Gene Vincent - Bluejean Bop!/Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps

Gene Vincent began his singing career after winning an Elvis Presley impersonation contest. Ironically, following the success of "Be Bop A Lula," he came to represent the black-leathered image of the early rock & roll delinquent more than Presley. Credit was due to his gritty Blue Caps, featuring Cliff Gallup, one of the first true guitar heroes. Vincent was hugely popular in England, and you can bet the Beatles heard Vincent's cover of the Tin Pan Alley tune "Ain't She Sweet," which was the first professional recording made by the Fabs. In fact, this repackaging of Vincent's first two LPs--both from 1957--reveals how wide-reaching the early rockers' notions of "pop" stretched. Vincent mines other old-time gems here, including "Peg o' My Heart," while turning in a gorgeous take on "Unchained Melody" years before the Righteous Brothers and Phil Spector had the same idea. With the exception of "Blue Jean Bop," you have to look elsewhere for such big Vincent hits as "Race with the Devil." And yet this twofer is interesting for what it does include...and for what Vincent and company make their own. --Bill Holdship Amazon.com

A Great Introduction To Gene Vincent and Cliff Gallup

If you haven't heard Gene Vincent before, start with this CD. It contains Vincent's first two (and best) albums.

Gene Vincent often gets overlooked today. That's unfortunate, since his first two albums are both among the best albums recorded in the 1950's.

These two albums are also a "must have" for anyone who likes great guitar work. Vincent's lead guitarist on these albums was Cliff Gallup, who has been described as one of the early "guitar gods." Jeff Beck cites Gallup as one of his major influences and describes these two albums as "the best examples of radical-yet-sophisticated guitar driven rock & roll ever recorded." If that's not enough of a recommendation, Jeff Beck also recorded a Gene Vincent/Cliff Gallup tribute album called "Crazy Legs" in 1993 on which he follows Gallup's original guitar work really closely.

Bottom line: these two albums are definitely worth having. June 30, 2004

Gene Vincent is King!

2 albums on one cd. Gene Vincent was always something special. He had a big influence on some british rockers (Dave Phillips, Blue Cats, The Beatles, Vince Taylor) and others.These are the first two albums. Rockabilly at its best! The Blue Caps here are Cliff Gallup and Willie Williams' on lead and rhythm guitar, Dickie Harrell on drums, Jack Neal on upright bass. There are rockabilly classics like "Bljuejean Bop!", "Red Blue Jeans And A Pony Tail", "Cruisin'", "Double Talkin Baby", "Pink Thunderbird". A must have for every true rockabilly fan! June 10, 2004

Not For Everyone

This is a great value set for hardcore fans of Vincent, but will be of little interest to new comers. If you buy just one Gene Vincent cd get "Rocks & the Bluecaps Roll/A Gene Vincent Record Date" as it more straightforward rock and roll, has less "filler", and of course Be-Bop-A-Lula. Also check out the excellent rendition of Bluejean Bop on Paul McCartney's newest record Run Devil Run. November 4, 2000

Be-bap-a-lula

In May 1956, the two-and-a-half-minutes of the title preview marked the astonishing recording debut of Gene Vincent. The producer of this album Ken Nelson created a space-aged sound. This album is so remarkable and created a guitar hero out of Cliff Gallup. G.V. rocks, the Bluecaps rol and the result is uninhibeted magic. June 13, 2000

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