Bob Rocks

by Bob Luman

Overview

It's only right that Bob Luman had his biggest hit with the jaunty jolt of postivity called "Let's Think About Living" -- the swaggering, smiley Elvis homage, where Bob lamented the rash of doom-obsessed melodramatic singles popping up everywhere in the late '50s -- it perfectly suited Luman's big, hammy talents. Luman was more of a showman than a rocker, a quality that served him well when he slowly shifted over into the country charts after a stint in the army in the early '60s, but Bear Family's gargantuan 36-track, single-disc 2008 compilation Bob Rocks doesn't concentrate on those tunes: as the title makes plain, this focuses entirely on Bob's rocking sides, plucking singles and unreleased songs that have shown up on Bear Family's two previous comprehensive Luman box sets, two boxes that span a total of nine discs. Bob Rocks whittles down this material to the cream of the crop, slightly emphasizing his earliest recordings from the late '50s because this is, after all, when he rocked the hardest, including some sides where he was supported by a group that was later poached by Imperial Records labelmate Ricky Nelson to be his own backing band. Certainly, there is no impeaching the quality of Bob's backing bands here: he always sang with top players, the kind who could run through Chuck Berry and covers of Sun singles -- and there are a lot here, from Elvis' "Mystery Train" and "That's Alright" to Billy Lee Riley's "Red Hot" and Warren Smith's "Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache" -- without sounding tired. And Luman never sounds tired, either. If anything, he sounds too animated, revving up his performances with a crowd-pleasing glee that can be as off-putting as it is engaging. This natural theatricality winds up being underscored by the number of styles and covers he tries here, as he does a lot of Elvis, a little Everlys, a bit of Buddy Holly, some Chuck Berry, and a healthy dose of Jerry Lee, a sampling that emphasizes he's an adept entertainer, not a stylist. And that's why Bob Rocks winds up being a little tiring after such a long haul: he only wanted to bring a smile to your face and once it was there, he didn't know what to do next. It's a quality that makes for a good live show but not a terrific recording artist. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/05/2008
Label:	Bear Family Records
UPC:	4000127169853

Tracks

1. Red Hot
2. Stranger Than Fiction
3. Blue Days, Black Nights
4. You're the Cause of It All
5. All Night Long
6. That's Alright
7. Whenever You're Ready
8. Hello Baby
9. Red Cadillac and a Black Mustache
10. In the Deep Dark Jungle
11. This Is the Night
12. Make Up Your Mind Baby
13. Your Love
14. Wild Eyed Woman
15. No Use in Lying
16. Guitar Picker
17. Everybody's Talkin'
18. I Know My Baby Cares
19. Try Me
20. Svengali
21. My Baby Walks All Over Me
22. Loretta
23. Boom Boom Boom Yippy Yi Ya
24. Buttercup
25. Let's Think About Living
26. You've Got Everything
27. Why, Why, Bye, Bye
28. Old Friends
29. Bad Bad Day
30. I Love You Because
31. Meet Mr. Mud
32. The Great Snowman
33. Boston Rocker
34. Oh Boy
35. Johnny B. Goode
36. Mystery Train

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Luman   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Sharkey Hall   Drums
Roy Buchanan   Guitar
Ray Edenton   Guitar
Merrill Moore   Piano
Gene Garf   Piano
Joe Osborn   Bass
Jackie Kelso   Saxophone
Earl Palmer   Drums
Eddie Cochran   Guitar
Dean Manuel   Piano
The Jordanaires   Choir/Chorus
James Burton   Guitar
Fred Carter, Jr.   Guitar
Rene Joseph Hall   Guitar
Herman Wade   Guitar
Jerry Steve Smith   Guitar
Mel Rogers   Drums
Johnny Parker   Bass
Donald R. "Ritchie" Frost   Drums
Pete Rodis Drake   Guitar (Steel)

Technical Credits

John D. Loudermilk   Composer
Wesley Rose   Producer
Jimmie Haskell   Leader
Merle Kilgore   Composer
Norman Petty   Composer
Junior Parker   Composer
Leon Payne   Composer
Helena Hall   Composer
Glenn Sutton   Producer
Winfield Scott   Composer
Bob Luman   Leader
Jackie Kelso   Leader
Felice Bryant   Composer
Richard Weize   Discography,Tape Research
Bill Millar   Reissue Producer
Sam Phillips   Composer
Bobby Stevenson   Composer
Billy Mize   Composer
Boudleaux Bryant   Composer
Chuck Berry   Composer
Cliff Crofford   Composer
Fred Carter, Jr.   Leader
Erich Huelsenbeck   Photo Scanning,Photo Restoration
Lew Chudd   Producer
Andreas Merck   Photo Scanning
R.A. Andreas   Photography,Illustrations
Fabor Robison   Producer
Hans Peter Zdrenka   Transfers
Judy West   Composer
Jim Shell   Composer,Producer
Pete Rodis Drake   Leader
Don Gibson   Composer
Dorsey Burnette   Composer