Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight!

Subtitled "From the Vaults of Sage and Sand Records", this is a compilation of early country-oriented tunes from that label, ranging from the early 50's to the late 60's. A lot of this sounds like novelty records, though there are some gems - and pretty much everything is fun.

It starts with a couple of fairly corny numbers, but Sterling Blythe's "Nothing But the Night" is a cool Johnny Cash-like song, Tex Atchison's "Mailman" reminds me of some early r'n'r with a rollickin' guitar solo, Goldie Fields is kinda hackneyed, Connie Francis smaltz, but Bobby Bobo "Doggone Longgone Blues" is a swingin' early C&W number, Doyle O'Dell is totally goofball, but good git-playin' on it, as is Okie Jones. Goldie Fields redeems herself in "No Time For Love", a more rockin' upbeat take, Whitey Pullen is almost Bing Crosby-esque, Eddie Dean's "Impatient Blues" is a cool country rocker, Sterling Blythe returns sounding a bit like Hank Williams, Lonnie Barron is a bit too white bread, even for country, Bobby Lile's cut has some wild git-pickin', and Hi Wayne and Hal sound goofy enough to be messin' around in a scene in a silly movie.

The rest of this fairly long - 34 cuts! - CD follows suit. Lots of silliness, some swingin' numbers (Rome Johnson's "Truck Driver Blues" is pretty hot, Jack Morris' "Stop Teasin' Me" is a fairly dirty boogie and the Georgia Crackers could be mistaken for Bill Haley and his Comets), some mixed up, but most pretty cleaned up - even for country - without the edge that really draws me in. Fine packaging, though, with an extensive booklet and some choice nuggets. Can't highly recommend, but a good time capsule.