Carl Perkins and NRBQ - Boppin' the Blues (1970) {Columbia} 24-bit/96kHz Vinyl Rip plus Redbook CD Version

is a surprisingly successful summit meeting between one of the original rockabilly greats and some younger disciples who just happened to be (then as now) the most eclectic and versatile rock band on the planet. NRBQ backs the venerable Perkins on six more or less country songs, including the title tune (a remake of one of his classic Sun sides featuring several of his most beautifully fluid guitar solos). On their own, the Q are their predictably unpredictable selves, mixing great riff rockers ("Flat Foot Flewzy") with goofy Beatle-esque pop ("On the Farm") and mutant stews of heavy metal, free jazz, and adolescent silliness ("Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard"). Period production notwithstanding, a great album. A must for all NRBQ fans-original Q guitarist Steve Ferguson struts his stuff on "Flat Foot Flewzy", Carl steps out big time on "All Mama's Children" and the title cut, "Boppin' the Blues". For those who only know the Q from later albums, a great chance to hear original front man Frankie Gadler howl and drummer GT Staley pound the skins. Make no mistake, this band has always been about fun. The original band and Carl Perkins had plenty of it making this album in 1970. For fans of Carl, one cut alone, "Just Coastin'", is worth the price of the album. -- by George Kimmel on amazon Looking for a marketing approach, Columbia paired NRBQ with Carl Perkins for the second NRBQ record. Although there are some high spots, only half the LP was done together. (At least they insisted on not doing another remake of "Blue Suede Shoes.") But again, critical reaction was mixed and it didn't sell. The hippies didn't like rockabilly, and the greasers didn't like long hair, so there you go. Even the esteemed Peter Guralnick in a Rolling Stone review said, "NRBQ... don't seem able to settle on a style. It isn't so much that they don't know what to play as that they don't know what to leave out..." He continued on in even less complimentary terms, but I don't care to repeat it. I do wonder what he thinks of them now, 30 years later, having made rock and roll history. (Guralnick himself went on to write a series of fabulous books on American music.)

LP track listing

Side One

1. "All Mama's Children" (Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash) - 2:01
2. "Turn Around" (Carl Perkins) - 3:06
3. "Tina" (J. St. Nicholas) - 1:21
4. "Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard" (Terry Adams) - 1:42
5. "Sure To Fall (In Love With You)" (Quinton Claunch, Carl Perkins, Bill Cantrell) - 2:20
6. "Flat Foot Flewzy " (Steve Ferguson) - 4:45

Side Two

7. "Sorry Charlie" (Carl Perkins) - 4:03
8. "Step Aside" (Steve Ferguson) - 1:18
9. "Rip It Up" (Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco) - 1:55
10. "Allergic To Love" (Carl Perkins) - 2:47
11. "On The Farm" (Terry Adams) - 2:36
12. "Boppin' The Blues" (Carl Perkins, Curley Griffin) - 2:47
13. "Just Coastin'" (Carl Perkins) - 1:28

Tracks 3-6, 9 and 11 are NRBQ only
Track 13 is Carl Perkins only

All channels of all tracks have the reversed to match the instrument positions used by NRBQ in concert. This mastering error is reinforced by the fact that the channels were corrected for the tracks on "Stay With We: The Best of NRBQ" album.


Personnel

* Carl Perkins - vocals, guitar
* Joseph Spampinato - vocals, bass
* Tom Staley - drums
* Terry Adams - vocals, keyboards, harmonica
* Steve Ferguson - vocals, guitar, harmonica
* Frank Gadler - vocals, tambourine
* Donn Adams - trombone