​Often you don't know too well what gift to give someone for his or her birthday. Well, maybe this compilation can bring some solace. Not only is the album provided with a 'birthday sticker' on which you can write down the name of the giver and receiver, but above all it contains 32 tracks dating from the fifties and early sixties, which quickly shift the birthday party up a gear. Tracks that also contain multiple music genres. Rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, rhythm & blues and country, whether or not in combination, adorn this CD.
It needs no further explanation. 'Happy Birthday, Baby!' is a beautiful theme compilation that shouldn't just be in your playback device on birthdays, by the way.

​In the fifties to about the mid-60s, a lot of solid rhythm & blues, blues, rock 'n' roll and rockabilly were recorded in America. Recordings that could not always count on a wide success, but which often deserved it. It is therefore a pity that many of those recordings would never make it to our living room, if the Atomicat label did not exist. A first possibility could have been to randomly put those recordings together on albums, but unfortunately they would not always do justice to them. To avoid this problem and to release these songs in a proper and orderly way, creativity is needed. Creativity to always find new and appropriate perspectives for this. And that is precisely where the Atomicat team succeeds. This is also the case with this new series 'Duet-A-Rama', an album that bundles 28 known and less known and perhaps even forgotten duets. Duets can be one-off, although there are also duos that have a long life.
Whether the genre is rock 'n' roll, rhythm & blues, rockabilly or something a little more country, superior harmony vocals are the glue between them all.
Many of the artists recorded here operated under various names. You can learn all about this in the extensive liner notes from Mark Armstrong.
'Duet-A-Rama' shows surprising duets and since it concerns 'volume 1', there will certainly be a sequel soon. To discover!

​Twins Andrew and David Williams were born on February 22, 1959 and are nephews of crooner Andy Williams.
It may sound strange, but 'Memories To Burn' was already recorded in 1995 in Andrew's home studio. Only now, 27 years later, the album is released. Ten songs were recorded and what immediately becomes clear is that 27 years after the recordings, this album sounds very contemporary. The country atmosphere created by the steel guitar blends sublimely with the voices of Andrew and David, which inevitably evoke a comparison with those of The Everly Brothers.
'Memories To Burn' is an album that is definitely worth listening to. Lovers of the sound of Don and Phil Everly will have a gem with this album by The Williams Brothers.

​With 'Patiently', his first album for the German Bear Family label, American rockabilly artist Marcel Riesco immediately delivered one that hits like a bomb. In other words, an album of such a high level that you don't get sent every now and then. Marcel has all the assets you could wish for as an artist. He is a brilliant guitarist, has a more than formidable voice and writes songs that grab you immediately and never let go. The recording took place at the famous Jack Clement's Cowboy Arms Studio in Nashville. Clement is best known as a producer at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio. This immediately guarantees a superior, pure fifties rock 'n' roll sound, to which Riesco adds a pinch of sixties honky-tonk. Marcel learned to sing with the songs of Roy Orbison, whom he also sees as his example. Coincidentally, Riesco's voice is also reminiscent of the young Orbison's, which in no way means that he copies Roy, quite the contrary. Riesco does his own thing with it. His songs are perfect for that. Rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and even a touch of country thrive on his voice.
The 10” vinyl contains 10 tracks, of which 7 are originals and 3 are covers. On the enclosed CD and digital platforms you get 9 originals and 5 covers. It is clear that Riesco is not easily satisfied with his compositions. He pays a lot of attention to both the melody and the arrangements. Everything is right down to the last detail. As he himself indicates, he must have a real click with the covers. He proves that in Orbison's 'You've Got Love', which he puts in a more rocking look.
He and his band of top musicians from the Nashville scene recorded 12 songs live in 2 days. Marcel Riesco feels like no other contemporary artist how fifties rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and country should sound. That his songs come straight from his heart is certainly part of that.
'Patiently' is an absolute must for fans of contemporary fifties genres and don't say afterwards that we didn't warn you! You can't get any purer than this!

