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Universal's 2009 triple-disc set Memorial Collection and its two-CD companion, Down the Line: Rarities, effectively act as a substitution for a reissue of the six-LP 1979 box The Complete Buddy Holly, long a holy grail item among rock & roll fanatics. That set never materialized on CD for various legal and logistical reasons, so bootleggers stepped into the void, assembling a ten-disc set that went far beyond the original vinyl box, and then as the original recordings crept into public domain in Europe, year-by-year chronicles started to pop up over there. These satisfied the needs of completists in a way Universal's twin 2009 CD sets may never, as there are too many missing alternate takes, apartment tapes, and demos -- not to mention live cuts, which are virtually absent -- but for hardcore fans who are less obsessive, these two releases are far easier to absorb than the bootleg, which gets weighed down in historical minutia that obscure the big picture.
Spanning 59 tracks over the course of two discs -- nearly as many songs as those on the three-disc Memorial Collection -- Down the Line concentrates on boiling that minutia down to its essentials, to get the best of the alternate takes, demos, and "Apartment Tapes," or at least to find the music that fits the broadest audience. Again, this concentrates on studio, not live, sessions and it follows the same trajectory as Memorial Collection, beginning with Buddy's duets with Bob Montgomery and ending with a selection of highlights from his solo acoustic recordings in his New York apartment (many of which are also heard on Memorial). Down the Line adds detail and color to the story, digging deeper at Buddy's country roots -- the earliest cuts here sound downright hillbilly -- and spotlighting the Crickets' lean rock & roll via several selections that strip off all the overdubs, leaving behind just their propulsive jangle. Where Memorial Collection invites pure marvel at Buddy Holly's rapid progression, Down the Line hints at the work behind it all, the conscious editing and development of his sound and the cheerful record-plugging at radio sessions (there's a wonderful sequence of "That'll Be the Day" specially recorded for various prominent DJs), and this can make for fascinating listening. However, like a lot of archival releases of this nature, Down the Line requires some attentive listening: when alternate takes begin to pile up upon each other, it takes some serious attention from serious listeners to sort it all out. Naturally, there are some immense rewards here, lying in small details and flat-out knock-outs, like Buddy's slow, sexy reworking of "Slippin' and Slidin'," which is further proof that Holly was an inventive interpreter in addition to being a singular songwriter. While this set doesn't require intense concentration and Herculean patience the way that the bootleg The Complete Buddy Holly does -- that is strictly the province of fanatics -- Down the Line cannot be appreciated without a concentration that goes very, very deep: it's something for serious rock & rollers who fancy themselves scholars.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Johnny Cash, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Recording Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Traditional, Composer - Bob Montgomery, Recording Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Don Guess, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Sonny Curtis, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Montgomery, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Don Guess, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Fireballs, Unknown, Other
℗ 2008 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Sonny Curtis, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Montgomery, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Don Guess, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Fireballs, Unknown, Other
℗ 1995 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Arthur Gunter, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Participant, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Jerry Allison, Participant - Sonny Curtis, Participant - Bob Montgomery, ComposerLyricist - Don Guess, Participant
℗ 1964 Geffen Records
Grady Martin, Participant - Buddy Holly, Participant, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sonny Curtis, Participant - Owen Bradley, Producer - Don Guess, Participant - Faris Coursey, Participant - Sue Parrish, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Grady Martin, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Sonny Curtis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Owen Bradley, Producer - Don Guess, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Faris Coursey, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Sue Parrish, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Smokey Roberds, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Smokey Roberds, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
George Brown, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Peter De Rose, ComposerLyricist - William Hill, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
George Brown, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Peter De Rose, ComposerLyricist - William Hill, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Chuck Berry, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Roy Brown, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
John S. Marascalco, Composer - Robert Alexander Blackwell, Composer - Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Dave Bartholomew, ComposerLyricist - Fats Domino, ComposerLyricist - The Fireballs, Unknown, Other
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Billy Butler, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Shep Shepherd, ComposerLyricist - Bill Doggett, ComposerLyricist - Clifford Scott, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Carl Perkins, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, Additional Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Calhoun, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - BO DIDDLEY, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Clarence "Frogman" Henry, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Ella Holley, ComposerLyricist - The Fireballs, Unknown, Other
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
DISC 2
