For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The music I’ll be covering here was a lot better than I was anticipating. Claire Lane has a strong voice, though the instrumentals have a great rock sound that reminds me of the Honeycombs. Note those instrumentals were not credited or treated as solo Claire Lane, but she was part of that band, called the Ramrods, and to my knowledge they never made a record without her. In my created album here, you basically jump back and forth from solo and vocal pop song to the instrumental and guitar-driven Ramrods. Despite the contrast, I think they work quite well together.
Claire’s career started as a series of singles, then an album, all happening within five years from 1959 to 1964, then she did a single in 1979. Sadly, a lot of her material is not accessible online, though I’d imagine you could get that stuff off Discogs if so inclined. The pre-album era is mostly available and is thus what I’ll be covering. The “bonus tracks” are the few tracks I actually could find from the album. Ideally, this project could’ve had one album of every early single, then the album, then the 70s single, but alas. Hopefully this article helps for those wanting good music and a list of what seems to be every recording she ever did. The album title doesn’t mean anything, I just thought of and liked it.
Claire Lane & The Ramrods – Frankie, Johnny & More Love Stories (1963) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
The Ramrods – “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” (Released 1960)
Claire Lane – “I Love You So” (Released 1959)
Claire Lane – “An Orphan’s Christmas” (Released 1959)
Claire Lane – “The Boy Next Door” (Released 1959)
The Ramrods – “Zig Zag” (Released 1960)
The Ramrods – “Loch Lomond Rock” (Released 1961)
Claire Lane – “Isn’t It a Shame” (Released 1963)
SIDE B
Claire Lane – “Frankie And Johnny” (Released 1962 or 63)
The Ramrods – “Take Me Back To My Boots And Saddle” (Released 1961)
Claire Lane – “Curiosity” (Released 1962 or 63)
Claire Lane – “I Dig That Guy” (Released 1963)
The Ramrods – “Boing” (Released 1961)
The Ramrods – “War Cry” (Released 1961)
Claire Lane – “El Diablo” (Released 1963)
BONUS TRACKS
”Indian Love Call” (Excerpt)
“I Was Only A Stand-In” (Excerpt)
“Hey Lover” (From Drummer Girl Sings)
“Lonely Day” (From Drummer Girl Sings)
PERSONNEL
I could only find personnel credits for “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky”. I think this lineup played on every Ramrods recording, but that could be wrong. Even that credit for Sky is not verified.
Eugene Moore – bass
Claire Lane – drums
Vinny Lee – lead guitar
Richard Litke – tenor saxophone
Tracks I can’t find:
Claire Lane – “All By Myself” (Released 1959)
Claire Lane – “Run Run Run Away” (Released 1963)
Claire Lane – “Indian Love Call” (Released 1963)
Drummer Girl Sings (1964)
“Shangri-La”
“Moon River”
“Fly Me To The Moon”
“My Little Corner Of The World”
“More”
“West Of The Wall”
“Stolen Moments”
“You Can’t Stop Me From Dreaming”
“Never On Sunday”
“I Was Only A Stand-In” (Released 1963 or 64)
Later work:
Claire Lane – “A Talking Christmas Tree” (Released 1979)
Claire Lane – “Reflections” (Released 1979)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
Clyde Stacy is a great country rock singer I recently discovered. I did some research and was fortunately able to find recording dates for most of his tracks. A few songs released on compilations for Clyde were actually recorded by a Clarence Stacy. I didn’t want those to fall in the abyss, so stay tuned to an article for him. “Dream Boy” and my introduction to Stacy, “So Young”, are my two favorites. “I Sure Do Love You Baby” and “Return To Me” are other particular goodies, though all this material is worth rescue from obscurity, though this second “album” is weaker than the first.
Clyde Stacy – Sings SO YOUNG And Eleven More Great Songs (1958) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING SIDE A
“So Young” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Hoy Hoy” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Cotton Pickin’ Chicken” (Recorded May-June 1957)
“Dream Boy” (Recorded July-August 1957)
“A Broken Heart (Is So Hard To Mend)” (Recorded July-August 1957)
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
With my recent Buddy Holly fan album and story project, I canonized his two proper studio albums as having happened as I didn’t want to alienate those that would prefer to enjoy the official albums as is. My plan was to continue this methodology for the post-Buddy years. On top of that, considering the fact that Jerry Allison is by far the only consistent member, I came up with some fun albums based on the logic that any song with Jerry is the Crickets. I then listened to my albums with this concept in mind. While some may still prefer listening to the official albums as they are and slotting the stray track ones in, I have found many of the official and personal sequences problematic for a few reasons: Some of these tracks are quite bad and some albums have tracks that would fit better elsewhere. Thus, I’ve decided to publish my stray track sequences here, as well as certain story ideas that can’t be reused, then I’ll write the narrative around what I think would make the best albums, with new sequences that arrange any track how I see fit.
For those that are fans of Jerry Allison or Sonny Curtis, I hope I can do them justice by accumulating so many rare recordings, especially because some are quite solid. One example is that Allison, Curtis, and famed Crickets bassist Joe B. Mauldin did some better known recordings as the Crickets, but also some obscure ones under different names. Those obscure ones are gathered and treated like just any other Cricket track.
During the Bobby Vee and later Jerry Naylor eras of the group, there is shaky and unreliable personnel info. Thus, things are listed vaguely.
Any album without a tracklist is an official album, not a construction of mine (unless where noted).
Based on some research, I think that almost every recording credited to Sonny Curtis as a solo artist prior to his 1979 solo album features the then-current Crickets lineup. There’s a few cases where either a track from a Crickets album is released as a solo Sonny single or the personnel is simply known to include them. However, his first two singles and flipsides have worse odds of featuring them, but I still wanted to include those regardless. The other oddity here is from the 1955 recordings he did. Him and Buddy Holly did six songs together. Five were released on my Buddy Holly & The Two Tones project, but one more, “Queen of the Ballroom”, was excluded due to their being a version with Buddy on vocals. This track almost definitely lacks Jerry Allison, but I didn’t want any of these early rarities to go absent from these albums, so here they are.
