Buddy Holly - Holly in the Hills/Giant
List Price:
Our Price: $11.73
You Save: $7.25 (38%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.48 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Buddy HollyEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Import, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-08-26
Music Label: Bgo - Beat Goes on
Soundtracks:
- I Wanna Play House With You
- Door To My Heart
- Baby Its Love
- I Gambled My Heart
- Memories
- Wishing
- Down The Line
- Soft Place In My Heart
- Queen Of The Ballroom
- Gotta Get You Near Me Blues
- Flower Of My Heart
- You And I Are Through
- Love Is Strange
- Good Rockin Tonight
- Blue Monday
- Have You Ever Been Lonely
- Slippin And Slidin
- Youre The One
- (Ummm Oh Yeah) Dearest
- Smokey Joes Cafe
- Aint Got No Home
- Holly Hop
Music reviews of Holly in the Hills/Giant
Music Review: BUDDY HOLLY'S HIGH SCHOOL STREET BANDS
Rating: 4 Stars
I. HOLLY IN THE HILLS (released 1965)
Buddy Holly was into music at a very early age, and by high school was all over Lubbock in a succession of bands. One business card reads "The Rhythm Playboys - Buddy, Bob, Larry" (Bob Montgomery/ Larry Welborn); another, "Buddy & Bob - Western & Bop"
Buddy's mom fondly recalled them playing the Saturday night sock hop with kids dancing cheek to cheek to "Queen of the Ballroom Floor".
But these were also "street bands"; back then merchants hired bands to play in parking lots on weekends to draw a crowd, everything from supermarket sales to drug store grand openings. According to one story Elvis was in Lubbock on a 1954 tour earning only $35 a night; Buddy cut him in on a gig at the Oldsmobile dealership showing the new 1955 Olds.
Joe Mauldin (later Crickets bass player) worked at the local movie theatre, and remembers one time his mom picked him up. The tire dealer across the street was having a sale and Buddy ripped into Bill Haley's "40 Cups of Coffee." Joe's mom yelled, "Oh my God, it's Elvis Presley!!" Joe said, "Oh ma, that's just Buddy Holly - he lives right here in Lubbock.
Holly and Montgomery did "The Buddy & Bob Show" live on KDAV radio Sunday afternoons. Kids would park in the lot outside, watch through the glass studio window, listen on their car radios and dance in the lot.
Buddy cut many acetate demos at KDAV, usually with Bob Montgomery. Tragically, most are lost -- given away to managers of touring bands or mailed to record labels.
After his death, Buddy's parents found seven "Buddy & Bob" acetates plus "Play House". Norman Petty overdubbed these to various extents with the Fireballs, and filled out the original Jan 1965 "Hill in the Hills" album with:
(1) I Wanna Play House With You
(2) Door To My Heart
*(3) Fool's Paradise [flip of Think It Over]
(4) I Gambled My Heart
*(5) What To Do [Fireballs overdub of NY apt acoustic]
(6) Wishing [light Fireballs overdub of 1958 demo]
(7) Down The Line
(8) Soft Place In My Heart
*(9) Lonesome Tears [flip of It's So Easy]
(10)Gotta Get You Near Me Blues
(11) Flower of My Heart
(12) You & I Are Through
Bob Montgomery found more demos so the album now has 10. "Play House" is from that period but a Holly solo at a local studio; "Wishing" is a 1958 demo made along with "Love's Made A Fool of You" for the Everly Brothers.
I suspect all drums are overdubbed, but if not they are Holly's best friend Jerry Allison. Fiddle is Sonny Curtis.
Petty's overdub work is largely successful, especially on "Play House" and "Down the Line". Basically because (1) except for "Play House," they obscure little as possible of original work; (2) the overdub is pretty much of same sound quality as acetate; (3) these are monaural without separated tracks.
II. GIANT (1969)
Petty has been widely criticized for his Fireballs overdubs, but said he intended only to bring the material up to commercial release quality while adhering as much as possible to Holly's intentions.
Whatever your opinion on that, it must be said he kept Holly's memory alive with the posthumous releases "Reminiscing" (1963), "Buddy Holly Showcase" (1964), and "Holly in the Hills" (1965) which were generally very well received.
"Giant" (1969) was the last of the Petty/Fireballs overdubs, but regrettably during the four year gap since 1965 Petty's hand went cold.
"GIANT" RUNDOWN:
(1) `Love is Strange,' `Slippin' & Sliddin' (fast version), `Dearest', `Smokey Joe's Café' are acoustic demos from the same New York apartment tape as Holly's last six songs (`Peggy Sue Got Married' etc).
`Love is Strange' is easily the most successful track on the album, startlingly lovely and haunting. Most people think this an orchestrated strings session, but it's actually Petty on the beloved organ he played in "Norman Petty Trio" days. No CD I've heard does justice to the track; on the original vinyl ambient air fills the room with this eerily lush performance. Holly's undubbed acoustic original is still superior, but the two are so different they don't really compete.
