A brief break from Paul Whiteman (who, far as I know, never did the twist). A thrift gift from Diane, this 1962 Philips LP has great stereo sound and top-notch studio musicianship. However, given the title, Twist to the Great Blues Hits, and the group name (The Blue Barons), plus the history-of-the-blues liner notes (the space-filler type, but well written), I was expecting, well, something bluesier. As in, significantly so. But, especially with the vocal assistance from the Merry Melody Singers, this seems to my ears more countrypolitan than blues or rhythm and blues. However, you may hear things differently, so I'm curious to hear about what you hear in this music. There is one outstanding exception to the too-countrypolitan rule--a number which sounds superbly bluesy, and that's the genuinely rockin' Long Tall Sally. But it comes at the very end of Side 2.
The liner notes tell us nothing about the Blue Barons, except that the Barons are "a crisply alive, tightly-knit group" which brightens "these blues in a unique matter." If, by "unique," Philips means country-sounding Chuck Berry, then maybe so. At any rate, with "blues" literally all over the packaging (the notes even promising "a survey of the blues few combos could match"), I was naturally a little surprised to behold what sounds like moonlighting pros from an early Ray Stevens session.
To be fair, though, this is first and foremast a twist LP, so the question is, can you twist to it? Well, more or less. The twist rhythm isn't presented as aggressively here as in earlier twist offerings at MY(P)WHAE. Maybe that's my chief problem with this effort--even Hank Ballard's The Twist is a bit on the subdued side, and while the Merry Melody Singers fare well on this particular track (which is, after all, the classic twist number), the Nashville-style harmonica does not. Other tracks sound like refugees from Elvis musicals, and Ain't That Lovin' You Baby comes off like a jukebox selection in a country roller-skating bar. (You've heard of country roller-skating bars, no?) And, as I type this, though, I'm relistening to Shake, Rattle, and Roll, and there's excellent sax and guitar work, plus a small band chiming in toward the close, so maybe I judged a little too hastily? Still, any LP which promises a survey of the blues should rock like crazy from the first track to the last.
You might disagree with me completely on all this, so... here it is, for your evaluation. It's certainly an interesting example of Chubby Checker-era twist-ploitation. And thanks, Diane!
DOWNLOAD: Twist to the Great Blues Hits (Philips PHS 600-017; 1962)
The Twist
Hey Little Girl
Hearts of Stone
Let the Good Times Roll
Johnny B. Goode
Bony Moronie
Jim Dandy
Ain't That Lovin' You Baby
C.C. Rider
Shake, Rattle and Roll
Corrine Corrina
Long Tall Sally
Lee