The Sexy Years

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks - The Roulette Years (1958-63) [2CD] {1994 Sequel Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 718 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 326 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 228 Mb
© 1994 Sequel Records | NED CD 266
Rock / Rockabilly / Jazz

This 57-track double-CD set seems like a no-brainer – get almost all of Ronnie Hawkins' rock & roll recordings in one place. The packaging here is good, thoughtful, and legitimate, but could also be a little misleading to those who are buying this expecting to hear a lot of early work by the musicians who later became the Band – Levon Helm was aboard on drums from the Hawks' first official recordings, but the remainder didn't begin arriving on the scene until almost two years later; they're only on hand more than one or two at a time for less than half of what's here.

Homer thinks maybe they should stop at his Uncle Butch's saloon for a drink before they get home. "You're home now, kid," the older man Al tells him. Three military veterans have just returned to their hometown of Boone City, somewhere in the Midwest, and each in his own way is dreading his approaching reunion. Al's dialogue brings down the curtain on the apprehensive first act of William Wyler's "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946). Seen more than six decades later, it feels surprisingly modern: lean, direct, honest about issues that Hollywood then studiously avoided. After the war years of patriotism and heroism in the movies, this was a sobering look at the problems veterans faced when they returned home.

A characteristically humongous (8-CD) box set from the wonderful obsessive-compulsives at Bear Family, documenting the Killer's '60s tenure at Smash Records. Lewis made consistently good music during this period, but the combination of his personal scandals and the British Invasion made him a pariah to radio programmers until mid-decade, when he returned to his country roots. Highlights of the set include the entirety of a Texas live show, with Lewis and his crack band rendering various early rock standards at dangerously high (i.e., proto punk) speed, some excellent duets with his (then) wife Linda Gail, and gorgeous renditions of standards like Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive." Lewis fans with deep pockets should grab this one immediately…

Rhino has assembled a good collection of commercially popular disco tunes, but the real reason for disco's popularity - the extended mixes that created the backbone of club culture and enabled people to dance for hours - has eluded them. All the tracks featured in this collection are radio edits. Consequently, the listener is faced with a collection of dated ditties rather than hearing the tunes as they were meant to be heard: dancefloor epics that sweep you up.