Rock-A-Billy: Rare & Unissued Recordings

• Artist: Charlie Feathers
• Rating:
• Release Date: November 25, 1998
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

This 1998 Bear Family reissue of a CD originally issued in 1990 on Colin Escott's Zu-Zazz imprint gathers together the absolute cream of Charlie Feathers' unreleased and alternate recordings. Usually an album of outtakes would infer a compilation of less than releasable material. But Charlie Feathers' unreleased demos and outtakes are every bit as illuminating and wonderful as his better-known singles, making this just as good as any Feathers collection out there, save for the two-disc Revenant anthology, which contains all of his '50s recordings intact. Here are 1954 living room rehearsals for his first Sun session ("Defrost Your Heart," "Runnin' Around," "I've Been Deceived"), outtakes from his second ("Wedding Gown of White," "Defrost Your Heart"), the 1956 Sun demo session ("Corrine, Corrina," "Frankie & Johnny," "So Ashamed," "Honky Tonk Kind," and an early stab at "Bottle to the Baby" with different lyrics), rowdier and looser King outtakes ("Bottle to the Baby," "One Hand Loose," "Everybody's Lovin' My Baby," and "I Can't Hardly Stand It"), and rare singles for local labels like Wal-May, Memphis, and Kay ("Dinky John," "Today and Tomorrow," and "Wild, Wild Party"), rounded out by some great '60s and early-'70s sides cut at the Sun and Select-O-Hits studios (a recut of "Tongue Tied Jill," "Gone! Gone! Gone!," "Where's She at Tonight," and "Wild Side of Life"). Some -- but not all -- of this also appears on Revenant's The Essential Recordings two-disc set. This particular edition, however, sports superior sound and mastering. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Bottle to the Baby	Charlie Feathers, Jody Chastain	Charlie Feathers	(2:47)
So Ashamed	Charlie Feathers	Charlie Feathers	(2:51)
Honky Tonk Kind	Charlie Feathers	Charlie Feathers	(2:57)
Frankie and Johnny	Traditional	Charlie Feathers	(2:51)
Defrost Your Heart	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(2:58)
Runnin' Around	Charlie Feathers, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, Rickey Wilson	Charlie Feathers	(2:08)
I've Been Deceived	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(3:18)
Corrine, Corrina	Bo Chatmon, Mitchell Parish, J. Mayo Williams	Charlie Feathers	(2:15)
Wedding Gown of White [#]	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(3:09)
Defrost Your Heart [#]	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(2:23)
Bottle to the Baby	Charlie Feathers, Jody Chastain	Charlie Feathers	(2:42)
I Can't Hardly Stand It	Charlie Feathers	Charlie Feathers	(2:44)
One Hand Loose	Charlie Feathers, Jody Chastain	Charlie Feathers	(2:23)
Everybody's Loving My Baby		Charlie Feathers	(2:20)
Dinky John	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(3:19)
South of Chicago	Bill Cantrell, Quinton Claunch	Charlie Feathers	(2:43)
I'm Walking the Dog [#]		Charlie Feathers	(1:56)
Today and Tomorrow	Charlie Feathers, Tommy Keene	Charlie Feathers	(2:42)
Wild, Wild Party		Charlie Feathers	(2:58)
Where's She at Tonight		Charlie Feathers	(1:52)
Don't You Know	Charlie Feathers, Mark Mothersbaugh, Phil Rosenthal	Charlie Feathers	(2:44)
Wild Side of Life	Arlie Carter, William Warren	Charlie Feathers	(2:06)
Long Time Ago [#]	Charlie Feathers	Charlie Feathers	(2:30)
Tongue-Tied Jill	Charlie Feathers, Jody Chastain	Charlie Feathers	(2:10)
Folsom Prison Blues	Johnny Cash	Charlie Feathers	(3:11)
Gone, Gone, Gone	Carl Perkins	Charlie Feathers	(3:19)

Credits

Clive Blewchamp (Art Direction), Colin Escott (Compilation), Peter Guralnick (Liner Notes), Bob Jones (Mastering)