Rock On [Ace] [PA]

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: Not many record shops get their own widely available compilation CD, but not many record shops meant as much to as many people as London's Rock On. (The fact that its owners also founded Ace Records obviously helped the disc find a good home and caring representatives.) Rock On originated as a market stall in Portobello Road and later Soho, then gained its first real storefront in Camden Town; any other contenders for the crown of the first collectors' record shop devoted to rock & roll are very difficult to find. It developed a steady clientele throughout the '70s, and became the store of choice for rock & roll inheritors to find some original sources for the material they were about to cover or become influenced by. (Picturesque impressions conveyed in the liner notes include Elvis Costello with armfuls of soul 45s as he was recording Get Happy!!, and Bobby Gillespie scoring a rare Doug Sahm LP.) From the evidence of this store sampler, staff-members Ted Carroll and Roger Armstrong loved souped-up American rock and R&B, whether that included original sources or such '60s/'70s inheritors as Dr. Feelgood, the Flamin' Groovies, Roky Erickson, and Peter Holsapple (all of whom make appearances). Rarities abound, and the Ace compilers (pun intended) present a good balance between favorites that are always good to hear (Amos Milburn's "Chicken Shack Boogie," Huey "Piano" Smith's "Don't You Just Know It") and plenty of deeper rarities. ~ John Bush

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