The primary source I used for information was Praguefrank, as well as Discogs, Nor-Va-Jak Music, and the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
The first post-Buddy lineup
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 2 (1959) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Billy Walker – “On My Mind Again” (Recorded April 8th, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Who’s Gonna Be The Next One Honey” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Hal Goodson & The Raiders – “Later Baby” (Recorded May 2nd, 1957)
Johnny “Peanuts” Wilson – “I’ve Had It” (Recorded November 10th, 1957)
The Roses (Robert Linville, Ray Rush, David Bingham) – backing vocals (track 3)
Buddy Holly – guitar (track 6)
Larry Welborn – bass (track 6)
Dudley A. Brooks – piano (track 8)
Johnny Mann, Alan Davies, Bill Lee – backing vocals (track 8)
The Crickets – In Style With The Crickets (1960) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Earl Sinks – lead vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1-12), lead vocals (tracks 1, 7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-12)
Dudley Brooks – piano (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7)
The Roses – backing vocals (track 12)
Tommy Allsup – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-5, 7-10)
A common issue with the one-off singers is they can’t sing very well. Bobby Vee and Johnny Burnette are personal least favorites. However, there are some gems. David Box is excellent and by far the group’s best singer that went for a Buddy Holly-vocal style. “You Made Me Love You” also has phenomenal backing vocals.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 3 (1960) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Derrell Felts – “It’s A Great Big Day” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “You Made Me Love You” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “(Til) I Kissed You” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Oh What a Feeling” (Recorded July 7th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “Honeysuckle Rose” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Don’t Cha Know” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
SIDE B
Derrell Felts – “Lookie Lookie Lookie” (Recorded February 13th, 1959)
Jimmy Bowen – “Eenie Meenie Minnie Moe” (Recorded February 21st, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Let It Be Me” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
The Everly Brothers – “Since You Broke My Heart” (Recorded December 15th, 1959)
Jack C. Smith – “There’ll Never Be Another” (Recorded 1959, Released May 1960)
David Box – “Peggy Sue Got Married” (Recorded August 11th, 1960)
Derrell Felts – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
George Atwood – bass (tracks 2, 8)
Jimmy Bowen – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 9-10)
Chet Atkins – guitar (tracks 3-4)
Lightnin Chance – bass (tracks 3-4)
Floyd Cramer – piano (tracks 3-4)
Jack C. Smith – lead vocals (tracks 5, 11)
David Box – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 6, 12)
Ernie Hall – drums (track 6)
Howard Collins – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Barry Galbraith – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Mundell Lowe – guitar (tracks 9-10)
Lloyd Trotman – bass (tracks 9-10)
Hank Rowland – piano (tracks 9-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Dreamin’(1960) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Dreamin’” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“Kaw-Liga” (Recorded January 7th, 1960)
“You’re Sixteen” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“I Beg Your Pardon” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“Singing The Blues” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
SIDE B
“It’s My Way” (Recorded September 19th, 1960)
“That’s The Way I Feel” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“Little Boy Sad” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“I Love My Baby” (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
“(I Go) Down The River (Recorded November 28th, 1960)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Howard Roberts – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 1-2)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Johnny Mann Singers – backing vocals (tracks 1-2)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 3-10)
Vincent Terri – guitar (tracks 3-4, 6)
George Callender – bass (tracks 3-10)
Ernie Freeman – piano (tracks 3-4, 6)
Milton Pitman – guitar (track 5, 7-10)
Johnny Burnette & The Crickets – Let’s Think About Living (1961) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Let’s Think About Living” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“It’s Only Make Believe” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Oh Lonesome Me” (Recorded November 29th, 1960)
“Dream Lover” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“You’re So Fine” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
SIDE B
“Blue Blue Morning” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Pledge Of Love” (Recorded November 30th, 1960)
“Honestly I Do” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“Fools Like Me” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
“God, Country And My Baby” (Recorded September 22nd, 1961)
PERSONNEL
Johnny Burnette – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Joseph Gibbons – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Milton Pitman – guitar (tracks 1-7)
George Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Dick Glasser – guitar (tracks 8-10)
Clifford A. Hils – bass (tracks 8-10)
unknown – mandolin (tracks 8-10)
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Rock Around With Bobby Vee (1961) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Stagger Lee” (Recorded September 12th, 1961)
“Party Doll” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Come On Baby” (Recorded September 13th, 1961)
“Lonely Weekends” (Version 2) (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“Mountain Of Love” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
SIDE B
“No One Knows” (Recorded September 20th, 1961)
“I’m Feeling Better” (Recorded September 28th, 1961)
“Shanghaied” (Recorded September 1961)
“Keep A Knockin’” (Recorded September 1961)
“It’s Too Late” (Version 2) (Recorded September 1961)
PERSONNEL
Bobby Vee – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 1-7)
Red Callender – bass (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10)
Cliff Crofford – lead vocals (track 7)
Sonny Curtis, Joe B. Mauldin, Howard Roberts, Earl Palmer, Ernie Freeman, and Gene Garf have been credited as being part of both sets of Bobby Vee recordings. The main four players listed above are probably on at least most of all the Bobby Vee tracks.
Bobby Vee & The Crickets – Bobby Vee Meets The Crickets (1962) – YouTube, Spotify (Personnel matches the previous Bobby Vee album.)
Despite Bobby Vee’s recordings with Allison being credited as The Crickets, the reunion of Sonny Curtis, along with newbies Jerry Naylor and Glen Hardin, is in my eyes the closest we get to more of the Crickets sound. Mauldin is sometimes credited as being part of the group from the early to mid 60s, but that does not seem to be true. Oftentimes, other players are credited as having partaken in them. There’s some very barebones recordings from 1961 of Allison singing that I suspect were recorded with help from the Bobby Vee-era lineup, but that’s just speculation. If there had been an album of this, I would have made them a Jerry solo album, but as just three recordings, they’re included here. This album probably would have only been released like this if the band needed material quickly, as the flow isn’t great. Still, these songs, as well as the whole Naylor era, are mostly good.
The Crickets – Fell In Love With A Face (1962) – YouTube, Spotify
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Fell In Love With A Face” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Never Ever Told Me” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“There’s No Better Way To Die” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“Bottom Of The Sea” (Recorded February 2nd, 1962)
“I’m Not A Bad Guy” (Recorded March 9th, 1962)
“I Don’t Need A Friend” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
SIDE B
“I Believe In You” (Recorded March 19th, 1962)
“The Real Thing” (Recorded June 4th, 1962)
“My Little Kim Ruth” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“It’s All Right With Me” (Recorded September 18th, 1961)
“Smooth Guy” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“So You’re In Love” (Recorded February 29th, 1960)
“Break It Easy” (Recorded June 19th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, lead vocals (tracks 11-12)
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 6, 9-10)
“Looking All Over Town” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Teardrops Fall Like Rain” (Recorded October 17th, 1962)
“Farewell, My Bluebell” (Recorded October 23rd, 1962)
“The Ballad of Batman” (Recorded 1962)
“Batmobile” (Recorded 1962)
SIDE B
“Lost And All Alone” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Don’t Try To Change Me” (Recorded April 3rd, 1963)
“Surfin’ Special” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“April Avenue” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“A Harlem Girl” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
“Brand New Doll” (Recorded July 17th, 1962)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
Red Callender – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 5-6)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
The Crickets – California Sun / She Loves You (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, vocals
unknown – bass
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Buzz Cason – backing vocals
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
Despite my criticism of some of the one-off projects, this album is solid other than the Everly Brothers tracks. If it wasn’t obvious, Eddie Cochran is rivaled only by Holly himself and a few others, but that track is out of place for the Crickets. Still two great cuts, regardless.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 4 (1964) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Eddie Cochran – “Cut Across Shorty” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “Dardanella” (Released November 1961)
The Everly Brothers – “No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
The Everly Brothers – “Dancing On My Feet” (Recorded September 20th, 1962)
Lucille Starr – “The French Song” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
Joe Carson – “Be A Good Girl” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
SIDE B
Eddie Cochran – “Three Steps To Heaven” (Recorded January 8th, 1960)
The Raiders – “What Time Is It?” (Released November 1961)
Lucille Starr – “Sit Down And Write A Letter To Me” (Recorded October 24th, 1963)
The Everly Brothers – “The Facts Of Life” (Recorded January 16th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Guess You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-11) (Possibly not on track 10)
Eddie Cochran – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 3-7, 9-11)
Conrad ‘Guybo’ Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-4, 8)
Unknown other musicians, possibly Bobby Keys on sax (tracks 2, 8)
Don Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Phil Everly – lead vocals, probably guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Billy Strange – guitar (tracks 3-4, 10)
Red Callendar and/or Pat Vegas – bass (tracks 3-4)
Ray Johnson – piano (tracks 5, 9)
Lucille Starr – lead vocals (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Maphis – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Bill Pitman – guitar (tracks 5, 9)
Wilbur Pitman – bass (tracks 5, 9)
Herb Alpert – trumpet (tracks 5, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 6, 11)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 6, 11)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 6, 11)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 6, 11)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 6, 11)
Ray Pohlman – bass (track 10)
Hal Blaine – drums (probably on track 10)
Leon Russell – keyboard (tracks 10)
Harold Cliner – trombone (track 10)
Kenneth Shroyer – trombone (track 10)
John Audino – trumpet (track 10)
Anthony Terram – trumpet (track 10)
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – Beatle Hits Flamenco Guitar Style (1964) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Tommy Allsup & The Crickets – The Buddy Holly Songbook (1964) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Lynn Bailey – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
George Tomsco – guitar
Tommy Allsup – guitar
Buzz Cason – piano
The Crickets – Surfing, Bo Diddley, and Beatles!! (1964) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Don’t Breathe A Word” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Bring Back My Surfboard” (Recorded June 14th, 1963)
“Don’t Say You Love Me” (Recorded June 28th, 1963)
“A Beatle I Want To Be” (Recorded Late 1963)
“So Used To Loving You” (Recorded Summer 1963)
“Right Or Wrong” (Recorded August 1st, 1963)
SIDE B
“Playboy” (Recorded December 12th, 1963)
“(They Call Her) La Bamba” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“All Over You” (Recorded March 23rd, 1964)
“I Think I’ve Caught The Blues” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Bo Diddley Bach” (Recorded June 1964)
“I Pledge My Love To You” (Recorded June 1964)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (track 10)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (absent from track 10)
Red Callender – bass (absent from track 10)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (absent from track 10)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (absent from track 10)
Buzz Cason – backing vocals, lead vocals (track 10)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (track 10)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 10)
Stan Lark – bass (track 10)
Glen D. Hardin and Joe B. Mauldin have sometimes been credited as playing bass. Ernie Freeman has been credited on piano.
