Blowin' the Fuse: 31 R&B Classics That Rocked the Jukebox in 1957

Performer: Various Artists
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: The Blowing the Fuse series from Germany's Bear Family imprint is one of the more welcome and seriously assembled collections ever to be issued on CD. With each volume dedicated to a year, they go deep into the ghost stories of R&B to find the tunes that connected, not necessarily with sales (though many of these tunes also accomplished that), but in a primary spot nonetheless: the long-gone centerpiece of American popular music in the '40s, '50s, and '60s: the jukebox. Each week, men with loads of 45 rpm slabs of vinyl would extract the dead dogs and fill the box with new tracks that could be played for pennies on the dollar to anyone entering a soda shop, a bar or a nightspot where alcohol was served and imbibed cheaply; a dimestore's lunch counter, or breakfast and lunch haunts all over the nation. 1957 turns out to have been a very fine year, as this 32- track-on one-disc attests. Many here are "name" acts: Fats Domino ("Blue Monday" and "I'm Walkin'"); Chuck Berry ("School Daze"); Mickey & Sylvia ("Love Is Strange"); Little Richard ("Lucille"); Huey "Piano" Smith ("Rockin' Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu"); Richard Berry ("Louie Louie") and Jackie Wilson ("Reet Petite"). That said, there are also knockouts by the likes of Andre Williams ("Jailbait"); TV Slim ("Flatfoot Sam"), the Bobbettes ("Mr. Lee"); the "5" Royales ("Think"); Slim Harpo ("I'm a King Bee"); the Gladiolas ("Little Darlin'"); and the Tuneweavers ("Happy, Happy Birthday Baby"). What it all adds up to is a burning, wicked, big bang ride into a yesteryear that seems futuristic by today's pop standards. This was music that could take your mind into some hitherto unknown place because rock & roll was still in its birthing years and it all sounded fresh, new, and most of all, wild. Highly recommended: the entire series, as well as this volume. ~ Thom Jurek When was the last time there was a year like 1957 -- on the charts, that is? Germany's Bear Family label has created an amazing series in their Blowing the Fuse project. Each volume features chart and jukebox sellers of all stripes of R&B. Take a good long look at this volume and try to stop yourself from whistling in amazement. From Fats Domino's "Blue Monday" and "I'm Walkin'" and LaVern Baker's smoking "Jim Dandy" (you mean you thought that Black Oak Arkansas' camped-up read was a BOA original? Shame on you!) to Slim Harpo's "I'm a King Bee," Roy Brown's "Let the Four Winds Blow," and Ruth Brown's "Lucky Lips," it's such a killer year that it almost seems like everything coming later in the genre was superfluous. Sure, it's ridiculous to say such a thing when it was great until 1970, but there's more here to enjoy to make a small case. Andre Williams' hysterical and greasy "Jailbait," Huey "Piano" Smith's "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" (remember how great the Johnny Rivers cover on Imperial was? It doesn't hold a candle to this), Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie," Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Farther Up the Road," and Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite" are just a few others. Right. What are you waiting for? ~ Thom Jurek

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