Rating: - Straight-up Hillbilly Rock
Raw, unvarnished bangin' and strummin' coming out of the center of the same crossroads of rnb, country and gospel that the great Sun Records stuff sprang from. These guys were havin fun first and trying to make money second (albeit a CLOSE second). I suppose that IS strange, bein' that it's so unlike todays "country" music- you know, the kind without the "o" in it (thank you Shooter Jennings). If you dig Hillbilly roots music you're gonna be one happy puppy with this disc!

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Rating: - Mid-West "Hillbilly" Rock roots
Mar-Vel' was a small, basically one-man operation in the Mid West during the 50's and early 60's. The lovingly compiled and annotated (Cowboy Carl Records) compilation is a mixed-bag of nearly straight steel and guitar, sometimes sax country swing/boogie, with the mixing of early rockabilly rock elements on some. The wide variety of sounds and tunes, some very normal, some, like the tunes Sweet Lucy, by Shorty Ashford, and the big collector's item, Hot Lips Baby by Herbie Duncan are pretty far out, ... Read More

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Rating: - LOST HISTORICAL DOCUMENT FOUND
Impossible to "star", this odd collection does forsee rock from a primordial swamp. Despite the laughable "Hee-Haw" theme, one does sense better things to come. Very strange. I would recommend it to rock historians building an archive. Very strange.