Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Love Me
2. Don't Come Back Knockin' [Previously Unissued]
3. Don't Come Back Knockin'
4. Midnight Shift
5. Midnight Shift [False Start][Previously Unissued]
6. Midnight Shift [Previously Unissued]
7. Blue Days, Black Nights
8. Baby Won't You Come out Tonight
9. I Guess I Was Just a Fool
10. It's Not My Fault
11. I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
12. I'm Changin' All Those Changes
13. Rock-A-Bye Rock
14. Because I Love You
15. Rock Around with Ollie Vee [Fragment]
16. Rock Around with Ollie Vee
17. I'm Changin' All Those Changes
18. That'll Be the Day
19. Girl on My Mind
20. Ting-A-Ling
21. Rock Around with Ollie Vee
22. Modern Don Juan
23. You Are My One Desire [False Start]
24. You Are My One Desire

Disc 2:

1. Have You Ever Been Lonely [Previously Unissued]
2. Bo Diddley
3. Ain't Got No Home
4. Buddy's Bop aka Holly Hop
5. Gone
6. Gone
7. Gone [Previously Unissued]
8. Have You Ever Been Lonely
9. Have You Ever Been Lonely
10. Have You Ever Been Lonely [Previously Unissued]
11. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
12. Good Rockin' Tonight
13. Rip It Up
14. Blue Monday
15. Honky Tonk
16. Blue Suede Shoes
17. Shake, Rattle & Roll
18. Bo Diddley
19. Brown Eyed Handsome Man

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41362 in Music
• Released on: 2007-09-07
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Deluxe Edition, Collector's Edition, Original recording remastered

CD Description
This package covers Buddy Holly's pivotal recordings of 1956 and includes studio masters not only previously unissued but whose very existence will be unknown to even the most committed of fans. There's also more session talk than has previously been made public, together with superior sound quality versions of some tracks that have been released; also included is a detailed 36-page booklet with notes by John Ingman, several previously unpublished photographs and contributions from Colin Davies and Sonny Curtis. This is, to use an overworked phrase, a 'must' for Buddy Holly fans - and Rollercoaster's most exciting release since their Something Special from Buddy Holly LP in 1986.

Customer Reviews

Great remastering and previously unheard tracks!

This package covers Buddy Holly's pivotal recordings of 1956 and includes studio masters not only previously unissued but whose very existence will be unknown to even the most committed of fans. There's also more session talk than has previously been made public, together with superior sound quality versions of some tracks that have been released; also included is a detailed 36-page booklet with notes by John Ingman, several previously unpublished photographs and contributions from Colin Davies and Sonny Curtis.
This is, to use an overworked phrase, a 'must' for Buddy Holly fans - and Rollercoaster's most exciting release since their Something Special from Buddy Holly LP in 1986. The full track listing is as follows:
CD1:
1 Love Me
2 Don't Come Back Knockin'(previously unissued)
3 Don't Come Back Knockin'
4 Midnight Shift
5 Midnight Shift (previously unissued false start)
6 Midnight Shift (previously unissued)
7 Blue Days, Black Nights
8 Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
9 I Guess I Was Just A Fool
10 It's Not My Fault
11 I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
12 I'm Changin' All Those Changes
13 Rock-A-Bye Rock
14 Because I Love You
15 Rock Around With Ollie Vee (fragment)
16 Rock Around With Ollie Vee
17 I'm Changin'All Those Changes
18 That'll Be The Day
19 Girl On My Mind
20 Ting-A-Ling
21 Rock Around With Ollie Vee
22 Modern Don Juan
23 You Are My One Desire (false start)
24 You Are My One Desire

CD2
1 Have You Ever Been Lonely
2 Bo Diddley
3 Ain't Got No Home
4 Holly Hop
5 Gone
6 Gone
7 Gone (previously unissued)
8 Have You Ever Been Lonely
9 Have You Ever Been Lonely
10 Have You Ever Been Lonely (previously unissued complete)
11 Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
12 Good Rockin' Tonight
13 Rip It Up
14 Blue Monday
15 Honky Tonk
16 Blue Suede Shoes
17 Shake, Rattle & Roll
18 Bo Diddley
19 Brown-Eyed Handsome Man

Essential Holly


In his seminal book `Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom' the amusing Nik Cohn states that Buddy Holly was the patron saint of no-talent kids; the founder of a noble tradition. Of course he's stirring the pot but this is his opinion. There is some truth in it. Holly put out some simplistic pop which, when laced for example with the Petty cocktail lounge organ or some of the now dated backing vocals, tended towards the cringe factor. Such stuff inspired a number of ersatz Holly styled lesser talents. This Rollercoaster release bears no relation to such mush.

