Gene Vincent - The Road Is Rocky (The Complete Studio Masters 1956-1971) (2005)

All of Gene Vincent recordings for Capitol, Columbia, Challenge, Forever/ Playground, Dandelion, Kama Sutra and B&C are presented in chronological order, including previously unissued stereo versions. The set is accompanied by a hardcoverbook containing a detailed discography, lavishly illustrated with a wonderful array of rare and exciting photos plus the full story of Gene Vincent amazing life.

The Road Is Rocky: Complete Studio Masters 1956-1971 Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

No other Gene Vincent song title sums up his career so succinctly as "The Road Is Rocky." Vincent never had an easy time of things. He came crashing out of the gate with "Be-Bop-A-Lula," one of the epochal singles of early rock & roll, and for a brief moment it seemed that superstardom was within his grasp. Certainly, in the Blue Caps – powered by guitarist Cliff Gallup – he had a band that propelled him into the front ranks of rockers in 1956, and for a while they cut rockabilly with no peer, such as the frenzied "Race with the Devil." But this golden age was not only fleeting, it didn't produce much gold, at least far as the charts were concerned: as good as "Race with the Devil," "Bluejean Bop," and "B-i-Bickey, Bi, Bo-Bo-Go" were, they didn't turn into hits, and soon Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps started to fracture, starting with the crucial departure of Gallup. It was a big blow, but Vincent continued to barrel ahead, often recklessly. He toured Britain, where his stardom was already hardening into a tragic legend, and ran through label after label, all looking for a hit that was never found, drinking all the while.

The problems – professional and personal – piled up and he died at the young age of 36 in 1971, just at the peak of a rock & roll revival that he was as of yet unable to exploit. It was a rocky, tragic road and it's told in its entirety on Bear Family's mammoth box set The Road Is Rocky. This set cuts out alternate takes in favor of all the master recordings from 1956 to 1971 (the alternate takes are available on a separate set), an approach that leads to a better appreciation of Vincent's musical achievements, which certainly did not cease when Gallup left the fold. Surely, those earliest recordings remain wondrous – it's no so much that Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps were consciously creating a new sound, but they were hell-bent on creating an ungodly racket that happened to help redefine popular music – and hearing it of a piece confirms the consistency of these sessions, which still wind up sounding rebellious even when Vincent dips into slightly hammy old-fashioned slow dances "Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine)" and "Up a Lazy River."

This rock-hard steadiness contrasts mightily with Vincent's '60s recordings, which were all over the map in sound and style. Inconsistent isn't the same thing as bad, though, and The Road Is Rocky provides plenty of compelling moments where Vincent is doing anything to keep the ride going. He weathered the early-'60s downturn in rock & roll by cutting country and crooning pop songs, including a few dewy-eyed songs about puppy love, plus the wannabe novelty "Spaceship to Mars." He headed over to England during the height of the British Invasion, where he laid down a bunch of old-time rock & roll; he bounced back to Hollywood in 1966 and 1967, where he recorded a bunch of terrific material flirting with all the contemporary trends, from folk-rock to psychedelia. He closed out the decade recording several sessions with Kim Fowley, cutting ornate versions of rock & roll and country oldies, including hits own hits. Finally, Vincent entered the '70s with some sun-kissed California country-pop that was among his best, fully realized recordings, suggesting that he was beginning to find his way out of a creative rough patch. Of course, his rough, rocky personal life put a halt to that and he died not long after these final sessions, but this Bear Family set, while certainly the province of serious listeners only, stands as a testament to Gene Vincent's considerable talents and provides a convincing argument that he created much to cherish outside those justly celebrated early hits with the Blue Caps.

Tracklist
Disc: 1
1 Race with the Devil
2 Be-Bop-A-Lula
3 Woman Love
4 I Sure Miss You
5 Jezebel
6 Crazy Legs
7 Peg o' My Heart
8 Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine)
9 Waltz of the Wind
10 Up a Lazy River
11 Ain't She Sweet
12 Gonna Back Up Baby
13 Who Slapped John
14 Jumps, Giggles and Shouts
15 Blue Jean Bop
16 I Flipped
17 Bop Street
18 Well, I Knocked Bim Bam
19 You Told a Fib
20 Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back
21 Teenage Partner [Version 1]
22 Blues Stay Away from Me
23 Five Feet of Lovin' [Version 1]
24 Cat Man
25 Double Talkin' Baby
26 Hold Me, Rock Me
27 Unchained Melody

Disc: 2
1 B-I-Bickey-Bi Bo Bo Go
2 Pink Thunderbird
3 Pretty, Pretty Baby
4 Cruisin'
5 Important Words [Version 1]
6 You Better Believe
7 Red Blue Jeans and a Ponytail
8 Five Days, Five Days
9 In My Dreams
10 I Got It
11 Wear My Ring
12 Lotta Lovin'
13 Rollin' Danny
14 Time Will Bring You Everything
15 True to You
16 In My Dreams
17 Dance to the Bop
18 By the Light of the Silvery Moon
19 Right Now
20 You'll Never Walk Alone
21 I Got a Baby
22 Your Cheatin' Heart
23 Baby Blue [Version 1]
24 Walkin' Home from School
25 It's No Lie
26 Should I Ever Love Again
27 Flea Brain
28 Brand New Beat
29 Frankie and Johnnie

