VA - As Good As It Gets - Great British Rock & Roll (2000)

This
double-CD set lives up to its title, at least as a representative
compilation of the period it covers -- no vinyl compilation ever aspired
to offer anything like the 64 tracks presented here, all dug out of the
EMI vaults. Conceptually this is a killer collection, representing
early dawning years of British rock, when acts like Vince Taylor &
the Playboys, jazz trombonistDon Lang, and be-bop drummer Tony Crombie
and his group the Rockets all competed for the public's attention, and
the book was still being written on how to make (or succeed in) rock
& roll. It all predates the Beatles as a recording act, though a
handful of names came through the transition wrought by the Liverpool
quartet and are recognizable today (albeit not always for rock &
roll, as in the case of Jim Dale) -- the Shadows, Johnny Kidd & the
Pirates, and Adam Faith (who does a killer rendition of "High School
Confidential" years before he became a success with a smoother brand of
rock & roll) are among those who survived to rock another day. But
as obscure as Janice Peters (who sounded like a British version of Jo
Ann Campbell) or the Five Chesternuts may be today, the music here is
all eminently enjoyable, and on a lot more than a historical basis --
these acts could rock out, and if they weren't as original or creative
as the Americans whose sounds they emulated, they did put on a great
show. Two acts here, Dickie Pride and Bobby Angelo and the Tuxedos, are a
genuine surprise, delivering as good a rock & roll sound as anyone
ever heard on this side of the Atlantic. The influences that abound are
fascinating, the near-ubiquitous sound of Elvis Presley (and, to a
lesser degree, Jerry Lee Lewis) vocally, on the part of most featured
singers, vying for prominence with the boogie-woogie-inspired jazz
origins of Bill Haley, with some influence also felt from Jerry Lee
Lewis' band. Nobody, at least at EMI's various labels, apparently ever
considered trying to re-create Chuck Berry's or Bo Diddley's sounds.
Speaking of sound, it ranges from the very good to the startlingly
excellent, nice and loud with a lot of presence and sharper than the
records ever were. There are a few gaps, like the absence of Janice
Peters' "A Girl Likes," and it seems a little unnecessary to have
included Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," except to
give purchasers at least one familiar hit. But considering that the
contents are limited to the EMI vaults, the quality and consistency of
the contents across two hours of listening is astonishing. And the notes
by Dave Travis are practically worth the purchase price by themselves.

TRACKLIST:

Disc One :
01. Simon Scott & The Le Roys - Move It Baby
02. Vince Taylor & The Playboys - Right Behind You Baby
03. Dickie Pride - Slippin 'N' Slidin'
04. Johnny Kid & The Pirates - Please Don't Touch
05. Jimmy Crawford - Long Stringy Baby
06. Dave Sampson & The Hunters - If You Need Me
07. The Drifters - Feelin' Fine
08. Vince Taylor & The Playboys - I Like Love
09. Dean Webb - The Rough And The Smooth
10. Janice Peters & The Frank Barber Band - This Little Girl's Gone Rockin'
11. Adam Faith - High School Confidential
12. Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers - You've Got What I Like
13. Dickie Pride - Fabulous Cure
14. Bobby Angelo & The Tuxedos - Baby Sittin'
15. The Five Chesternuts - Jean Dorothy
16. Jim Dale - Crazy For You
17. Mike Sagar - Deep Feeling
18. The Shadows - Saturday Dance
19. Vince Taylor & The Playboys - Brand New Cadillac
20. Dickie Pride - Frantic
21. Neville Taylor & The Cutters - Crazy Little Daisy
22. Ricky James - Bluer Than Blue
23. Paul Raven - All Grown Up
24. Adam Faith - Ah Poor Little Baby
25. Dave Sampson & The Hunters - It's Lonesome
26. The Five Chesternuts - Teenage Love
27. The Shadows - Bongo Blues
28. Vince Eager - No More
29. Shane Fenton And The Fentones - I'm A Moody Guy
30. Johnny Kid & The Pirates - Shakin' All Over
31. Jody Gibson & The Mulskinners - If You Don't Know
32. The Drifters - Be-Bop-A-Lula

Disc Two:
01. Tony Crombie & His Rockets - Sticks And Stones
02. Deep River Boys - Rock-A-Beatin'-Boogie
03. The King Brothers - Hop Skip And Jump
04. Jim Dale - Don't Let Go
05. Don Lang & His Frantic Five - Red Planet Rock
06. Lee Lawrence - Don't Nobody Move
07. Billy Sproud - Rock Mr. Piper
08. Ray Ellington Quartet - That Rock 'N' Rollin' Man
09. Tony Crombie & His Rockets - Rock 'N' Roller Coaster
10. Don Lang & His Frantic Five - Rock Around The Cookhouse
11. Terry Wayne - Slim Jim Tie
12. Ken Mackintosh - Raunchy
13. Diana Decker - Rock A Boogie Baby
14. The King Brothers - Jive
15. Don Lang & His Frantic Five - They Call Him Cliff
16. Bill Forbes - Once More
17. Janice Peters - A Girl Likes
18. Tony Crombie & His Rockets - Red For Danger
19. Dean Webb - Hey Miss Fannie
20. Lee Lawrence - Rock 'N' Roll Opera
21. Larry Page - Cool Shake
22. Terry Wayne - Matchbox
23. The Vipers - No Other Baby
24. The King Brothers - Cold Cold Shower
25. Don Lang & His Frantic Five - See You Friday
26. Tony Crombie & His Rockets - Rock Shuffle Boogie
27. Deep River Boys - Rock Around The Clock
28. Neville Taylor - Mercy Mercy Percy
29. Don Lang & His Frantic Five - Rock Rock Rock
30. Toni Eden - Teen Street
31. Jim Dale - Be My Girl
32. Tony Crombie & His Rockets - Sham Rock