"Ohh! Annie!" is mostly `A' class rockabilly and should be filed alongside Sun recordings of Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, or those by the Johnny Burnette Trio. It is the sound of a youthful enormous talent striving to break through; Holly turned 20 in Sep 1956. Here are the tracks recorded by Decca in Nashville when they fumbled with the emerging rock `n roll. Their production was largely uninspired but Holly puts his everything into it. His voice is tough, alive and exciting, both supple and subtle. Try singing the first version of `Ollie Vee' like Holly and you'll see what I mean. Follow his nuances and try to match his energy. I'll bet Nik Cohn never tried it

Sonny Curtis puts in classy guitar, in fact the tracks with the Lubbock guys, Buddy's band, rock better than those recorded with the Nashville session pros. Holly plays lead guitar on his cover of The Clovers `Ting A Ling' and the early version of `That'll Be The Day'. Some commentators have derided this early higher register version but to me it has an appealing boldness and rawness that misses perhaps in a commercial sense but somehow makes it more real; a garage quality. It's ironic and probably telling that Decca producer Owen Bradley thought it was the worst song he'd ever heard whereas the kid janitor thought it the best number.

There are two versions of `Midnight Shift' plus a false start. The second previously unreleased version is quite a find considering the policy was to erase takes in order to save tape.
This later `take 10' is looser, with Holly celebrating his performance towards the end exclaiming "Ohh! Annie!"

Also included are early Clovis and Lubbock recordings. There are two versions of Bo Diddley, one which was used for the Reminiscing LP cut and the other a rehearsal, with a loose and cool vocal with Buddy sensing the possibilities, at one stage letting out a "Whoo"; gone is the scratched acetate which appeared on `For the First Time Anywhere' LP. The later `Brown Eyed Handsome Man' sounds great as is and could have been released without the overdubs, although `Bo Diddley' did benefit from the added lead guitar response. Both were top 10 hits in the UK and Australia in 1963 - I seem to recall that the first version of `Ollie Vee' was also a posthumous hit here in Oz in '64 or `65.

The second CD contains the undubbed covers of rockers performed by Holly and Allison recorded in Holly's garage. These are primitive recordings later overdubbed by The Fireballs in Norman Petty's studio and released on Showcase and a couple of other posthumous LPs. The sound has been vastly improved on this release and to hear clearly the interplay between vocals, guitar and drums is fascinating. They fire with youthful energy and no doubt their local dances were well attended. This is classic, primal exuberant rock `n roll, no adornment; it is the celebratory essence, a G spot of rock....wow! When you listen, take in Allison's fabulous drumming.

I could have done without all four versions of `Have You Ever Been Lonely' where Holly was maybe appeasing his mother. `Gone' also has four versions but it is an intimate Holly perhaps trying to deal with his own lost love. Or maybe he had a premonition. It is all the more poignant now.

The 34 page booklet which accompanies `Ooh Annie' contains an interesting essay by rock `n roll journalist John Ingham which delves into the circumstances around the recordings and the complex ownership intrigue and wrangling which followed Holly's death. Sonny Curtis provides illuminating reflections "Buddy and I sort of had a clash of egos", and there is a fascinating Colin Davis interview with Bobby Peeples who made the aforementioned garage recordings and who owned recording facilities in Lubbock which Buddy used for rehearsal. He mentions other recordings which have not surfaced - just to fire up yer avid collector! The booklet artwork is attractive and includes rare photos and a playlist, in fact the design of the whole product is very impressive.

Nik Cohn wrote a great book about his perception of `image' in 50s/60s rock. If you don't have it buy a copy through Amazon, or check your library. However Nick in his slick hip denouncement failed to acknowledge Holly's primary influence as a singer songwriter, or as an audio experimenter, or as a self contained R `n B/rock group prototype (white group - there had been self contained black groups), or most importantly as an artist gaining control i.e. working outside the major companies. He was an innovator in many ways, a huge talent who gave inspiration to a generation of no talent kids like myself who forged ahead with a handful of chords, a capo and the moon in our pockets. None of us could do it as well as Buddy, but there were times we came close hey, and smiled.

Cry Your Eyes Out MCA!
I totally agree with the above review as Rollercoaster has outdone themselves with the release of "Ohh! Annie!". I would like to add that the sound quality of the "garage recordings" on cd 2 shines so that they must be heard to believe. Hats off to Rollercoaster.