​There is a whole story attached to this album, but rather a sad one that we certainly want to pass on, as it will undoubtedly give the listening of 'Sweet Dreams Forever' a different dimension. Let's move back to March 1963. At the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, country stars Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Randy Hughes and Patsy Cline give a benefit performance for the family of the late disc jockey Cactus Jack Call, who died in a car accident in December 1962. Two days later, on March 5, 1963, the foursome boarded a Piper PA-24 Comanche plane to take them back to Nashville. However, they would not arrive there. The plane crashed into a wooded area known as Fatty Bottom, about 5 miles west of the Tennessee River. A loss that hit the country world very hard. And the end was not yet in sight. Jack Anglin, known as a member of the duo Johnny & Jack, wanted to attend the funeral of the foursome. After het was at the joint service for Copas and Hughes, as well as the service for Hawkins, he hurried to the hairdresser before making his way to Cline's ceremony. The hairdresser visit took a little more time than desired, so Jack had to hurry. On the way he lost control of the steering wheel and died of a skull fracture. It was March 8, 1963.
It is therefore commendable that Mark Armstrong for the Atomicat label, once again brings this foursome to the attention. Hawkshaw is there with 6 tracks, Cowboy gets 8, Patsy is there with 6 tracks and Randy gets 9 to his name. What you can expect are rare authentic country songs at a high level and, as always with the label, of excellent sound quality. Hawkins immediately sets the bar high with his hillbilly boogie 'Dog House Boogie'. Can't believe this song dates back to 1948. And the level stays the same throughout the entire album. Randy Hughes provides rousing hillbilly boogies. He can do that for the first time with the beautiful 'Tatooed Lady', but don't worry it doesn't stop here. If you want to congratulate someone on his or her birthday in a unique way, be sure to send Hughes' ‘Birthday Cake’. It will certainly be enjoyed. Boogies with extremely clever flat-top guitar picking are the trademark of Cowboy Copas. Just listen to 'Tennessee Flat Guitar' for example. He shows that rocking is not foreign to him as Lloyd Copas in 'Circle Rock'. The harmonica in his 'Sleepy Eyed John' lifts the song to a handsome country blues. Until track 18 we have to wait until we hear Patsy Cline. That wait is more than made up for, however, by 'I Love You Honey', which she recorded for the Coral label in 1956. Although she rather falls for the man's car. Cline shines again in 'Crazy Dreams', an authentic country song. She sounds a bit more poppy in 'When I Get Thru With You (You'll Love Me Too)'.
With 'Sweet Dreams Forever' it's country boogie time. Occasionally the tempo is a bit slow down, as in 'Slowly' by Randy Hughes, a song with a wonderful fiddle and steel guitar. Patsy Cline also takes it a bit more calmly in the emotional 'Walkin' After Midnight'.
Fortunately, all these recordings were dusted off. With 'Sweet Dreams Forever' the Atomicat label throws another 'bullseye'. This is an absolute must and don’t say afterwards we didn’t warn you!

Beautiful country songs with honest content and strong musical accompaniment.  John Wort Hannam touches your heart.

Brock Davis searches for emotional truth in his album 'A Song Waiting To Be Sung'. As a songwriter, he descends deep below the surface, only to return with songs about love, loss and redemption. Songs that are honest, real and often heartbreakingly beautiful. In his music he mixes fingerstyle acoustic guitar tunes from contemporary folk, with howling guitartunes, a lots of backing vocals and a whirling piano and Hammond B3 organ. Thirteen roots rock songs, richly spiced up with slide guitar and country music. Highly recommended… 

You wouldn’t expect a Dutch singer-songwriter with the talents of a real american country musician.  In Belgium and in France they would say ‘chapeau’. Respect!

We all should do an honest effort to accept our personal lives. Matt Patershuk shows the way!

​In addition to being a singer, known for his country repertoire, Tennessee Ernie Ford was also an actor and TV host. Musically he scored a mega hit with his version of 'Sixteen Tons'. Long before 'MTV Unplugged' launched acoustic album recording, Ford had already recorded two acoustic albums, known as the 'trio albums'. He did that for the first time in 1964 with the album 'Country Hits.....Feelin' Blue', on which he was accompanied by upright bassist John Mosher and guitarist Billy Strange. Eleven years later, in 1975 to be precise, he released his second acoustic album with 'Ernie Sings & Glen Picks'. As the title already predicts, here it is Glen Campbell who strikes the six strings, while Chuck Domanico can be heard on the upright bass.
The Bear Family label is now releasing these two albums together for the first time. You immediately notice the enormous depth that these albums contain.
The exclusive liner notes from Dr. Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, which include never-before-published photos from the recording sessions as well as track data, add value to this stunning release. This release of two rather rare Tennessee Ernie Ford albums is without a doubt one of his most impressive releases and is an asset to both Ford fans and lovers of good music in general.

