That'll Flat Git It!, Vol. 12 CD - Import

This 30-track rockabilly compilation focuses on lesser-known 1950s/'60s acts in the Imperial Records stable, and includes tunes such as "Let's Go Baby," "Centipede," "Loretta," and "You Arouse My Curiosity."

This entry in Bear Family's single-disc label retrospectives delving into various companies' rockabilly treasures lands this times at the doorstep of Imperial Records, which also houses the few stray masters that showed up on the United Artists and Liberty labels back in the 1950s. The lineup is as top drawer as you could ask for; Bob Luman with a young James Burton on lead guitar ("Red Hot," "All Night Long"), Weldon Rogers ("So Long, Good Luck and Goodbye"), Billy Eldridge ("Let's Go Baby"), Dennis Herrold ("Hip Hip Baby" and the mind-destroying "Make With the Lovin'"), the Burnette Brothers with Joe Maphis on lead guitar ("Warm Love"), the Strikes ("If You Can't Rock Me," "Rockin'," "Baby I'm Sorry," "I Don't Want to Cry Over You"), Sammy Gowans ("Rockin' By Myself") and the hillbilly boogie of Lew Williams and Bill Mack make for some of the best titles the music has to offer. After you assemble a nice collection of essential Sun, Elvis and Johnny Burnette sides, this should be your very next stop. ~ Cub Koda

50's & 60's Rockabilly collection from the vaults of the Imperial label. Includes deluxe booklet with extensive liner notes. Imperial was home to Rick Nelson and Fats Domino, but it was also home to some firebreathing rockabillies like Bob Luman Red Hot, Johnny & Dorsey Burnette Warm Love, and the Strikes If You Can't Rock Me. There's even former R&B great Roy Brown trying his hand at rockabilly Hip Shakin' Song, as well as a great early track by Bill Mack, who wrote Lee Ann Rimes' #1 country smash, Blue. Every track is a gem.