Universal Music 20th Century Masters (series)

The Best of Bill Haley & His Comets

Product Description:

Haley.

Includes liner notes by Joseph Laredo.

Digitally remastered Erick Labson (MCA Music Media Studios, North Hollywood, California).

This is part of MCA's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series.

Although Bill Haley ushered in a whole new era in music, his superstardom was short-lived. Quickly challenged by younger, more animated artists--namely Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis--the cowlick-bedecked Haley was soon put on the back shelf. Haley nevertheless remains one of the great pioneers of rock & roll, as evidenced by "Rock Around the Clock," a tune that still reigns as one of rock's biggest anthems.

On this 20TH CENTURY MASTERS compilation, the smooth-shuffling Haley is at his finest. Songs such as "The Saints Rock 'n' Roll" and "See You Later, Alligator" highlight Haley's jump-swing leanings, a la Louis Jordan. "Skinny Minnie" is a great example of a twist (a style of dance that would flourish in the early 1960s), and "Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)" shows off Haley's ability to create that deep-pocketed boogie-woogie feel. Of course, no Haley collection would be complete without his timeless version of Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll," another one of this performer's major contributions to the rock idiom.