​In the fall of 2019, Joe started recording a lot of original songs. Until the corona pandemic also caused a paralyzing limitation here. In the course of 2021 Joe will release his new album 'Steal The Wind', on the label Thunder Mountain Records. The album also has an international flavor at the same time. The base tracks and vocals were registered at the Headline Recording Studio in Tampere, Finland. The final guitar chords and mixing found their way into the Blue Sugar Studio in Bastrop, Texas. Just as some lead vocals were recorded in Florida and Lloyd Maines pedal steel guitar reverberated in Austin, Texas. The release ‘Steel The Wind’ is a handsome release that is seeded with country, roots, swampy and exciting rock tunes. 

​A Murder In Mississippi, a six-piece crazy musical gang from Ghent. With a shared passion and many different musical influences, they present a wide range of contemporary timbres. Country, folk, Americana and Irish tinged tunes wrap A Murder In Mississippi with a lick of blues. The flawless vocals and dynamic instrumentation let us float away in that retro-symphonic folk sound palette. 'Hurricana' is a wonderful album..!

​Beautiful interesting stories from a real Scottish singer-songwriter, who also plays American countryfolk.  Ultimate time to discover!

​How to feel lucky when you live at the gate of the Arctic?  Just take your strings and tell us a story.  One moment you’ll dance, the other moment you’ll cry. That’s live, isn’t it?

​‘Do Not Commit Adultery, The Cheater’ is the eighth commandment of the ten commandments of rock 'n' roll. A subject that often gave rise to cool blues and rhythm & blues. Music genres that, because of the emotional nature they have, just like country, are extremely suitable for expressing the feelings that adultery entails. Compiler Mark Armstrong has again done his utmost to reproduce the feelings associated with adultery in the form of 30 tracks.
Much doom and gloom for the artists on this 'Do Not Commit Adultery, The Cheater'. As a listener, however, you benefit from it, because once again you have 30 fantastic songs in your collection with this album.
The penultimate, the Ninth Commandment, is titled ‘Fend Off Impassiveness, Lonesome For A Letter’ and is scheduled for release on September 17.

​The album 'Journeyman Songs' is a record with a vision. It gives us another insight into Banty Holler's rich world that is inspired with folk, blues, rock and especially a lot of country. Exciting banjo tunes, swinging guitar riffs and Banty's raw vocal timbre are beneficial for his intended sound. Handsome..!

‘Jambalaya (On The Bayou)’ is not only the title of volume 3 in ‘The Hank Williams Songbook’ series, but it is also Hank's most famous song, although many will not know it in the original version. Presumably, most will the question “Who is the singer of 'Jambalaya'?” answer with ‘Fats Domino’. He turned it into a rhythm & blues rocker that is also included on this album. But the number of times the song was covered is incalculable. The covers also cover the most diverse music genres. In country, folk, blues, pop or instrumental music, you will find one or more versions of the song. As the title of the album implies, this compilation contains a number of songs that are not from Williams’ hand, but that do have a connection with Hank Williams in one way or another.
The album contains 30 sublime tracks and even from Hanks 'My Buckets Got A Hole In It', you get two versions. A first time as track 11 by Huelyn Duvall and Wildfire Willie and a second time as track 15 by Ricky Nelson, although the track listing for the 15th track mentions 'I'm Satisfied With You' by Jack Scott. After contacting compiler Mark Armstrong he acknowledged the problem and at the same time felt that the readers must know this. Thanks Mark for your honesty!
30 beautiful tracks fill volume 3 of 'The Hank Williams Songbook'. As always, you can enjoy this in a superior sound quality.