“Lord Of The Manor” and the Carson tracks are the ones here I like.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Volume 5 (1968) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
Joe Carson – “Release Me” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Who’ll Buy The Wine” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
The Everly Brothers – “I Used To Love You” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
The Everly Brothers – “It’s All Over” (Recorded November 12th, 1965)
Rusty Steagall – “Motel Rooms And Coffee Shops” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
SIDE B
Joe Carson – “I’ll Be There” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Joe Carson – “Fraulein” (Recorded February 10th, 1964)
Rusty Steagall – “Playboy Heart” (Recorded March 1st, 1966)
The Everly Brothers – “Lord Of The Manor” (Recorded February 27th, 1968)
Jammë – “Empty Feelings” (Recorded 1968)
PERSONNEL
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-10) (Possibly not on tracks 3-4)
Sonny Curtis – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Joe Carson – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
James Burton – guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-7, 9)
Billy Mize – steel guitar (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bob Morris – bass (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Billy Armstrong – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Bobby Bruce – fiddle (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 1-2, 6-7)
Doris Hallcom – bass (tracks 3-4)
Jim Gordon – drums (probably on tracks 3-4)
Don Randi – harpsichord (tracks 3-4)
Leon Russell – keyboard (track 4)
Rusty Steagall – lead vocals (tracks 5, 8)
Don Lanier – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Glen Campbell – guitar (tracks 5, 8)
Larry Knechtel – bass (tracks 5, 8)
Don Randi – keyboard (tracks 5, 8)
Terry Slater – bass (track 9)
Don Adey – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (track 10)
Timmy Smyser – bass (track 10)
Paul Downing – lead guitar (track 10)
These two Sonny Curtis albums, as well as some Crickets or Sonny material from around this time, are incredibly strong and deserved to have been released on Crickets albums. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that Style is the best work covered in this post, being comparable in quality with Buddy Holly.
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The 1st Of Sonny Curtis (1968) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Sonny Curtis (Possibly with The Crickets) – The Sonny Curtis Style (1969) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Likely present
Jerry Allison – drums
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – El Camino Real (1969) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Rick Cathaway – bass
Jerry Allison – drums
Lee Dresser – lead vocals, guitar
Glen D. Hardin – piano
Eric Clapton & The Crickets – Eric Clapton (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Eric Clapton – lead guitar, lead vocals
Delaney Bramlett – rhythm guitars, backing vocals
Stephen Stills – guitars, bass (track 11), backing vocals
Leon Russell – piano
John Simon – piano
Bobby Whitlock – organ, backing vocals
Carl Radle – bass
Jim Gordon – drums
Bobby Keys – saxophones
Jim Price – trumpet
Jerry Allison – backing vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – backing vocals
Rita Coolidge – backing vocals
Sonny Curtis – backing vocals
The 70s is the beginning of the downfall of the Crickets. This era is consistently okay, with this album of mostly Buddy Holly covers being one of the better efforts.
The Crickets – Rockin’ 50’s Rock’n’Roll (1970) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums, vocals
Jerry Scheff – bass
Glen D. Hardin – piano
This is one of the weaker albums I constructed simply because it spans from the mid 60s to the early 70s. It was one reason I found issue with this “stray track” idea. Note there’s two 1972 Sonny Curtis tracks I could not find: “Sunny Mornin’” and “Lights Of L.A.”.
The Crickets – Million Dollar Movie (1971) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Million Dollar Movie” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“We Gotta Get Together” (Recorded August 27th, 1964)
“Everybody’s Got A Little Problem” (Recorded August 28th, 1964)
“Now Hear This” (Recorded January 1st, 1965)
“Thoughtless” (Recorded January 2nd, 1965)
“Rave On” (Recorded January 3rd, 1965)
SIDE B
“A Million Miles Apart” (Recorded Mid 1968)
“Last Call” (Recorded July 1966)
“Love Is All Around” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Here, There And Everywhere” (Recorded Fall 1970)
“Unsaintly Judy” (Recorded Spring 1971)
“You Don’t Belong In This Place” (Recorded Spring 1971)
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Jerry Naylor – lead vocals (tracks 4-6)
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar (tracks 1, 7-12), lead vocals (tracks 7-12)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 2-6) (Probably on every track), lead vocals (track 2)
Glen D. Hardin – (Possibly plays piano on tracks 1, 7-12)
Buzz Cason – lead vocals (tracks 2-3)
Tommy Allsup – guitar (tracks 2-6)
George Tomsco – guitar (track 2)
Stan Lark – bass (track 2)
Lynn Bailey – bass (tracks 3-6)
Johnny Rivers & The Crickets – L.A. Reggae(1972) – YouTube
PERSONNEL
Joe Osborn – bass
Miss Bobbye Hall – congas, bongos
Jerry Allison and/or Jim Gordon – drums
Dean Parks and/or Larry Carlton – guitar
Herb Pedersen and/or Michael Georgiades – backing vocals
Gary Coleman – percussion
Larry Knechtel and/or Jim Webb and/or Michael O’Martian – piano/organ
A Long Way from Lubbock is an officially released album, though one frustrating issue is that it pointlessly takes recordings from the previous two 1973 albums. There were two much better ideas that could have been used for a follow up. There’s basically one album’s worth of strays listed below that have no overlap with previous albums. The other idea is to cut out the dud tracks and make these albums all much shorter. The Remnants album is bizarrely forty minutes long. The album listed below was all recorded in 1973, except for “Carolyn Walking Away”, where that’s just a guess.
The Crickets – A Long Way from Lubbock(1973) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“That Is Not What I Need”
“Carolyn Walking Away”
“Rock’n Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)” (Recorded October 1973)
“My Mama Sure Left Me Some Good Old Days” (Recorded October 1973)
“An American Love Affair”
“He’s Got A Way With Women”
SIDE B
“You Make It Way Too Hard”
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Demo version)
“Ain’t Protestin’” (Band version)
“Bony Moronie”
“I Like Your Music”
“Now & Then It’s Gonna Rain”
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar
Ric Grech – lead vocals, bass, piano
Jerry Allison – lead vocals, drums
Nick Van Maarth – lead vocals, guitar
Albert Lee – lead vocals, guitar, piano
Steve Krikorian – vocals
Lee Dresser & The Crickets – To Touch The Wind (1975) – Can’t find
PERSONNEL
Lee Dresser – lead vocals (tracks 1-12), guitar, banjo, harmonica (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Larry McNeely – banjo (tracks 1-12)
Pat Smith – bass (tracks 1, 7)
Al Garibaldi – drums (tracks 1, 7)
Dan Crary – guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Pete Jolly – piano (tracks 1, 7)
Red Rhodes – steel guitar (tracks 1, 7)
Joe Osborn – bass (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Jerry Allison – drums, hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Ron Dasaro – organ (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Doug Gilmore – hambone (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Glen D. Hardin – piano (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Al Perkins – steel guitar (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
The Teesdale Street Choir – backing vocals (tracks 2-6, 8-12)
Originally this album spanned into the 80s with a few solo Sonny singles. Two issues with that is that those 80s tracks almost certainly lacked Jerry Allison and Sonny’s real solo career where Jerry was absent is quite confusing. Many of the released albums are unavailable online and I later found more stray tracks. There’s also some repeats from one album to another. Thus, you can think of this as the last release of his for quite a while with Jerry before they went separate ways into less documented music, though it’s quite short. I liked that the 1973 strays perfectly make up their own album, while this is everything after in the 70s. Note that a track called “When It’s Just You And Me” is from 1975, but isn’t accessible. If it was, it would make this one a bit longer.
