Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Album Of The Day #39: THE "CHIRPING" CRICKETS - Buddy Holly & The Crickets

Title: The "Chirping" Crickets

Artist: Buddy Holly & The Crickets
Label: Brunswick/Decca
Year: 1957
Songs: Oh Boy! (Sonny West, Bill Tilgham & Norman Petty)/Not Fade Away (Norman Petty & Charles Hardin)/You've Got Love (Johnny Wilson, Roy Orbison & Norman Petty)/Maybe Baby (Norman Petty & Charles Hardin)/It's Too Late (Chuck Willis)/Tell Me How (Charles Hardin, Jerry Allison & Norman Petty)/That'll Be The Day (Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly & Norman Petty)/I'm Looking For Someone To Love (Buddy Holly & Norman Petty)/An Empty Cup (A Brocken Date) (Norman Petty & Roy Orbison)/Send Me Some Lovin' (John Morascalco & Leo Price)/Last Night (Norman Petty & Joe Mauldin)/Rock Me My Baby (Shorty Long & Susan Heather)
Produced by: Norman Petty
Thoughts: My dad was a year old when this album came out...Anyway, this is what my idols, The Beatles, grew up on, so I figured I'd get it. Buddy Holly is awesome, there's no doubt about it. I mean, this guy wrote "That'll Be The Day" and "Peggy Sue" for god's sake! Still, the album tracks here feel ancient when heard today, considering they're just a half-century old. Roy Orbison's "An Empty Cup" particularly sticks out in my mind as a song that could never have been recorded today. The amount of covers and bland material certainly doesn't help this album stand the test of time, but when you think that Buddy only recorded two studio albums (plus a few loose singles included as bonus tracks on both the 2004 Geffen re-issue of this album and the solo-effort Buddy Holly), it's a necessity. Buddy Holly is a really important part of rock history and should not be ignored.
Rating: 7/10

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