​Buck Owens was an immensely talented man. In addition to being a singer, guitarist and songwriter, he could also be heard as a guitarist or vocally as a session musician on recordings in genres such as hillbilly, rockabilly and rock and roll. Owens and Don Rich, who can be heard on fiddle, are also widely regarded as the founders of the Bakersfield Sound. This is a sub-genre of country and is mainly characterized by the influences of rockabilly and rock and roll, which give the drums a prominent presence. The name Bakersfield Sound comes from the place to which Owens relocated. This album contains 30 tracks, recorded from 1953 to 1961, 18 of which are by Owens himself and 2 with his wife Bonnie Owens. In the other songs you can hear Buck as a session musician on guitar, fiddle or vocal support.
If you want a sublime overview of the evolution of Buck Owens as an artist, looking for his own sound, then this compilation is an absolute must have. Highly recommended!

​The Amsterdam singer / guitarist and songwriter Johnny, in daily life Joost Abbel, has delivered a great album with this debut that makes the listener vibrate from the very first notes. Johnny must have an enormous musical background. He processes the influences of traditional folk, country and Indie in such a unique way, so that the 11 tracks are all little gold nuggets. Gold nuggets that also showcase Johnny's versatility. Musically it is all fine, but there is more. The cover is always the first introduction and it may be said, the image of Zdenek Burian illustrates the music wonderfully. Do you want more? No problem, the record contains another funny trick. With the camera of your mobile phone or with a stroboscope, the rotating vinyl reveals another surprising animation.
If you can deliver a debut album like ‘Collecting Dinosaurs’, then a bright musical future beckons.

​Dick Curless scored his greatest successes with ‘truck-driven songs’ such as ‘Drag Em Off The Interstate Sock It To Em J.P. Blues’, ’Travellin’ Man’, ‘Big Wheel Cannonball’, ‘Highway Man’ and ’A Tombstone Every Mile’. However, he started his career as a country artist singing both country and western. Songs that got a special touch due to its warm baritone. And it is precisely these songs that can be found on this Jasmine collector.
‘Don't Fence Me In, The Early Recordings 1956-1960’ is therefore more of an album for ‘die-hard’ Curless fans. They can boost their collection with these 'early recordings'.

​With ‘Wild Man Rock’, volume 5 in the ‘Hillbilly And Rustic Rockabilly Bop’ series, we dive back into the rich past of these genres. The treasury of hillbilly and rockabilly still contains countless recordings, which not only give a beautiful picture of this music, but which also still pleasantly surprise us today. Mark Armstrong once again looked for 28 songs that are defined as authentic hillbilly or rockabilly. The boundary between these genres is often filter-thin and the influences of the country often make it more difficult to say exactly which song belongs to which genre. All this poses a problem for box thinkers. A problem that does not exist for music lovers with an ‘open mind’. Just like us, they will love these songs. Like the previous 4 releases in the 'Hillbilly and Rustic Rockabilly Bop' series, this volume again contains superior American roots music.

​You probably don't know the name Billy Strange, yet chances are you've heard him and he might even be in your record collection as a companion to your favorite artists. Besides this work as a session musician, he also recorded under his own name.
What is striking is that Strange cannot be pinned down to one music genre. Whether he was hired for swinging rhythm & blues and rock and roll, a light jazzy feel, country, cowboy songs or pop, Billy always carries out his task with an enormous dose of talent and craftsmanship.
With ‘Climb Aboard The Hell Train’, compiler dee jay Mark Armstrong not only pays tribute to Billy Strange, but also makes Strange's work more public.

​In the 1950s guitarist Grady Martin made a not to be underestimated contribution to swinging country, hillbilly jump, rockabilly and rock and roll. This album contains 30 sublime tracks. The first 10 are by Grady and The Slew Foot Band or as a solo artist. The following 20 show his beautiful guitar parts as session musician of well-known and lesser-known artists.
‘Diesel Smoke, Dangerous Curves and Hot Guitar’ rightly puts Grady Martin's unique guitar style in the spotlight. Well done Mark Armstrong!

​This compilation makes it clear that not only rousing rock and roll flowed through his veins. Moreover, it is impressive how he manages to give those ballads collected here that inimitable ‘Lewis touch’. From the late 1960s onwards, country began to penetrate his repertoire more often, but the seeds were sown earlier. "The Ballads Of Jerry Lee Lewis" is a beautiful and timeless disc.

​The 26 tracks that contain a beautiful mix of traditional country, western swing and hillbilly will give you the ultimate feeling of a nostalgic country Christmas. And just like we did with ‘Headin 'For The Christmas Ball’, we once again can conclude that ‘Christmas On The Range’ can also be played without a corresponding Christmas tree.