Rebel Rock: Essential Rockabilly Album / Various

I love rockabilly and this is one of the best compilations available. And it's cheap. ''Train Kept a'Rollin'',''High School Confidential'' and tons of stuff that make you wonder why you never heard it before. But this leads me to a few articles I recently read that basically asked the question-Why does modern music suck? They claim ''it sucks'' because there exists no talent,no innovation and zero musical viability.In country that isn't really country(it died with Hank Williams), Pop that all sounds the same and Rap in place of R&B. Talent like Jerry Lee Lewis,Chuck Berry,Bob Dylan,Frank Zappa,the Talking Heads and many more, just doesn't exist today. Actually,it's probably still out there,somewhere. I remember''payola''. When crap like Fabian and Frankie Avalon was promoted because ''the industry'' could make more money selling something it owned. Quicksilver Messenger Service was replaced with Strawberry Alarm Clock and anything else that was deemed psycadelic. What it really boiled down to was this-silly teenage girls would listen to, and buy, anything that was fed to them. Or stuff that the most popular girl in their school liked. Junk like this contributed to ''College Radio'' and long songs that weren't catchy. And this was what people with taste listened to. Dinosaur Jr.,The Allman Brothers Band,Muddy Waters and much more. There has always been ''junk'' and ''real music''. You just have to be tasteful enough to tell the difference.

Sorry, but not too impressed...

I like the cds because there are little heard tunes by a variety of artists. The recordings are well mastered. This is a great way for a musician to learn new rockabilly tunes.

Really nice collection of classic songs. Love it!

Very good, with a few I already had but contains some unknown gems.

Highly recommend to anyone that loves the rockabilly lifestyle. Hard to find songs that you will really love. Awesome purchase.

great

First off, forget that 2-star assessment. I don't know what the buyer was expecting as the contents were there to see in this fantastic 2-disc 2011 set from Metro Select of the U.K. It has great sound reproduction, informative liner notes written by Joe Cushley, and a beautiful fold-out poster, and in the contents you are getting 50 of the songs by artists who were the architects of that brief 1950s genre which came to be known as Rockabilly. To say that the set lacks "originality" defies explanation.In the early 1950s some of the singers you see here began fusing elements of Hillbilly music (which was an early term for what became Country & Western and then simply Country) and its offshoots Western Swing and Bluegrass, with those of Blues, Rhythm & Blues and even Gospel into a distinct up-tempo beat that review publications quickly termed "Rockabilly." More often than not the term was meant in a derogatory way by the more unctuous of the reviewers since it was being performed mainly by white musicians from the South who were regarded as upstarts within the industry. Many mainstream radio stations simply refused to play them, and getting a record accepted by the companies who controlled the juke box industry was nigh on impossible.But once Elvis began breaking down the doors at Sun Records in Memphis in 1954, and the cats were out of the bag so to speak, there was no holding back what Alan Freed would soon label Rock `N' Roll, partly in order to get away from what he and others regarded as a demeaning term. And yet, today, "Rockabilly" not stands alone to proudly describe those pioneers who dared to thumb their noses at the establishment and pursue their chosen style of music against all odds, but also its own Rockabilly Hall Of Fame to extend the ultimate honor. Later musicians such as Sleepy LaBeef and The Stray Cats have helped perpetuate the genre.I have repeated the track listing in the Comments below from which you will see that several became huge nationally-charted hit singles while others, despite having the resources of large labels behind them, failed to make any national listings. However, many of these are from 1956-1958, a period during which R&R was being firmly established and the competition for recognition was fierce as many black Blues/R&B artists also began the transition (Little Richard, Chuck berry, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, etc). Some would go on to have lucrative careers as straight Country/Pop artists, such as Carl Perkins, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich. But here they were clearly Rockabilly.Of the artists represented, many are inductees into these Halls Of Fame:Rock `N' Roll Hall Of Fame: Carl Perkins; Billy Haley; Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps; Johnny Cash; Buddy Holly; Jerry Lee Lewis; Roy Orbison; Wanda Jackson (early influence section); Eddie Cochran; and Ricky Nelson.Country Music Hall Of Fame: George "Thumper" Jones; Webb Pierce; Johnny Cash.Rockabilly Hall Of Fame: Carl Perkins; Johnny Burnette; Bill Haley; Eddie Cochran; Gene Vincent; Charlie Feathers; Johnny Cash; Buddy Holly; Warren Smith; Jerry Lee Lewis; Ronnie Self; Roy Orbison; Billy Lee Riley; Bob Luman; Eddie Bond; Barbara Pittman; Jody Reynolds; Wanda Jackson; Johnny Carroll; Marvin Rainwater; Ricky Nelson; Mac Curtis; Sonny Burgess; Jack Scott; Dale Hawkins; Sonny Fisher; Ray Harris; Sleepy LaBeef.A 5-star set all the way.

This is really well put together compilation. Long live great curated compilations

another brilliant rockabilly cd well worth the money some brilliant songs and some great songs if you like rock n roll or rockabilly then buy this cd

Brilliant collection of Rockabilly classics with songs from all the essential singers of the fifties.

You can't stop rocking when you listen to this album, it's none stop rockabilly!!! Even my neighbour didn't turn his stereo on because he thought the music was amazing!

love it .... all great tracks