Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats - This song felt very enthusiastic and homely in
a way. It has a warm tone to it which is probably due to it being recorded to tape. It sounds
muddy in the low end with the kick drum and sometimes the whole kit sounding somewhat
buried in the mix at times but the really nice saxophone playing that comes in between the
verses make up for it. I especially like the solo before the third verse.
Sh-boom by The Chords - This song easily puts a smile on my face. The lyrics felt very genuine
and sweet to me. The vocal harmonies do a really good job at filling space in the song and I
thought that the scatting was nice. This track also includes another impressive saxophone solo
before the last chorus which I liked also.
Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley - Elvis’ voice has a little bit of reverb on it which instantly gave
me an image of watching him perform on a stage in an empty hall with a band behind him. The
laid back instrumental gives it a feel of intimacy with Elvis’ voice really shining through. It also
sounds like there may be a double bass in this track opposed to a bass guitar but I may be
wrong.
Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis - The vocals on this track have both reverb and delay.
The delay on the vocals happens basically right after which is something that I haven’t seen in
much modern music. The lyrics seem kinda funny to me at parts but I think they were nice
overall. I really liked the instrumentation on this track, especially the keys.
Can the Circle Be Unbroken by The Carter Family - The tone of this song is established very
quickly. It feels melancholic as opposed to the other upbeat songs from earlier in the playlist.
The instrumental seems to only be two guitars with one rhythm guitar playing throughout the
song and another playing lead coming in once or twice. Other than that, there are vocal
harmonies in the background supporting the main vocal during the chorus.
That’ll Be The Day by The Crickets - This track didn’t really stand out much to me. I did like the
vocals and the use of reverb and echo on them but the track seems a bit too straightforward to
me. Even though it doesn’t stand it to me it still isn’t a bad track at all.
Josie by Steely Dan - This track is a lot cleaner than the others in terms of basically everything.
The mix is much cleaner and couldIt feels very complete. It introduces a new element or
removes one every few bars making it so that the track never really gets boring. The use of
panning in this song really opens it up making it a really dynamic song with a lot of nice
ear-candy. I appreciate this song a lot.
Cadillac Boogie by Jimmy Liggins - The instrumental on this song is dominated by enthusiastic
sounding horns. I like how the vocals sound, it feels very up close and personal. This song feels
really genuine, it makes me feel happy. I loved the solo at the end.
In The Still of The Night by The Five Satins - This song is put together very nicely. The
background vocals providing a strong base for the lead vocal gives the song so much
movement and feel. The sort of laid back feel of the instrumental aids to the smooth and
sensual lyrics very well.
Come Go With Me by The Del-Vikings - All the elements of this track compliment each other
very well. The solo in the middle of it with the claps and random shouting gives off a real and
friendly feeling, as if you were in the studio with them watching it be recorded.
Surfer Girl (Mono) by The Beach Boys - This song is incredibly smooth. I feel like I’m drifting
away in the ocean. I like this track a lot but I feel like it being mono holds its back a lot. However,
even without panning, the song does a great job at not sounding too convoluted.
Twist And Shout - Remastered 2009 by The Beatles - The fact that the vocals were panned to
the right the whole track bothered me a bit. I did still like the vocals regardless of that they feel
genuinely enthusiastic and they’re really catchy.
Yakety Yak by The Coasters - This track is really clean. It's a nice short and sweet song that
stays in your head pretty easily. There isn’t much that I really have to say about this track but I
did enjoy it.
Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple - The slow build-up of the instruments into the vocals gives
it a lot of movement. The guitar in the intro is double-tracked and panned to each side which
makes it feel nice and wide.. The drumming on this track is really clean. The mix is done really
well. I really liked the guitar tone of that solo in the middle. The solo also did a great job at
leading up to the third verse.
Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes - The female vocals on this track are a nice change
of pace. They’re smooth and sweet and the background vocals fill in any empty space really
well. The subject matter of the song is really sad but it sounds happy sonically. I don’t know if
that was the goal of the song, but that’s how I saw it.