Got Troubles in Bloomington, MN

This 2006 collection of
rockabilly
, early
rock & roll
, and other related teenage noises of the 1950s from the German
Buffalo Bop
label certainly lives up to the high standards they've set in the past. While the cover art for
Got Troubles
suggests this is going to be a celebration of the joys and terrors of juvenile delinquency, thematically it's more of a mixed bag, ranging from the woeful (and banjo-infused) shuffle of
Bill Watkins
'
"I Got Troubles"
to the party-time abandon depicted on
Rand Parker
's
"Big Mary's House."
While there are a few other cuts that follow in
Watkins
' downbeat path, most of this is good-time
from acts whose talent clearly outstripped their fame; high points include
"Red Blooded American Boy"
from
Don Woody
,
Chuck Goddard
's cool and frantic
"Living Myself to Death,"
the agreeably spooky
"Twi-Light-Zone"
by
Johnny Wilson
Tony Cosmo
's cogent analysis of hairstyles and attitudes
"Pony Tail Annie and Crew Cut Joe,"
and
"Twist and Freeze U.S.A.,"
in which
Orlie and the Saints
appear to be trying to fuse a certain
Kennedy
-era dance craze with some
-style shakin'. While these tunes were rescued from aging 45s, the sound quality is consistently strong on all 30 cuts, and though it's a shame there's no background information on the musicians, the label reproductions and publicity photos in the booklet are sure to please fans. Two-and-a-half-dozen rare and rollicking tunes on one disc, put together with care by people who know their stuff -- what's not to like? ~ Mark Deming