The Very Best of Buddy Holly and The Crickets
It’s hard to believe that a career that spanned just three years would have had such a profound effect on the music industry and those who went on to thrive in it but that is the magic of Buddy Holly.
Holly was a major driving force in the early years of rock and roll and went on to have an enormous influence on almost every sixties act from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan.
Despite his career being over before it had really begun The Very Best of Buddy Holly and The Crickets celebrates his music on the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
And while there have been a string of greatest hit records over the years this is perhaps the most definitive collection of his music that brings together his most popular records as well his lesser known songs.
Disc one is full with all the songs that you would expect to see on a collection like this such as Heartbeat, That’ll be The Day, my personal fave, as well as Peggy Sue and Oh Boy.
These are the songs that shot him to fame during the fifties and are perfect examples of the rock and roll that have inspired people for so many years.
His boy loves girl songs were very sophisticated for their time as he used complex melodies and harmonies that were unlike anything that had been heard before in this genre.
Not to mention his unique ‘hiccup’ technique of singing that make his vocals unmistakable, most prominent on songs such as That’ll Be The Day and Rave On.
As well as his lead guitar which dominates most of his songs check out Everyday that uses a celesta, Holly was known for using unorthodox instruments that had not been used on rock and roll records.
The second disc is where album differs from the rest as it contains his lesser known songs, although Not Fade Away is thrown in there for good measure to keep fans of the classic songs interested.
For fans of rock and roll this definitive album really is a must have as it shows off Holly’s brilliance in all it’s glory. It’s also a great introduction to this artist’s music for those are not really very familiar with his work.
When listening to the album you can’t help but wonder what kind of career he would have enjoyed had he had the chance and how big a star he really would have become.
For someone who had success for such a small amount of time Holly’s legacy and influence really is unlike everything else and when he lost his life at the tender age of twenty two it really was ‘the day the music died.’
Rating:5/5
Skip to: That’ll Be The Day, Oh Boy, Everyday. Not Fade Away
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw