KICKSVILLE Vol. 3
Various Artists Norton ________________________________________________________
This third compilation of rare and unreleased rockabilly acetates has a
picture of Mamie Van Doren and a chimp on its cover, and you know, that
alone is enough for me – the jewel case didn’t even have to include a CD
and I still would’ve given Kicksville 3 a positive review. But those
far-out forensic musicologists at Norton knew that everyone isn’t as big
of a nutcase as I am, and they unearthed 18 stomping whompuses for your
listening pleasure. Here’s the deal, tho: some of the cuts here are real
primitive – we’re talking kitchen recordings here, so if your exposure to
classic rockabilly only extends as far as Elvis’ Greatest Hits, the
primitive quality of Ral Donner’s “Miss Ann” or Danny Dell’s primo bosso
“Fun Lovin’ Baby” might take you aback. But if you’re a card-carrying,
patch-sporting, walking-talking roots hound, you’re not gonna find a dud
in this bunch. Everyone will have their own faves, from the slow-boiling
“My Love is Gone” by Ray Pat (dig his 12-year-old brother Donnie on
guitar) to Johnny Clark and the Four Playboys’ menacing stroll through
“Be-Bop-A-Lula,” but for my moolah, the real moon rockets are Benny Joy’s
“Little Girl, Little Girl” (never quite knew why the Norton clan loved him
so much into now – he’s the Buddy Love to Hasil Adkins’ Julius Kelp) and
Joe Gibson’s swingingest “Evil Evie" (talk about spittin’ kittens: “She’s
frantic/Satanic!”). Add to that the monster twang of Kenny Parton and
the Jones Boys’ “Jump, Wiggle and Shake” (my three favorite
things) and a super-early demo by Gary Usher (who later made his
bones as a producer for the Beach Boys and countless other surf/hot rod
outfits), and what you got here is the perfect soundtrack for dancing
under a naked kitchen bulb with your baby, boosting hubcaps, dropping out
of school, and wrecking your old man’s car. You supply the delinquency,
dad.
This third compilation of rare and unreleased rockabilly acetates has a
picture of Mamie Van Doren and a chimp on its cover, and you know, that
alone is enough for me – the jewel case didn’t even have to include a CD
and I still would’ve given Kicksville 3 a positive review. But those
far-out forensic musicologists at Norton knew that everyone isn’t as big
of a nutcase as I am, and they unearthed 18 stomping whompuses for your
listening pleasure. Here’s the deal, tho: some of the cuts here are real
primitive – we’re talking kitchen recordings here, so if your exposure to
classic rockabilly only extends as far as Elvis’ Greatest Hits, the
primitive quality of Ral Donner’s “Miss Ann” or Danny Dell’s primo bosso
“Fun Lovin’ Baby” might take you aback. But if you’re a card-carrying,
patch-sporting, walking-talking roots hound, you’re not gonna find a dud
in this bunch. Everyone will have their own faves, from the slow-boiling
“My Love is Gone” by Ray Pat (dig his 12-year-old brother Donnie on
guitar) to Johnny Clark and the Four Playboys’ menacing stroll through
“Be-Bop-A-Lula,” but for my moolah, the real moon rockets are Benny Joy’s
“Little Girl, Little Girl” (never quite knew why the Norton clan loved him
so much into now – he’s the Buddy Love to Hasil Adkins’ Julius Kelp) and
Joe Gibson’s swingingest “Evil Evie" (talk about spittin’ kittens: “She’s
frantic/Satanic!”). Add to that the monster twang of Kenny Parton and
the Jones Boys’ “Jump, Wiggle and Shake” (my three favorite
things) and a super-early demo by Gary Usher (who later made his
bones as a producer for the Beach Boys and countless other surf/hot rod
outfits), and what you got here is the perfect soundtrack for dancing
under a naked kitchen bulb with your baby, boosting hubcaps, dropping out
of school, and wrecking your old man’s car. You supply the delinquency,
dad.