How I Learned To Love Rock And Roll

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I have been spending quite a lot of time listening to rock and roll (and other music from the rock and roll 'era' c.late 50s). This was sparked by a sudden and complete infatuation w/"Chantilly Lace" by the Big BOPPER.

So I wanted to ask - what do my fellow Poptimists think about rock and roll? Do you like it? Do you listen to it? How does it stack up next to pop now (or pop from a more recent then)? Is it pop at all? Is it rock? Does the path of listening to rock and roll lead inexorably to the Stray Cats? etc. etc.

Here are some things about rock and roll which relate to other Poptimist concerns:

- The tracks are generally very short.
- They are often quite goofy.
- They sound like they were done very quickly.
- They mostly came out on single.
- There was a hell of a lot of it.
- There are a lot of boys with guitars around.
- Rock and roll is pretty old.
- Chunks of it are very revered.
- It gets revived a lot.

HMMMMMM. Over to you crazy comments box cats!

Comments

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

I've said a few things up above, but overall I am a huge fan of rock 'n' roll. Jerry Lee Lewis's Live At The Star Club is my favourite live album ever, the most exciting record ever made and one of my three or four favourite albums. I adore Little Richard. I love Ike Turner's pre-Tina stuff, especially the instrumentals he recorded around 1960 or so (Ho-Ho is my favourite instrumental ever). Chuck Berry is one of my favourite songwriters ever. There is a ton of great rock 'n' roll, some of it famous and some of it very obscure and everything in between.

It is one of those genres that didn't start as pop, that was very distinct from it, in many ways opposed to it, but of course it got assimilated, and was the biggest influence on what became most central to pop in the next decade, the Beatles; so viewed retrospectively now, it is pop in many senses.

As for how it stacks up now, that in part depends on how old you are. The production quality is often lousy, very tinny, and if you're young that may seem intolerable. I am 47, and I grew up with crappy production standards, so they don't cause me a problem. In other terms, the songwriting of Chuck Berry, the piano or guitar of Jerry Lee or Ike, the singing of Little Richard or Elvis, can surely stand alongside the best of any era.

[http://users.livejournal.com/xyzzzz__/]

"Jerry Lee Lewis's Live At The Star Club is my favourite live album ever"

Saw you talk about this one a lot, so I gave it a go and "Mean Woman Blues" off that is something I play loads. Don't know about whether I can agree as the greatest live album but its a great beginning.

[martinskidmore.livejournal.com]

That and High School Confidential are my favourite tracks from it. I wouldn't necessarily make a 'greatest' claim for it - there are others I love almost as much, like James Brown at the Apollo, Underworld and several others. There's another Jerry Lee live set, The Greatest Show On Earth, which is nearly as good.