Buddy Holly and the Crickets
1957
Amanda: Immediately when I started listening to this album, I fell in love with it. The whole thing kind of reminded me of Dion, who is one of my favorites. The songs are short, catchy, and all written by The Crickets themselves. Up until now, I kind of feel like we haven't gotten the right cross between moving lyrics and snappy songs. This album comes very close to hitting both marks. My personal favorites were "That'll Be the Day" and "Oh Boy". Sadly, we lost Holly to a plane crash (just like Carole Lombard). It was a truly tremendous loss then and it still is now.
RATING:
Brie: This album, "The "Chirping" Crickets", is the shortest album we have reviewed by far. It runs at just under 26 minutes. I also fell in love with the album as soon as I started listening to it! The first track, "Oh Boy", is exactly what I wanted out of this album, and exactly what I expected rock 'n' roll to be in 1957. Some fun facts for you: Andy Warhol used to play the song "Not Fade Away" in his early days in New York City. This was before he found success as a pop artist. Also, Bob Dylan went to a concert (in Duluth, maybe?) and was sitting near the front of the stage when Buddy Holly made eye contact with him. That night Buddy Holly died in a plane crash. I think this experience profoundly affected Bob in some way, as he has referred to the experience several times throughout his career.
RATING:
The Crickets - "That'll Be The Day"
ReplyDeleteStandout track from the album The "Chirping" Crickets (1957)
Album 8 of 1001 Albums You Must Hear
I've heard this album at least twice now, and it is great, especially when you consider they were pioneering a whole new form of music. Side 1 was solid, and I especially enjoyed the gentler version of Not Fade Away, later made more famous by the Rolling Stones. Side 2 was rather weak after "That'll Be The Day". Albums at that time were not meant to contain only a band's top stuff, half the music or more would often be filler. Much better were the four bonus tracks at the end of the release I listened to. These are singles which Holly wrote and recorded with the Crickets the following year, they are terrific and show that he was growing a lot as a songwriter. I would say this album is definitely essential listening, especially when you include the bonus tracks.