Niki Sullivan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - The Picks, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Niki Sullivan, Guitar, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Percussion, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Unknown, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Sonny West, ComposerLyricist - Niki Sullivan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Bill Tilghman, ComposerLyricist - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Picks, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Carroll Loveday, Author - Buddy Holly, MainArtist - Norman Petty, Producer, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Helmy Kresa, Composer - The Fireballs, Unknown, Other
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocalist, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, Organ, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Niki Sullivan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Horace Linsley, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sonny Leglaire, ComposerLyricist - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Niki Sullivan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Horace Linsley, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sonny Leglaire, ComposerLyricist - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Niki Sullivan, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Horace Linsley, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sonny Leglaire, ComposerLyricist - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Hardin, ComposerLyricist - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Hardin, ComposerLyricist - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Norman Petty, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Charles Hardin, ComposerLyricist - Joe B Mauldin, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - The Roses, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Vi Petty, Piano, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Bob Montgomery, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Grady Martin, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Sonny Curtis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Montgomery, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Owen Bradley, Producer - Don Guess, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Grady Martin, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, ComposerLyricist - Jerry Allison, Drums, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Sonny Curtis, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Bob Montgomery, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Owen Bradley, Producer - Don Guess, Bass Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer
℗ 1959 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Buddy Holly & The Crickets, MainArtist
℗ 1959 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer - Jack Hansen, Producer
℗ 1960 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Buddy Holly, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Norman Petty, Producer
℗ 1995 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Buddy Holly, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Harry von Tilzer, ComposerLyricist - Andrew B. Sterling, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2008 Geffen Records
Album review
Universal's 2009 triple-disc set Memorial Collection and its two-CD companion, Down the Line: Rarities, effectively act as a substitution for a reissue of the six-LP 1979 box The Complete Buddy Holly, long a holy grail item among rock & roll fanatics. That set never materialized on CD for various legal and logistical reasons, so bootleggers stepped into the void, assembling a ten-disc set that went far beyond the original vinyl box, and then as the original recordings crept into public domain in Europe, year-by-year chronicles started to pop up over there. These satisfied the needs of completists in a way Universal's twin 2009 CD sets may never, as there are too many missing alternate takes, apartment tapes, and demos -- not to mention live cuts, which are virtually absent -- but for hardcore fans who are less obsessive, these two releases are far easier to absorb than the bootleg, which gets weighed down in historical minutia that obscure the big picture.
Spanning 59 tracks over the course of two discs -- nearly as many songs as those on the three-disc Memorial Collection -- Down the Line concentrates on boiling that minutia down to its essentials, to get the best of the alternate takes, demos, and "Apartment Tapes," or at least to find the music that fits the broadest audience. Again, this concentrates on studio, not live, sessions and it follows the same trajectory as Memorial Collection, beginning with Buddy's duets with Bob Montgomery and ending with a selection of highlights from his solo acoustic recordings in his New York apartment (many of which are also heard on Memorial). Down the Line adds detail and color to the story, digging deeper at Buddy's country roots -- the earliest cuts here sound downright hillbilly -- and spotlighting the Crickets' lean rock & roll via several selections that strip off all the overdubs, leaving behind just their propulsive jangle. Where Memorial Collection invites pure marvel at Buddy Holly's rapid progression, Down the Line hints at the work behind it all, the conscious editing and development of his sound and the cheerful record-plugging at radio sessions (there's a wonderful sequence of "That'll Be the Day" specially recorded for various prominent DJs), and this can make for fascinating listening. However, like a lot of archival releases of this nature, Down the Line requires some attentive listening: when alternate takes begin to pile up upon each other, it takes some serious attention from serious listeners to sort it all out. Naturally, there are some immense rewards here, lying in small details and flat-out knock-outs, like Buddy's slow, sexy reworking of "Slippin' and Slidin'," which is further proof that Holly was an inventive interpreter in addition to being a singular songwriter. While this set doesn't require intense concentration and Herculean patience the way that the bootleg The Complete Buddy Holly does -- that is strictly the province of fanatics -- Down the Line cannot be appreciated without a concentration that goes very, very deep: it's something for serious rock & rollers who fancy themselves scholars.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 59 track(s)
- Total length: 01:59:18
- Main artists: Buddy Holly
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2009 Geffen Records This Compilation ℗ 2009 Geffen Records
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