Cute country instrumental keeps Cramer’s high-grade piano work front-and-centre while throwing in enough variety to stave off boredom for two minutes – I particularly like the bass-and-handclaps breakdown at about 1’10”. Does […]

I don’t think even the glitchiest glitch could match “Blue Moon”‘s introductory slap. This stutter, this chatter, this cheek – this is “Blue Moon”?? And when the Marcels start the song ‘proper’ th[…]

Presley may not have written his own material but his influence on its direction is pretty clear – how else to explain the bizarre Euro-stylings that crept into his records immediately after his army stint? “It’s Now Or Never”[…]

The Everlys’ creamy harmonies, while gorgeous, can’t really lend this slushball lovers’ plea much urgency – luckily the arrangement picks up some slack by turning the chorus into a stomp before the track drowns in wimpitude. H[…]

Never a chore to hear a harmonica, but otherwise “Sailor”s easy tempo becalms the track too easily. A snoozer, and an oddly archaic one from such a young singer: Petula’s stout-hearted vocals and massed backing seem to hark back to […]

Elvis takes a 1926 Al Jolson hit and turns it into one of his most audacious No.1s – a production so sepulchral that he had the studio lights turned off to do it and an utterly commanding performance. From a distance the record seems a piece of[…]

With the help of a sax as cheeky as himself, Tillotson gives a trifling song the big sell, and I buy it. How does it work? The teasy intro and chipper tune; Tillotson’s piping voice and the way he sings “mo-shun!”; the way he balanc[…]

The next entry is turning out to be quite a big one, so I’m pushing it back a day or two and putting up the last of our 60s polls. It’ll find its way to its proper place in the blog in time.
I give a mark out of 10 to every song on Popula[…]

If you wanted to prove that pre-Beatles British pop was rubbish, this might be a good record to pick. Pop is at its worst when you can detect self-satisfaction, when you feel it’s been made by people who think they have it all sewn up. Cliff so[…]

The calling-card of the post-army Elvis, it’s easy to hear “It’s Now Or Never” simply as a record made by a tamed man. But how big, in truth, is the gap between thrilling a crowd or charming them? Elvis could sell the promise […]