The Crickets – Reunion(1978) – Archive.org (All tracks recorded in 1978 except where noted otherwise.)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“It’s Only A Question Of Time” (Recorded July 10th, 1975)
“Where’s Patricia Now” (Recorded February 1976)
“The Breeze”
SIDE B
“Mulholland Drive”
“It’s Only Rock’n’Roll”
“Cruise In It”
“Rock Around With Ollie Vee”
PERSONNEL (Only confirmed contributions listed)
Sonny Curtis – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 3-7)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 3-7)
Mauldin, Curtis, Jennings, and Allison
Note that half of Rollin’ and a 1982 track called “Dream Well All Of You Children” are missing. Also, the three Sonny Curtis albums listed below are not fan albums and instead are official. I’m writing out the tracklisting to make it more explicit what I do have. The personnel notes will be absent for solo Sonny due to this article being more about Jerry.
Sonny Curtis (1979) – Archive.org (Missing Two Tracks)
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“The Cowboy Singer”
“Walk Right Back”
“So Used To Loving You”
“Tennessee”
“Do You Remember Roll Over Beethoven”
SIDE B
“It’s Not Easy Being Fifteen”
“I Fought The Law”
“I’ll Stay With You” (Can’t find)
“Cheatin’ Clouds” (Can’t find)
“Ain’t Nobody Honest”
Sonny Curtis – Love Is All Around (1980) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Love Is All Around”
“You Made My Life A Song”
“Eager For The Edge”
“The Real Buddy Holly Story”
“Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover”
SIDE B
“Wild Side Of Life”
“The Cowboy Singer” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“I Fought The Law” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“Walk Right Back” (Same recording as on the 1979 album)
“The Clone Song”
With one exception, the personnel for the Waylon Jennings albums won’t be listed due to how confusing it all is.
Sonny Curtis – 1981 and 1982 loose tracks – Archive.org
“Good Ol’ Girls” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Married Women” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“Rollin’” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“More Than I Can Say” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“I Like Your Music” (From Rollin’ (1981))
“The Christmas Song” (Chestnut Roasting On A Open Fire) (1981)
“Together Alone” (1982)
“Love is All Around” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Hung Up In Your Eyes” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“My Worst Enemy” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
“Party Of The First Part” (From Sonny Curtis (2007)) (Unsure of recording date, very roughly guessing 1982)
Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & The Crickets – WWII(1982) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Waylon Jennings – guitar, vocals
Jerry Allison – drums
Gene Chrisman – drums, percussion
Chips Moman – guitar
Reggie Young – guitar
Willie Nelson – guitar, vocals
Bobby Emmons – keyboards
Johnny Christopher – guitar, backing vocals
Bobby Wood – piano
Toni White – backing vocals
Mike Leech – bass
Jerry Bridges – bass
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – It’s Only Rock & Roll (1983) – YouTube, Spotify
Waylon Jennings & The Crickets – Never Could Toe the Mark(1984) – YouTube, Spotify
Most of the Payne stuff feels like a parody of the band, with the new lead singer doing a bad Holly impression. It’s a shame Allison and Mauldin didn’t make Crickets albums with Waylon Jennings or Sonny, especially because most of the Crickets’ 60s and 70s songs lack Mauldin and now that he’s back they’re either inactive or making such poor material.
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Jigger, Crank & Jive (1988) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“Back Home In Tennessee” (Released 1988)
“Blackmail” (Released 1988)
“I Can’t Hold On Any Longer” (Released 1988)
“For A While We Helped Each Other Out” (Released 1988)
SIDE B
“I Got A Woman” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“She’s Got A Right To Cry” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Do You Ever Think Of Me” (Recorded Late 70s-Early 80s)
“Let’s Do It Again” (Released 1988)
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, lead guitar (tracks 1-8)
Jerry Bridges – bass (tracks 5-7)
Jerry Allison – drums (tracks 1-8)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (tracks 1-4, 8)
The Payne lineup
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – T-Shirt (1988) – Archive.org
“I Think I’m In Love” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Now I’ve Got A Heart Of Gold” (From Spectrum (1987), though recorded in 1985)
“Monetta” (Recorded 1990)
“Evening Shade” (Recording date guessed 1990)
“I Fought The Law” (Recorded June 1990 in Torino, ITA)
Sonny Curtis – No Stranger to the Rain (Released September 1990) – Archive.org
“I’m No Stranger to the Rain” (Possibly the same recording that was on the previous album, Spectrum)
“Hello Mary Lou”
“You’re the Lesson I Never Learned”
“When Amarillo Blows”
“Back When Has Been Lover”
“I Saved My Last Name for You”
“Bad Case of Love”
“Think It Over”
“That’ll Be the Day”
“More Than I Can Say”
“Well, All Right”
“Rock Around with Ollie Vee”
“Midnight Shift”
Gordon Payne & The Crickets – Double Exposure (1993) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Gordon Payne – lead vocals, probably guitar
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar
Jerry Allison – drums
Joe B. Mauldin – bass
Glen D. Hardin – keyboard
Too Much Monday Morning is a shockingly good album that goes to show how much a shame it was that this lineup wasn’t more often all together. Naylor, and especially Sinks and Box are good, but Curtis’ voice feels more at home with the Crickets. After this album, the band would go back to being an oldies act, often redoing their own songs needlessly. Admittedly, not many people are out asking for the next hot Sonny Curtis and the Crickets album.
The Crickets – Too Much Monday Morning (1996) – YouTube, Spotify
The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Nanci Griffith, Bobby Vee, Albert Lee, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Rivers – guest vocals
Many, many more guest performers. Only ones that have previously worked with the Crickets are listed here.
Mike Berry & The Crickets – About Time Too! (2005) – YouTube, Spotify
PERSONNEL
Sonny Curtis – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals
Joe B. Mauldin – bass, backing vocals
Mike Berry – lead vocals, backing vocals
Chas Hodges – piano, backing vocals, guitar
Chad Hodges & Jerry Allison – Before We Grow Too Old (2007) – Archive.org
PERSONNEL
Jack Clement – dobro
Jerry Allison – drums, lead vocals (tracks 7, 10)
Chas Hodges – piano, lead vocals, guitar
There seems to have been a whole album of John Beland tracks recorded, but this is the only one I could find. The Limitations’ “Well… All Right” I also can’t find.
The Crickets & Their Buddies Over The Years (2013) – Archive.org
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
J.J. Cale – “I’m A Gypsy Man” (Released 1976)
John Beland – “True Love Never Runs Dry” (Recorded 1978)
Bobby Vee – “Buddy Holly Medley” (Recorded April 16th, 1989)
Dale Hawkins – “Rain On The Roof” (Recorded 1990s)
David Falconi (Might be misspelling his name) – keyboard (track 3)
Joe B. Mauldin – bass (track 3), possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
Dale Hawkins – lead vocals, guitar (tracks 4-7)
Ray Flack – lead guitar (tracks 4-7)
Joe Osborn – possibly plays bass on tracks 4-7
unknown – piano (tracks 4-7)
Joell Le Sonier – accordion (tracks 8-9)
Margot Buchanan – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sam Brown – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Sonia Jones – backing vocals (tracks 8-9)
Gerry Conway – drums (tracks 8-9)
Brian Hodgson – bass (track 8)
Paul Henry – guitar (track 8)
Rufus Thibodeaux – fiddle (tracks 8-9)
Nick Payne – harmonica (track 8)
Lonnie Donegan – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (tracks 8-9)
Sticky Wicket – washboard (track 8)
Vic Pitt – bass (track 9)
Chad Hodges – performer (track 10)
Dave Peacock – performer (track 10)
Albert Lee – guitar (track 10)
Track 2’s personnel information is especially confusing, but it does seem Allison, Mauldin, and Curtis are on it in some capacity.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.
