Producer-songwriter-label owner
Jay Miller is best known for the myriad of legendary blues artists he recorded for Excello Records and his own Feature label, most notably
Slim Harpo and
Lightnin' Slim, creating what is known as the "swamp blues" subgenre. But he also recorded a great deal of rockabilly and rock & roll as well -- almost all of it by White Cajun artists -- leasing some of it to Excello, but mostly releasing it on his Zynn and Rocko labels. This 20-track compilation brings together several of Miller's best recordings in that vein from the vaults of those two labels as well as some interesting (and very close) alternate takes of material that originally appeared on Excello. The compilation, in fact, begins just that way with a darn close to the issued version on Excello alternate of
Al Ferrier's "Hey Baby." From the highly charged intro to the final beat, it's evident that the "swamp percussion" Miller used on many of his best blues recordings worked equally well for the new shakin' music. Louisiana bopper Rocket Morgan is present with his two biggies, "You're Humbuggin' Me" (covered by the
Fabulous Thunderbirds) and "Tag Along," a stop-time shuffle with some of the most powerhouse drumming you'll ever hear on any rockabilly disc. The energy level continues on warp factor nine with an alternate take of
Johnny Jano's "Havin' A Whole Lot Of Fun," appearing here under its original title, "Rocking And Rolling." From the piano-driven,
Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired offering of
Tommy Strange's "Nervous And Shakin' All Over" to crude hillbilly boppers like
Pee Wee Trahan's "I'll Be There" and Erwin Baban's "Boppin' Blues," Miller's ventures in the field over the space of a mere five or so years cast a pretty wide musical net. Novelty rockers like Rusty &
Doug Kershaw's "Rattlesnake" and Arnold Broussard's "Has Anyone Seen Spider?" sit nicely alongside a stray rock-a-ballad smoothie like Milton Allen's "If You're Gonna Be My Baby" and breakneck rockers like Peto Marlowe's "Rock And Roll Beat," Guitar Jeff's extremely spirited and just as extremely tuneless "Jump And Shout," and Leroy Castille's space age instrumental, "Signal Rock." But lest we forget that this is a collection of
Jay Miller-produced rockers, the final four entries are plucked from the rocking blues category with
Katie Webster's "Katie Lee,"
Slim Harpo's previously unissued "Wild About You Baby," and
Bobby Charles' band playing the blues on "Alligator Stomp" bringing the music full circle by compilation's end. This is a very interesting part of the
Jay Miller production legacy and reflects well on the history of Louisiana music in general.