lacks one or two truly killer stand-out tracks that would really make all the difference; why they didnʼt, for instance, include ʽSee You Later, Alligatorʼ, easily the most well-known Haley tune at the time whose appearance on an LP was, nevertheless, delayed until 1958 is beyond my understanding of Deccaʼs commercial strategies. But on the other hand, this way you can simply suck in the recordʼs overall consistency — without a ʽRock Around The Clockʼ on it, it is much easier to come to the conclusion that Bill Haley and his Comets were not a one-hit or two-hit wonder, but actually one of the most professional, inventive, and exciting rockʼnʼroll outfits of the decade, despite the lack of leather jackets, burning pianos, swiveling hips, duck walks, or any other extra-musical markers which, unfortunately, were often deemed necessary to gain the performer rightful entry into the VIP rockʼnʼroller club. Poor Bill just had to do with his signature curl instead.
This review got me to check out “Rockin’ Through The Rye”, which is now one of my favorite songs of his! The opening of that song alone proves your point about them being underrated in terms of musical tightness, it’s wonderful. And it’s nice to hear a song where Bill’s lyrics are NOT cringey for once :) Thanks for the recommendation!