The Flamingos are a fun little group to analyze, mainly known for their wonderful track “I Only Have Eyes For You”. They have had many other great cuts and this project hopes to make them more accessible. Another favorite is “Lovers Never Say Goodbye”. The group has had many lineups and some varying quality, but they provide a satisfying experience. From seemingly the genesis of the act in 1953 to the present, “The Flamingos” have been active with a 50s member. It’s one of those Ship of Theseus issues that is especially common with doowop acts. Thus, I’m defining “The Flamingos” by its three most prominent members: Jake Carey, Zeke Carey, and Paul Wilson. The three were constants, with one slight exception, from the beginning to 1964, at which point Wilson left and everyone else was more or less doing an oldies’ act with few recordings. For a more detailed history on the Flamingos, see https://www.uncamarvy.com/Flamingos/flamingos.html and http://theflamingos.com/history-of-the-flamingos/.
The first stable lineup had the following order: Jake Carey (bass), Zeke Carey (second tenor), Johnny Carter (first tenor), Paul Wilson (baritone), and Sollie McElroy (lead). They recorded thirteen tracks on the Chance label. Thus, our first album will be called…
“Carried Away” (Recorded After January 28, Before December 24, 1953)
“Plan for Love” (Recorded After January 28, Before December 24, 1953)
SIDE B
“You Ain’t Ready” (Recorded After January 28, Before December 24, 1953)
“Golden Teardrops” (Recorded After January 28, Before December 24, 1953)
“Blues in a Letter” (Recorded December 24, 1953)
“September Song” (Recorded December 24, 1953)
“Jump Children” (Recorded December 24, 1953)
“Cross Over the Bridge” (Recorded February 17, 1954)
“Listen to My Plea” (Recorded February 17, 1954)
The quintet then went to Parrot, but for only eight recordings. Halfway through their stay, Sollie was replaced with a Nate Nelson. He is sometimes considered the best of the lead singers. The outfit next went to Checker. The first four of which will be used to make the second LP.
Around the same time, the Flamingos went to Decca and both Zeke Carey and Johnny Carter were drafted. The next recording lineup featured Tommy Hunt and Terry Johnson. Interestingly, Terry, who joined the act in 1956, is even today touring as the Flamingos, almost seventy years later! Tommy was touring as them as well in the 2010s, but I couldn’t find out if he’s still going, though he is alive. Due to the lack of Zeke, I’ve decided to declare this era not really the Flamingos. Seeing as Nate Nelson seemed to be the most emphasized member, I’ll call it…
Nate Nelson’s Flamingos Sing The Ladder Of Love And Ten More Cuts (1958) – YouTube
TRACKLISTING
SIDE A
“The Ladder Of Love” (Recorded April 19, 1957)
“That Love Is You” (Recorded April 19, 1957)
“Let’s Make Up” (Recorded April 19, 1957)
“Helpless” (Recorded August 15, 1957)
“My Faith In You” (Recorded August 15, 1957)
SIDE B
“Jerri-Lee” (Recorded August 15, 1957)
“Hey Now!” (Recorded August 15, 1957)
“Kiss-A-Me” (Recorded May 6, 1958)
“Where Mary Go” (Recorded May 6, 1958)
“Ever Since I Met Lucy” (Recorded May 6, 1958)
“The Rock And Roll March” (Recorded May 6, 1958)
The Decca era is one of the strongest “albums” here. The last change in labels that will be looked at is to End. These are some of the most acclaimed recordings the group did. This is also the era we started getting LPs. The first is called The Flamingos (1959). It was released by Checker and takes various recordings from various times and labels. While sources consider it their first proper album, I am demoting it to merely a compilation. However, afterwards we got four LPs that got the job done pretty nicely. Each album covers a recent and short timespan of recordings, though we have few recording dates. The albums are called Flamingo Serenade (1959), Flamingo Favorites (1960), Requestfully Yours (1960), and The Sound Of The Flamingos (1963). There appear to be only five non-album tracks before 1961, then eleven more strays from 1961-1964. I had the idea of taking some of those early strays and making them bonus tracks for the main albums, but I decided to pick the simpler option of just adding them to the beginning of my final album, though maybe it would be better to put them with other tracks recorded around the time they were? With or without those, it is still probably the strongest record despite the lineup changes, with the last tracks having a contemporary and catchy sound. It makes me suspect the later works by the group and its then former members are good, as the proper Flamingos were good all the way to the end.
This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!
A Face in the Crowd is one of those films that might be destined to be considered constantly provocative and predictive of the future. Before ever seeing it or knowing anything about it, I’ve heard people compare its main character Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, played by a young Andy Griffith, to Donald Trump and some others. In truth, Trump is not the first egotistical rich person to get high on his own farts, and the movie has more to say than just that one should look out for these types. While the film does have value and meaning in these “messages”, with those messages automatically pushing it to a higher quality of storytelling than that which has nothing to say, the cost of this is how often certain characters are just one thing.
Larry is initially all rebel and all wacky, before eventually being all asshole when need be for the story. It’s hard to say if he’s going too far with his brashness, as him going so far is seemingly the point. Patricia Neal as Marcia Jeffries and Walter Matthau as Mel Miller are more absurd than even him. Mel often has a sly remark on the tip of his tongue and Marcia is always reacting to Larry in an audience-insert role. Especially seeing as she isn’t shown having anything going on in her life outside of Larry, she comes off as a caricature. Both are just different ways one might observe or think about someone like Larry. There’s even a time when Mel is waxing lyrically, only for the scene to unnaturally fade before he’s done talking. His words are more syrup than substance.
The pacing by contrast is excellent. The movie starts as a pseudo-adventure, with us following Marcia try to make more of her show and something for Larry, then quickly things get out of hand for both her and the film, being more eclectic. Marcia becoming less involved at this point leads to the issue of the story focusing more on its social commentary than being a proper story. We’re now focused on the new and intimidating plotlines that relate to Larry. Just as life is busy for him, the story is busy with him typically trying to overconfidently power through problems. Arguably this all could have been trimmed down, though the dominating presence of it all helps communicate what the narrative’s trying to say. The movie doesn’t spare showing what a wealthy lifestyle affords someone: influence, (illegally) young women, and notably compromises in one’s values. The quickness makes this slideshow easy to watch, other than the occasional slow point.
The ending asks a little much of these plain characters, with the score taking everything to a slightly comical and overdramatic level. Just as this movie is more about documenting a type of person, the ending should carry that style of merely capturing something that apparently needs to be seen. The “big” performances generally serve to remind you you’re watching a drama and add a level of fakeness. Admittedly, even Larry as a whole seems cartoonish, but you can also say that about real people, especially some politicians. Seeing real people like this does weaken the impact of the picture, as does the blatant allegory of something like the laughing machine, showing the weakness and unoriginality of this affair. A more sophisticated comment about the subject would help a lot. Maybe watching this movie at the time would be more meaningful? As is, it does have some things going for it, mainly in not knowing what will happen next and the acting not being focused on enough to matter. If it was about thirty minutes shorter and the ending more in keeping with the rest of the plot, it wouldn’t be obvious that we’re short on tricks and it’d be easier to focus on the punchy pace.
SPOILERS
The ending seems more directed at the audience than any character. Mel’s dialogue in particular details this, coming off as quite silly in the context of the film, essentially with him telling off Larry. However, it does communicate a truth of human nature. Many people only care about someone’s image, especially their positive image, without worrying too much about any scandal. The real crux is time, with many stars relegated to more and more distant memories. Just as much as the picture criticizes someone like Larry for being so mean to people, it criticizes the average person. The reason why people like Trump persist is because of the fallibility of anyone to hold accountable the types that show no respect for them or at least others, especially the less fortunate. They’ll also empower someone to influence politicians just because of easy manipulation tactics, like showing support to women and people of color and having a unique personality. Some might note how at the end Larry calls his black workers a racial slur, which suggests his support of them may have been a conscious facade, if not then something that can be retracted at whim.
