Buddy Holly "The Buddy I Knew" 2000 - Vol 7

This is an interesting set; again, a must for the serious collector. There is much overlap between this set and many other bootlegs; indeed, each disc states in large letters "Tex-Mex Music Company Presents The Buddy Holly Showcase".

This set is roughly the equivalent to Polygram's Hank Williams box of the late '90s, in terms of what it does with Buddy Holly's music, except that it is a bootleg and, thus, lacks certain packaging amenities. Since MCA Records has been dragging its feet for years getting its Complete Buddy Holly box onto CD, it was only a matter of time before some enterprising anonymous producer went ahead and did this set or one like it. The result is seven CDs, 216 tracks consisting of finished songs, outtakes, mix-downs, home acoustic demos, and related recordings, starting with songs that Holly cut on a wire recorder with Bob Montgomery at around age 12 in 1948, and ending with newscasts about the February 3, 1959, plane crash that killed him. It's nearly 500 minutes of material, which sounds impressive (and is) until one discovers that it's also a bit of a mess. The producers have tried to follow a kind of chronological order, near as one can tell, although even there a certain sloppiness intrudes because they've flipped the song lineup lists on the first and second CDs; they've also included no annotation whatsoever, leaving it up to the listener to figure out the recording dates, chronological relationships of adjacent songs, and the general significance and origins of each track. Annotation would have helped, but it's not essential to enjoying the set or the music. The hits are all interspersed with the outtakes; it's hard to tell which version of, say, "Bo Diddley" is which among the half-dozen scattered throughout. Additionally, it's difficult to imagine that any but the most serious fans will want to plunge too far into the multiple overdubbing that some of these songs were subjected to, though Holly devotees, rockabilly fans, and rock & roll enthusiasts may love it. The sound quality is variable, in keeping with the sheer diversity of sources involved, but is generally acceptable or better, especially if one allows for the fact that a big chunk of this set is made up of tapes that were never intended to be heard by the public. The very personal essay by Holly's brother Larry Holley is extensive and informative, though not really about the music so much as about Holly's pursuit of a career and his private and spiritual life. - AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder

trax:
1. Dearest 2. Love Is Strange 3. Smokey Joe's Cafe 4. Leave My Woman Alone 5. Newscast About Plane Crash (1) 6. Newscast About Plane Crash (2) 7. Newscast About Plane Crash (3) 8. Interview With Red Robinson 9. Interview With Dale Lowery 10. Interview With Pat Barton 11. Interview With Alan Freed 12. Interview With Dick Clark 13. That'll Be the Day (Live) 14. Peggy Sue (Live) 15. Interview With Ed Sullivan 16. Oh Boy (Live) 17. That'll Be the Day (Live) 18. Peggy Sue (2)(Live) 19. Oh Boy (2)(Live) 20. Because I Love You 21. I'll Miss My Heart 22. Whole Lotta Lovin' (Take 2) 23. It's A Wonderful Feeling 24. Don't Do Me This Way 25. Patty Baby 26. Real Wild Child 27. Real Wild Child (Alternative Take) 28. Oh You Beautiful Doll (Take 1) 29. Oh You Beautiful Doll (Take 2) 30. Oh You Beautiful Doll 31. Stay Close To Me (False Start And Take 4) 32. Don't Cha Know 33. Don't Come Back Knocking 34. I Wanna Play House With You 35. Love Me 36. Down the Line 37. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues 38. You And I Are Through
ripped from CD in glorious monoloudarama!
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