Disc: 3
1 You Belong to Me
2 Keep It a Secret
3 Yes, I Love You Baby
4 Dance in the Street
5 Git It
6 I Love You
7 Teenage Partner [Remake]
8 Peace of Mind
9 Lovely Loretta
10 Little Lover
11 Rocky Road Blues
12 Somebody Help Me
13 Five Feet of Lovin' [Remake]
14 Look What You Gone and Done to Me
15 Hey, Good Lookin'
16 Summertime
17 I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)
18 The Wayward Wind
19 Now Is the Hour
20 In Love Again
21 Say Mama (Hey Mama)
22 The Night Is So Lonely [Version 1]
23 The Night Is So Lonely [Version 2]
24 Lonesome Boy
25 Lady Bug
26 Lonesome Boy
27 You Are the One for Me
28 Maybe

Disc: 4
1 In Love Again
2 Say Mama
3 Be Bop Boogie Boy
4 I Can't Believe You Want to Leave
5 I Got to Get to You Yet
6 My Heart
7 The Night Is So Lonely
8 Beautiful Brown Eyes
9 Rip It Up
10 Maybelline
11 High Blood Pressure
12 Who's Pushing Your Swing
13 Anna Annabelle
14 Gone, Gone, Gone
15 I Might Have Known
16 Important Words [Remake]
17 My Baby Don't Low
18 Over the Rainbow
19 Ready Teddy
20 Vincent's Blues
21 Pretty Pearly [Mono Version]
22 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive [Mono Version]
23 She She Little Sheila [Mono Version]
24 Darlene [Version 1]
25 Why Don't People Learn How to Drive [Mono Version]
26 Crazy Times [Mono Version]
27 Greenback Dollar [Mono Version]
28 Big Fat Saturday Night [Mono Version]
29 Wild Cat [Mono Version]
30 Hot Dollar [Mono Version]
31 Right Here on Earth [Version 1]
32 Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain [Mono Version]
33 Everybody's Got a Date But Me [Mono Version]
34 Mitchiko from Tokyo [Mono Version]

Disc: 5
1 Pretty Pearly [Stereo]
2 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive [Stereo]
3 She She Little Sheila [Stereo]
4 Darlene [Version 2]
5 Why Don't People Learn How to Drive [Stereo]
6 Crazy Times [Stereo]
7 Greenback Dollar [Stereo]
8 Big Fat Staurday Night [Stereo]
9 Wild Cat [Version 2]
10 Hot Dollar [Stereo]
11 Right Here on Earth [Version 2]
12 Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain [Stereo]
13 Everybody's Got a Dte But Me [Stereo]
14 Mitchiko from Tokyo [Stereo]
15 Pistol Packin' Mama
16 Weeping Willow
17 Crazy Beat
18 I'm Gonna Catch Me a Rat
19 It's Been Nice
20 That's the Trouble With Love
21 Good Lovin'
22 Mister Loneliness
23 Teardrops
24 If You Want My Lovin'
25 I'm Goin' Home (To See My Baby)
26 Love of a Man
27 Baby Don't Believe Him
28 Lucky Star

Disc: 6
1 Spaceship to Mars
2 There I Go Again (Whoops I'm Dreaming)
3 King of Fools
4 You're Still in My Heart
5 Held for Questioning
6 Be-Bop-A-Lula '62
7 Temptation Baby
8 Where Have You Been All My Life
9 The Beginning of the End
10 La Den da Den da Da
11 Humpity Dumpity
12 A Love 'Em and Leave 'Em Kinda Guy
13 Love Love Love
14 Lavender Blue
15 You Are My Sunshine
16 Slippin' and Slidin'
17 Private Detective
18 Shimmy Shimmy Shingle
19 Long Tall Sally
20 Good Golly Miss Molly
21 Send Me Some Lovin'
22 Hey Hey Hey Hey
23 Amother Saturday Night
24 Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)
25 Baby Blue
26 Suzie-Q

Disc: 7
1 Bird Doggin'
2 Ain't That to Much
3 Lonely Street
4 I've Got My Eyes on You
5 Love Is a Bird
6 Born to Be a Rolling Stone
7 Hurtin' for You Baby
8 Hi-Lili Hi Lo
9 Poor Man's Prison
10 I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
11 Words and Music
12 Am I That Easy to Forget
13 Pickin' Poppies
14 Story of the Rockers
15 In the Pines
16 White Lightnin'
17 Lotta Lovin'
18 Circle Never Broken
19 Black Letter
20 Rainbow at Midnight
21 (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle
22 Scarlet Ribbons
23 Rockin' Robin
24 Ruby Baby
25 Sexy Ways
26 Be Bop a Lula' 69
27 Pickin' Poppies [Different Mix]
28 Story of the Rockers [Different Mix]

Disc: 8
1 Sunshine
2 I Need Woman's Love
3 Slow Times Comin'
4 Danse Colinda
5 Geese
6 500 Miles Away from Home
7 Listen to the Music
8 If Only You Could See Me Today
9 A Million Shades of Blues
10 Tush Hog
11 How I Love Them Old Songs
12 High on Life
13 You Can Make It If You Try
14 There Is Something on Your Mind
15 North Carolina Line
16 Our Souls
17 Oh Lonesome Me
18 Boppin' the Blues
19 The Day the World Turned Blue
20 The Woman in Black
21 Looking Back
22 Say Mama '71
23 I'm Movin' On