There’s other ways of looking at the lead, such as that when Larry was this hot rebel that didn’t know or care for the way of doing things around him, he was genuine and that’s what people liked about him. Him feeling like he had nothing to prove and didn’t care about success is why he became successful. However, power corrupted him, though only took advantage of what was already there. Larry was always rude to some degree, it just greatly exacerbated. As Larry became powerful, he to a degree became aware of his corruption, but was so high on success so as not to care. He used to genuinely work in a salt of the Earth environment and have that spirit to him, though that eventually became something he pretended to be on his show, with that aesthetic literally just set decoration. Businesses found a way to make him marketable and to appeal to him in a way that would get him to cooperate, so they used him to sell products until he was no longer able to. They in turn exploited the part of Larry that wanted attention. No corporations tried to stop him for being such a mean person when there wasn’t a scandal. Despite being popular because of how he was different, Larry eventually just became another suit.
The ending where he’s basically yelling for a shred of attention reveals that he’s now desperate for that feeling of control, at best being left with his only friend pre-fame. Seeing as that friend is never shown walking out on him, that might imply Larry was once a sincerely good person, though what else would he even do? If I was him I’d just keep living in that lavish place wearing nice clothes as long as I could. Mel later saying he and Marcia were too charmed by him but got wise implies he was always like this and there always will be people like this and the trick is to know to leave once you know the truth. Marcia’s character arc mirrors this, with her initially infatuated with him, putting up with some lesser red flags, becoming like him (mainly when she wants acknowledgement and money), is hurt by him, and realizes how she’s behaved. If you compare this to either an abusive relationship or to having some negative experience with a politician, it’s not likely someone could just do one thing to sink the other as Marcia does, which is one reason the ending feels a bit off. However, this represents a quicker and more theatrical way of detailing how someone’s bad reputation can remove their support and respect overtime. Marcia as a whole seems to represent what it does to someone when they empower a person that ultimately is no good.
OVERVIEW
Cleverly, the film doesn’t answer the question of whether destructive rich people are born mean or become that way. It simply says that it happens and what to do when it does, as oftentimes it doesn’t matter either way and just as the movie flips over whether Larry is a product of nature or nurture, so can we get these mixed signs from real life people. What does matter, and what you’re left on when considering the narrative, is that such Trump types don’t deserve influence and should be ignored, at least if they’re in a place to suck other people down. Still, there will probably be some way for them to steal at least a little credibility and attention, as self-identified wealthy representatives of average people can find at least a small few that will listen, even as time withers them into A Face in the Crowd.
The Night of the Hunter deserves all of its accolades for many reasons. It is ideal to experience this film with no kind of idea of what will occur in it. To still discuss such things, one of the best and more noticeable aspects is the directing. Every shot looks gorgeous and cinematic, as if meticulously planned. Their grand scope evokes the sense of new and intimidating terrains. The dark shadows show the horrors just around the corner. Many shots, such as one famous shot of Lillian Gish appearing pitch black and covered in shadows, still tell you what you need to know about the scene. The expressiveness of her silhouette and details of the lighting are the key. As an example, her being surrounded by an aura of light in that scene suggests holiness on her part.
The antagonist Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell often does bad things in the dark, which suggest he is quite petty and unimposing, so to essentially “steal” power for himself utilizes one of his only abilities, to hide away. Another common theme is him standing tall while others are lying down, with him projecting his meaty voice and knife, essentially trying to subtly manipulate those into cowering in fear and doing as he says. Mitchum really gives a great and terrifying portrayal in how he can seem nice and stable before going looney. Harry often uses Christianity to make himself look noble and holy to those around him, showing how manipulable religion is. He believes he can talk to God and appears to use his religion as justification for the murders he does. Whenever Harry screams, he comes off a little goofy, though it does go to show how pathetic he is when his actions catch up to him. I won’t defend when he sticks his arms out like Frankenstein in a serious moment.
Willa Harper, played by Shelley Winters, seems to feel she must follow Harry and do as he says. Willa is portrayed as a well meaning, but vulnerable and alone woman always trying to do right by her family and others. Lillian Gish as Rachel Cooper represents the seasoned and embittered woman that has had to deal with men taking advantage of her all her life. While Rachel believes in God and is also shown to be virtuous, she still goes her own path, as opposed to doing something like make herself find a man to marry. Her clear main concern is helping those around her, instead of listening for God to tell her what to do, as Harry does.
Shockingly, the greatest performances are of the eleven-year old Billy Chapin as John Harper and the six-year old Sally Jane Bruce as Pearl Harper. Both pack an incredible amount of emotional complexity in their roles. What the older John is aware of is how little power he has. While he can assess threats, we see this sense of dread from how little he can meaningfully do. This is shown by how often he is just out of reach of great danger. His face can seem withered and tired, but not defeated, like he can’t comprehend the horrors as much as an adult might. He also misses his father and is more unsure of himself without him, though this isn’t ever made explicit and at least a few more hints at this desire would clarify the character and the ending more. Pearl is less discerning of her surroundings, with it sometimes being for the best and the worst that she will essentially trust anyone. The shot of tears running down her face and especially when she yells about her doll are extremely moving and unsettling. She takes most things in stride, so her showing emotions communicates the change in intensity.
SPOILERS
Willa’s death scene shows her in a bedroom with shadowing and architecture that is reminiscent of a church, like she’s tried to familiarize herself with a space and person that are supposedly Godly and will lead her, but those only serve to hurt her. One of the best looking moments of the film is the terrifyingly creepy shot of her in a car in the bottom of a river. A common theme is adult women and children essentially being forced to trust authority figures and men around them. This doesn’t do them any good, with Harry’s behavior probably traumatizing John and Pearl. He tries to get information from them either by insulting them or promising food for knowledge of where the money is.
John and Pearl are expectedly at his mercy, not very clever in how they keep themselves safe, like when John lies about the location of the money, then tries and fails to run away. The reason they do get away from Harry is by luck. First they lock him in the basement, then narrowly escape on a boat, then find Rachel. She happens to be smart and Harry happens to give her a lie that doesn’t make sense. Luck can be a fickle thing, with the reason he is able to again find them because of their foster sister being sweet talked to by Harry. This is also another case of a woman doing what she’s supposed to, being interested in a holy man, hurting everyone. Taking all this in, the film arguably is criticizing power structures like this where a family has essentially no choice but to trust the patriarch.
To contrast how much control Harry projects over people, notably Willa, Rachel mostly sees him in light. When she fires at him, we see Harry just before he’s hit reasonably clearly and with Rachel standing prepared. All she needed to defeat him was to stand tall and firm. I had wondered why Harry would go in a house with a woman with a gun and also why earlier Rachel would sing with him. Harry may have started singing, and a religious hymn specifically, with the point of getting Rachel in a false sense of security. Rachel might’ve sung back to make him feel she was safer than she was, so she could have an easier time shooting or getting him arrested.
John inadvertently revealing where the money is at the end to the police mirrors the earlier scene of his father making him take an oath to keep it hidden, showing how religion can essentially change to serve any purpose that is needed or be broken entirely. John breaking down when Harry is arrested and later unwilling to testify against him shows an opposition to the brutality of the criminal justice system, of course skewed by his eyes. While John’s father did murder people, what good did it serve to hang him? John in turn can’t handle more killings occurring, especially when Harry’s arrest was so similar to John’s dad’s.
John hitting Harry with the doll, causing the money to spill out, could mean he doesn’t want the trouble the money was giving him and thus wants it out of his life. This rejection of the supposedly good legal system and capital could suggest at least a change for John, perhaps even a good one? He also seemingly rejects life in a populated area, as he witnessed the townsfolk wanting to lynch Harry, showing that a supposedly just society is subject to wanting vengeance. John is now finally with a stable and loving home, wearing clean clothes and enjoying Christmas. One part of the final act that eludes me is why Pearl would drop her doll and hug Harry as if he was her father. Shouldn’t she be afraid of him? This could represent both her and John’s desire for a father figure.
