Rockabilly Acetates is one of the hotter CDs ever issued by the ubiquitous German label Buffalo Bop, despite some uneven moments -- opening with "Guitar Rock" by Joe Snyder and Curtis Wren, working as the Moonlighters, the 31-song CD starts out in overdrive, slowing down only for "Never, Never, Never," the duo's sub-
Everly Brothers attempt at a harmony ballad. The Detonators sound more "black" than any rock & roll act that this reviewer has heard in over three dozen Buffalo Bop releases, their rendition of "Honey Hush" calling to mind any number of early-'50s jump blues numbers pushing their way toward rock & roll, and their version of "Slow Down" seems equally far across the color line. Danny Dell's swamp rock-flavored "Pogo Walk" sounds as though it was maybe one take away from a commercial release, while Jim Aguire's "Wildcat Daddy" seems finished, a perfect, twangy country number with a crazy tempo and a twisting guitar solo that made this reviewer feel cross-eyed following it.
Bud Brees also sounds the complete professional -- his tight, jangly "The Big Hit" never did live up to what its title promised, however. Tracks eight, 10, 11, 20, and 23, incidentally, achieve new levels of obscurity and archeology even for the folks at Buffalo Bop, tracks 8, 20, and 23 being credited to "Unknown" while the other two are designated "Rock & Roll Improvisation" -- and someone named
Max Lipscomb turns in two different renditions of his own song, "Don't Wait," in two different arrangements and keys. Track eight, "Let's Hit the Road," is a
Jerry Lee Lewis-type number with a nice, loud guitar break over the anonymous artist's whooping and hollering vocal.