Thatll Flat Git It 35 Rockabilly & Rock / Var - That'll Flat Git It 35: Rockabilly & Rock 'n' Roll From The Vaults(various Artists) [CD]

-Another great compilation in our CD series with label portraits! -Just like all it's forerunners, this album works as a perfect rockabilly and rock & roll jukebox. -Once again in focus: Mercury Records' high-quality catalog, first introduced in parts as 'That'll Flat Git It! Vol.11' (BCD16101) by Bear Family in the '90s. -Unbridled classics of the '50s by a young Conway Twitty, Eddie Bond and Narvel Felts as well as rare gems by Curtis Gordon, Orville Couch, Royce Porter or James O'Gwynn. -Comprehensive booklet with biographies of each artist - written by Bill Dahl from Mercury's hometown Chicago - and rare photos and illustrations. Founded in 1945, Chicago's Mercury Records rapidly accrued major label status and grew into a full-service label, it's massive roster encompassing everything from blues and R&B to country and jazz and a wealth of pop (the logo was a leader in covering R&B hits for the pop market). Mercury also signed a small army of quality rockabilly and rock and roll artists during the mid-to-late 1950s, and they're the focus of this bountiful collection. Blistering classics by a pre-fame Conway Twitty, Memphis mainstay Eddie Bond, and the still-active Narvel Felts are on board, along with rare gems by Curtis Gordon (his torrid 'Draggin' appears without the usual startling reverb effects), Orville Couch, Royce Porter, James O'Gwynn, Charlie Walker, leather-lunged George Young, and swamp pop greats Rod Bernard, Jerry Raines, and Roy Perkins (Mercury had excellent contacts in southern Louisiana). Eddy Bell & The Bel-Aires' rollicking 'The Masked Man (Hi Yo Silver)' hailed from the label's Windy City backyard, but the label spared no expense in bringing in sizzling rockers from all over the country - as this compilation excitingly attests!