Johnny Burnette Johnny Burnette and More Kings of Rockabilly (2-CD)

This is a hip yet unusual comp as far as rockabilly goes. Disc one is entirely devoted to the music of Johnny Burnette; it includes 22 tracks, most of them with the Rock 'n Roll Trio, and the rest recorded before his preening teen idol period at the end, so they still rock. The other disc includes tracks by a slew of other artists, from Gene Vincent and Billy Lee Riley to Mac Curtis, Johnny Carroll, Sonny West, and Thumper Jones (aka George Jones). Some cats, such as Sonny Burns, Malcolm Yelvington, and Sammy Masters, aren't usually included on sets like this, so it's worth picking up just for disc two. Add Burnette to the mix, and it's a powerhouse of fingerpopping fun. (Oh yeah, there is a track by some guy named Elvis Presley here, too, anyone heard of him?) ~ Thom Jurek