Posted on: May 17, 2009 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

These recordings all came from a time nearly fifty years ago, on a medium (radio) that has been shown to be crackly and hard to hear. However, Yellow / SPV have done a heck of a job remastering these recordings to properly showcase the energy and power that these early rock and rollers brought to the table. This set of recordings is impressive considering the fact that there are introductions to certain tracks, interviews from the time period, and even tracks that feel different from the recorded versions that individuals are familiar with. “Be Bop A Lula”, “Milk Cow Blues”, and even “Somethin’ Else” all make the cute, while the final two tracks go back even further in the way back machine to further show the evolution of Cochran.

I would have loved to see a more exhaustive set of recordings from the time, but considering the fact that there are already 38 tracks showing the work of these two stars over the course of a disc, one shant complain. The previously mentioned energy of the Cochran and Vincent tracks on “Live Rock N Roll Rebels” burns out quickly; a great number of the tracks here punch out before the two minute marks. While individuals would say that a great deal of the early punk rockers would take the work of bands like The Beach Boys and Beatles to heart, I would have to say that recordings of this type of have to be much more formative than anything by those acts.
This is the catalyst, some of the earliest flash points for rock music, and listeners should understand that Cochran and Vincent were two of the biggest forces in ensuring that rock would take the high profile that it currently does. One need only listen to the 1:42 of “Twenty-Flight Rock” to understand exactly how important Eddie Cochran was, while “Wild Cat” shows listeners the importance of Gene Vincent. Search out this release and pick it up today.

Top Tracks: Somethin’ Else, Be Bop A Lula

Rating: 8.9/10

Eddie Cochran / Gene Vincent – Rock N Roll Rebels Live (CD) / 2009 Yellow / SPV / 38 Tracks / http://www.spv.de

Leave a Comment