Various ****
The Bill Haley Connection —
29 Roots And Covers Of Bill Haley & His Comets BEAR FAMILY. CD Entertaining selection of tunes by people Bill covered and those who covered Bill. People sometimes forget, but in 1956 Bill Haley's songs were the sound of revolution. After showings of the film Rock Around The Clock, the Manchester Guardian sniffed that "a youth danced on the roof of a parked car, another performed a 'snake dance' in a dazed, hypnotised fashion." Who wouldn't? Bill had excellent taste in covers: vocal group sides (Burn That Candle by The Cues), R&B belters (Jimmy Preston's Rock The Joint) or Count Basie's 1938 big band workout Stop Beatin' Around The Mulberry Bush.
Others covering Haley's records sometimes hit the spot - like Ella May Morse's fine Razzle Dazzle or Damita Jo's swinging Dance With A Dolly - but many lack the vital spark which made the Comets international stars. Like the best such compila-tions, it sends you back to the people who made these tunes famous in the first place. Max Decharne