OVERVIEW
The reason why The Night of the Hunter is such a classic is not mainly because of its deeper themes or visual aesthetic, it’s because of the expertly paced noir thriller that is direly suspenseful and intriguing. On top of that, Mitchum’s role is not only well fleshed out, but memorable. The elements that throwback to silent films or biblical references are just icing on the cake for movie nerds like myself.
Satan Is Real is mostly known for its iconic, but also ridiculous album cover, depicting our noble and Godly singers in hell. It’s one of the most eye catching covers, while also making the inside music more intriguing. In contrast with the nature of the image, the music inside both asks to be taken seriously and is. Put on any song and you’ll be consumed by the warmth and power of the Louvin Brothers’ voices. They sing and play with an earnestness and passion of someone that really believes in what they’re preaching. As such, the material threatens to be uninviting to non-Christians, as the lyrics are mostly about the virtues of the religion. Thus, the album may be better if looked at as metaphoric for challenging evil ideas of the world and finding something that makes you feel fulfilled.
To take the opener “Satan Is Real” as an example, the person in the track discussing how Satan ruined his life is mildly silly. You get the impression this guy torched his own life and is now blaming Satan. If you are like most Christians (at least in the modern day) and believe in free will, then this person instead could’ve chosen to not do whatever he did. Still, the desire to be selfish or to harm others, especially if they hurt you, is a common desire and thus the message is far more powerful when thought to really be about those human desires. Even when taken literally, the forewarning and meaty singing that bookends the spoken word and organ are just beautiful. When the person talks about the dangers of Satan, you can hear all the pain he went through, even down to how he hates to be interrupting a good time by giving said warning.
“There’s a Higher Power”, “The Christian Life”, and “The River of Jordan” are the next three cuts on the record and are all comparatively upbeat compared to everything else, approaching rock territory. They’re definitely the most listenable to an average person, especially Jordon’s less overtly religious words. They focus on celebrating the value of Christianity and things related to it, barely touching negative subject matter. “The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea” and “Are You Afraid to Die?” are much darker, discussing the inherent suffering and cruelness that comes with life, mainly that we all experience the death of others. Afraid is the only example on the record of essentially pushing non-believers to believe. In Life, the singer seems to accept that their friends are sinners, while this track more so tries to inflict fear. Thus, it might come off as propagandistic, but there at least is the sense that the brothers, who wrote the song, really are concerned about non-Christians.
“Dying from Home, And Lost” and “The Drunkard’s Doom” are the most poetically written songs, which makes for a strikingly detailed and emotional experience. While “He Can Be Found” and “The Angels Rejoiced Last Night” have the positives of the album as a whole, they cover some of the already established subjects, only lacking the more enlightened playing of a track like Higher Power or the cutting lyrics of a track like Doom. “Satan’s Jeweled Crown” and “I’m Ready to Go Home” unintentionally make Christianity feel cultish. The former is creepy in how the singer once again doesn’t take personal responsibility, but instead says Satan did it to him. Home celebrates the idea of the singer dying, as they can then go to heaven. These “darker” tracks inadvertently create a fuller picture of the religion. While yes, the sense of community and love feels good, there are frightening implications.
OVERVIEW
Human beings in this album don’t ever get blamed for their actions. While that is not the best of messages, the Louvin Brothers do at least often feel humbled and like they are making this album to spread the love and joy of community, as opposed to something like attributing themselves as proud people. They are extraordinarily unpretentious in how they communicate this. Satan Is Real is a razor sharp statement that generally is about human beings and their constant battle to do the right thing, even when our emotions tell us to do otherwise. The strength of the musicianship and the direct and thought-provoking lyrics would make this great no matter what the songs are about. The first track I heard from the record, which is also my favorite, is the bouncing “The River of Jordan”, followed by “Satan Is Real”.
The Adventures of Hal 5 does play as an AI generated result of what a 50s children’s film would be like, at least from a pool of those with a bit more knowledge of what these movies were actually like. Still, you can’t deny how comically wholesome this adventure is. Everyone is extremely moral, with constant smiles, other than one overly villainous person and one scene of a group of kids being mean. You got to love just how chipper the characters are, as if not really having much of a care in the world. No one here appears an exceptional amount, with us seeing different characters and essentially little segments of their days, which typically at some point relate to “Hal 5”. There are scenes dedicated to children exercising, which could be seen as some degree of encouragement for the viewers to do the same.
Despite not being billed highly, William Russell as “The Vicar” is the closest thing to a main character. He brings good spirits and charm that is guiltily infectious. The scene of him jumping a fence to confront some kids that caused trouble, only for them to only care about the fact his jump was so impressive is very funny, though not in the right way. It seems this was supposed to be serious. There’s cute lines like, “That was a very silly thing to do.” For part of the conversation, both parties are talking about different matters without acknowledging the other’s side. “Now, what’s so interesting about this gate?” The child actors are better in this scene than you’d expect.
The other actors are amusing, as well. David Morrell as Mr. Dicey seems like this extremely lovable person with a passion for machinery. John Glyn-Jones as Mr. Goorlie is blatantly ill intentioned and buffoonish, with his plans only ever to nickel-dime people out of relatively small amounts of money, which could be seen as a critique of such an economic structure being so necessary and also manipulable. The two main children, despite often being with the Vicar, functionally do nothing and would probably annoy if they weren’t so easy to ignore. Speaking of recurrent, but underused characters, Hal 5 is apparently a living car, with a creepy face that periodically appears and disappears from the radiator. Hal never speaks and seldom acts, though once in a blue moon will take someone to a place they don’t want to go. Mr. Dicey calling Hal 5 his friend implies he knows the car is alive, but many others treat it as if it’s not.
There is a severe lack of intrigue to the narrative. One way to better this is to have it kept a secret that Mr. Goorlie is a baddie until later, or at least to have something the audience doesn’t know. Alternatively, when we see people negatively impacted by this behavior, they should behave in a way other than what would be most obvious. At the very least, include more scenes that are funny or have something stimulating going on, like the gate one. The most intense scene here is just of someone asking for their money back.
SPOILERS
To add to the insane wholesomeness, the villain even admits to his acts for no reason, only to have more likable characters that always do the right thing instated in his job. This idealist view of the world is demonstrated to mostly only function if most people are good natured and those that aren’t easily identifiable. The child leads then pick Mr. Goorlie’s replacement and this doesn’t seem to cause any upsetment of what anyone else is doing with their life or wants. The chosen Mr. Dicey admittedly was already shown to love this sort of garage work. In the garage he’s having the time of his life. He is happy for the Vicar and company to finally have a car that is working properly. Though seeing as Hal 5 originally belonged to Mr. Dicey, who never wanted to get rid of it, why not have him get the car back at the end?
OVERVIEW
While the main plot of the Vicar with the car and the b-plot of a race are essentially unrelated, the race does create a warmer feeling for the story. The Vicar’s life isn’t just this darn car that won’t work, he’s a busy man! Despite how much I like William Russell, it might’ve been better to give some more screen time to others, so this “world” felt more inclusive to other people? The Adventures of Hal 5 isn’t much of anything, not having much drama or even comedy. It seems designed to be forgotten, leaving only the impression of the final image of smiling faces and clean morals always winning out in the end against those that want to hurt others, who always make that obvious. If it asks to not be remembered, we shall grant its wish.
Despite East of Eden being set in the 1910s, it does feel very 50s. This even goes as far as James Dean as Caleb Trask initially wearing an outfit that seems contemporary and preppy and acting like a disillusioned teen, not unlike his portrayal in Rebel Without a Cause of a 50s teenager. He hits some wonderful highs here, though often seems out of sync with the rest of the story and even himself. A prime example is how for around the first half hour, Caleb is intensely cold and unlikable, as if unable to process social norms and instead just does what he wants, including negative behavior of watching people bad mouth him or destroying things. Suddenly, he is holding a job and is much more social. He becomes a far more charming person, even with someone who thought he was concerning. Some scenes involve him acting as a lovable child-like character, which seem like they would make more sense in Rebel. The most plot-relevant scenes are of Cal being nastier, while Rebel’s Jim Stark is much nicer.