`Dearest' is a pointless disaster. Petty/Fireballs already overdubbed this quite nicely on "Buddy Holly Showcase." This second attempt is heavy handed and corny, rather like those bogus Picks overdubs.
`Slippin' & Sliddin' works. `Smokey Joe' as Holly laid it down is difficult to overdub, and Petty seems unsure what to do with it.
(2) `You're the One' is a crime. Holly improvised this at a radio station where Waylon Jennings was DJ, and Waylon slapped his knees to accompaniment. It appeared undubbed on "Buddy Holly Showcase". Here the original is buried by the Fireballs and Petty on organ, a pointless garbled mess.
(3) `Good Rockin' Tonight', `Blue Monday', `Have You Ever Been Lonely', `Ain't Got No Home', `Holly Hop' are `50s rock standards probably made on an early wire recorder (before tape, there was literally a wire that ran reel to reel) resulting in poor fidelity somewhat like a telephone.
Petty's overdubs of such tracks was quite good in 1963-65 (compare "Play House"). But by 1969 "compatible stereo" had come in (a stereo album could now be played on mono players without damage) and separate mono pressings of releases were no longer made.
These 1969 overdubs are in state of the art sound too obvious against the acetate demos, a problem made worse by separated stereo tracks. The result is totally unnatural and often sounds garbled.
BOTTOM LINE:
Holly fans will want this, either for particular songs that otherwise unavailable or for the successes among many failures.
New fans should look elsewhere first, but will probably want to own this eventually. Holly's magic shines through quite wonderfully on enough of these.
More Holly in the Hills/Giant free music reviews:
1
1
Description of Holly in the Hills/Giant
UK two-fer includes 'Holly In The Hills' (1965) & 'Giant' (1969 - deleted domestrically). Highlights include 'I Wanna Play House With You', 'Memories', 'Love Is Strange' & 'Smokey Joe's Café'. 2002.Pop CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Pop CDs
Yvette Freeman - Dinah Was (L.A. Theatre Works Audio Theatre Collection)Release date: 2005-04-12; Music CD
Best price: $18.86
Price in other shops:
Twin Sisters Productions - Building Character Music CDTWIN SISTERS PRODUCTIONS; Release date: 2007-01-01; Music CD
Best price: $6.75
Price in other shops:
Bernadette Peters in ConcertDVD
Best price: $75.00
Everything Must Go/ Two Against Natureby Steely Dan
Published: 2003; Music CD
Scattered Ashes: A Decade Of Emperial WrathRelease date: 2009-07-28; Published: 2009; Music CD
Best price: $13.90
Price in other shops:
![Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS] Image](/images/Christmas-at-the-Biltmore-Estate-VHS-076700437X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate [VHS]A&E Home Video; Release date: 1998-09-04; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.32
Price in other shops:
The Shadow: Rare Radio Gems (Rare Radio Gems)Release date: 2002-09-01; Published: 2002-09-01; Music CD
Best price: $20.00
Price in other shops:
On the Shoulders of Giants, Vol. 1: An Audio & Musical Journey Through the Harlem Renaissanceby Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Release date: 2011-09-06; Published: 2008; Music CD
Best price: $1.98
Price in other shops:
Francis Durbridge, Paul Temple & The Gilbert Case - Radio ShowRelease date: 2003-05-12; Music CD
Best price: $21.63
Price in other shops:
The Serenaders - My One and Only YouRelease date: 2011-05-28; Music CD
Best price: $8.59
Price in other shops:
Similar CDs
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater RevivalRelease date: 2001-11-01; Music CD
Best price: $38.81
Price in other shops:
Moody Blues - Magnificent MoodiesRelease date: 2007-10-30; Music CD
Best price: $8.34
Price in other shops:
Moody Blues - Caught Live + 5MOODY BLUES; Release date: 1997-01-22; Published: 1977; Music CD
Best price: $4.22
Price in other shops:
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari / Surfin' USARelease date: 2001-03-13; Music CD
Best price: $5.62
Price in other shops:
Lovin Spoonful - Singles A's & B's (Dig)Release date: 2006-01-30; Music CD
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops:
Hollies - Clarke Hicks & Nash YearsRelease date: 2011-05-17; Music CD
Best price: $16.94
Price in other shops:
Buddy Holly - The Buddy Holly Story Vol 2Release date: 2011-02-14; Music CD
Best price: $2.26
Price in other shops:
Buddy Holly - That'll Be the Day/ RememberRelease date: 2002-09-09; Music CD
Best price: $11.56
Price in other shops:
Buddy Holly and The Crickets - First Three AlbumsRelease date: 2009-03-10; Music CD
Best price: $9.66
Price in other shops:
Buddy Holly - Reminiscing/ ShowcaseRelease date: 2000-12-18; Music CD
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops: