"Tuff-E-Nuff" (Buffalo Bop 55078)

It's anyone's guess who J. Mikel is, but his "Bettyjean Rock" makes a good opener for this collection of 30 rock & roll and rockabilly songs…...A few names will be familiar, such as Roy Moss, but most of these players seem to have toiled in relative obscurity beyond their immediate bases of operations -- although to judge from the photo included, Danny Zella seems to have sung at least once in front of a few hundred, or maybe a thousand, high school kids somewhere. The Blue Echoes may never have deserved to get their music heard very far beyond their immediate circle, if the evidence here is any indication, but the Royal Drifters could've become legends with "S' Why Hard," and Jerry Arnold has an exciting record (with a drummer really riding that bass) on "Race for Time." Some of the stuff here isn't much more than exploitation songs playing off the rock & roll boom. The Vivatones' "The Viva Tones Are Rockin'" is a pretty fair piece of self-promotion by the band, who evidently came from Chattanooga but cut their music out of Nashville, working in lots of places that they probably wanted to play -- whether they did or not, only they (and their management) know. Despite their name, the Zircons sound like the real article on "Crazy Crazy," a hard-driving outfit with a good rhythm section, a powerful, expressive singer, and lots of tension in their playing -- along with the Roy Moss sides, they're the best material on this collection, although there's obviously other good stuff. Near the end comes "Fade Away," a piece of melodic rock & roll by Frank Hudson that sounds like first-rate Elvis circa 1958 with some fairly ballsy guitar and drums -- it's totally out of place amid the less mature rock & roll stylings all over this CD, but it is pretty, and pretty bracing too.(Bruce Eder, Allmusic)

trax:
1. Betty Jean Rock - J. Mikel 2. It's Witchcraft - The Blue Echoes 3. S'Why Hard - The Royal Drifters 4. Race For Time - Jerry Arnold 5. I Want You To Know - Ricky Coyne 6. One Little Baby - Sammy Salvo 7. Wiggle Walkin' Baby - Roy Moss 8. Sweetest Thing - J. Mikel 9. Martha Sue - Bingo Miller 10. Little Baby Be Mine - The Sounds 11. High Classed Baby - Jerry Arnold 12. Cool Guitar - The Blue Echoes 13. Boogie Woogie Country Girl - N. A. Stephenson 14. My Rock And Roll Daddy - Jerry Grimes 15. Yes Juanita's Mine - Roy Moss 16. Wicked Ruby - Danny Zella 17. She's My Baby - Stratotones vcl. Kenny Williams 18. Granny Rock - Little Moose & The Hunters 19. Puppy Dog Love - Ronnie Branam 20. Viva Tones Are Rockin' - The Viva Tones 21. Sweet Little Jane - The Downbeats 22. Pretty Woman - Farris Holliman 23. Sapphire - Danny Zella & The Larados 24. My Misery - The Catalinas 25. Crazy Crazy - The Zircons 26. Pretty Baby - Johnny Agel 27. You Really Knocked Me Out - Jerry & The Night Trains 28. Fade Away - Frank Hudson 29. I Need Your Love - Billy Morgan 30. Why Can't I Have You Tonight - Tomm & The Dellnotes
…served by Gyro1966...