Julie Harris as Abra Bacon and Richard Davalos as Aron Trask were apparently much more complex in the book. Aron is sometimes slightly silly in how wholesome he can be. What we see here are narrower characters that suddenly have more importance around the end. In fact, much of this story seems like it is condensed, which it is. The ending especially asks for us to care about these secondary characters, while the movie is basically only about Caleb and his quest to find fulfillment with his parents. Raymond Massey as Adam Trask never steps out of his secondary role status and thus works as such. He does add a lot, especially when he does very little while Dean and Davalos act like raucous brothers and Adam the complicated father.
This film seems to be more about the experience of following Caleb on his journey. There is not as much forward drive as one would expect and as such parts of the narrative are a bit dull, though this does lead to a lot of nice scenes that give us more James Dean. One of the more famous elements of the movie is his interactions with Jo Van Fleet as Cathy. She provides more depth to the narrative, though her performance is, like Dean’s, out of sync with the story. Both of them are quite a bit more animated than anyone else, even when recalling things that happened long ago. Our big look into Cathy’s feelings and past suggest she is a bigger character and focal point, though she barely appears and is essentially incidental to the others. She was more relevant in the book.
SPOILERS
One of the more interesting developments is when we learn Adam and Aron are not as perfect as they let on, both seeming judgmental and cold at points. You would think those in their circle, mainly Cal, would be more aware of that. This even goes to the point of Adam either not loving Cal or not particularly showing it. The mother of Aron and Cal claimed Adam tried to control her, though this is not coming from a trustworthy source. She, just like Cal, thinks she is evil, which admittedly is mildly absurd in how black and white it is. With Cal feeling rejuvenated by his father’s increased acceptance of him and Cathy being kind enough to give him money, while Adam and Aron deteriorate, the “good” ones and “evil” ones arguably swap places, which only goes to show how absurd it is to even call someone good and evil, at least to mean it.
Aron near the end becomes hardened against Cal and eventually goes crazy. This seems to be here just to show that these “innocent” types are really very fragile. Aron quickly gets to the point of yelling at his brother, enlisting in the war, laughing like a maniac, and smashing his head into a window. This character turn seems intended to merely shock without an obvious function in the story. The film is an allegory for Cain and Abel in the Bible, so this might fit in with that. Davalos’s madness displayed makes for a scene brilliantly acted, with the directing doing no disservice.
Cal becomes a lot meaner towards the end. First is the wonderful moment of him staking so much on him getting the money for his father’s losses in business, only to break down when Adam finds the money unethical. As an aside, it is arguably ahead of its time for the movie to show someone so strongly opposed to profiting off a war. Next is Aron getting in Cal’s face, so in response Cal becomes angered and does something he seemingly knows will cause Aron and Adam a lot of pain. There’s a great scene of Cal talking to Adam while riding a swing, as if he’s intruding on Adam’s sense of comfort and wellbeing, which he has recently begun to destroy. All of this stress causes Adam to have a stroke that will soon lead to death. We never find out what happens to Aron in the movie, but in the book he dies. This ending proves how “evil” Cal can be and delivers on the promise of delivering a deeply problematic person with still many sympathetic qualities.
In turn, the end of the film doesn’t suggest anyone will dramatically change for the better, only that Cal and Adam will maybe begin to try in small ways, which is a lot colder than how these sorts of movies usually close.
OVERVIEW
East of Eden can’t deny its solid acting and directing, especially at the end. Still, it can come off as very unfocused and when it does get to its point, has little to say other than to just show what is going on. The message on its surface is that parents should make sure their children feel loved, though due to all the insanity that occurred, there is definitely more. The story’s pace also meanders and the romance is tacked on and sudden. I was a bit baffled why this movie was considered a masterpiece, though that could be because so many people can relate to the eclectic events at play. Due to how much can be read into the story, it works for those that like the characters very subtle and even undefined at points. Most could probably relate to something about Cal and/or Aron.
A Long Time Till Dawn unites two famous talents with James Dean and Rod Serling. An admittedly obvious comment is that this could be called a “Twilight Zone” episode starring Dean. It’s not supernatural, but contains the theme of a protagonist being stuck in a deeply troubling situation. Dean stars as Joe Harris. He channels a darker version of a common 50s character of a troubled person wanting to fix their life. We learn of some gruesome things Joe had done in the past. Dean and the writing quickly get us caring about him. He is performed with this genuine sense to do the right thing, while feeling a force that pulls him back when he’s in a vulnerable position. He also is genuinely unsettled by his wife initially leaving him, which may be a drive to improve. Near the end, an emotional outburst from the lead makes for a really intense moment. At other points, Dean goes through the motions a little or adds more power to his acting at a point when less would be more. That scene near the end would be stronger as the only time Joe is really fiery.
Naomi Riordan as Barbie does more than you’d think, not just existing for Joe. She is finally barely able to tolerate him, though her feelings for him keep her around. She’s also not afraid to disagree with him. Ted Osborne as Fred gives Barbie someone to play off of. Both bond and generally are driven by their feelings for Joe. Both find his behavior abominable, but due to love are very willing to reaccept him. That makes for a solid idea, though handled a little too lightly. What we get a lot of is Osborne’s dialogue, which is extremely syrupy. It is trying way too hard to make him sympathetic and interesting when the core idea of a father coming to terms with his son being a bad person is already enough. We don’t need much added to that, like hearing the dad talk about how he feels about him. A lot of how Fred feels should be shown on his face or in small gestures.
Most of these 50s anthology shows look extremely cheap. This film is no exception. Not to spoil anything, but the appearance of a mattress at the end is extremely humorous. There’s a point set outside where it seems only a black curtain and cardboard houses make up the background. As such, the focus of the story is on long dialogue scenes. A lot of the dialogue is a bit corny, though Fred’s is noticeably worse. Dean basically always steals attention, having little gestures and things to do like kiss his wife after missing her for a while and often seeming on edge. One highlight is Joe’s argument with his father, with both at their best when not so solemn. Joe behaves like a large and violent child, often pushing for another chance and raising his voice when he feels a little pressure. He holds to some idea of the past, unable to come to terms that the reason things have gone so sour is because of him.
There is too little focus on Joe’s character and too much on others feelings or the main drama featuring the detective. Some scenes retread ground of talking about how problematic Joe is. Still, the solution is to add more time, not subtract. More depth would help a lot.
SPOILERS
All the talking about Joe’s life ultimately amounts to very little. It’s apparently just supposed to get us feeling bad for Joe, when the movie would be better if his past was more so suggested. Some of these factors improve, making for a strong finale. Joe’s lie about not having hurt the man he did falls apart. When he finds out he killed the guy, he doesn’t seem very sorry, not willing to confront his actions. Barbie and Fred in turn are just sick of his lack of understanding. He is in disbelief that Barbie won’t run away with him, suggesting he doesn’t see his actions as particularly wrong. Apparently thinking he can make his way out of trouble, Joe plans to shoot the police after him and instead is shot.
This message of the time of “crime basically always leads to death” is too simplistic and silly, especially when we see Joe get shot and no blood comes out. We then see him on the ground on a mattress, having fallen out the window. Why not just have Dean lie on the ground instead of the mattress? A lot of these sorts of stories end like this, possibly to deter rebellious youth. A much stronger ending would be with us closing on Joe trying to escape or just holding the ground. This would leave us still in his world, where he feels he can manage his way out. He doesn’t have to leave this reality he’s constructed. If he did something like cry then he’d be acting like a child, as he’s been referred to as, thus coming full circle.
OVERVIEW
A Long Time Till Dawn’s slow pace makes for a tiresome watch, with little tension on what’s covered, mainly if the characters’ secrets will be revealed. Its main benefit is watching the lead act around the others, even when he isn’t always perfect or as complex as when he’s at his best. With a middling lead actor, this might not even be watchable.
The Filme Diary 