Billy Riley - I Want You Baby - 1957 Rockabilly - SUN 260

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Billy Riley - Vocal and Guitar
Roland Janes - Guitar
Marvin Pepper - Bass
James M. Van Eaton - Drums
Jerry Lee Lewis – Piano

If you were a song, even one as sweet as ''I Want You Baby'', how'd you like to get stuck on the flipside of ''Flying Saucer Rock And Roll''? Talk about being invisible! It is very easy to underestimate to this record. The lyrics won't make anybody forget about Cole Porter. The sound has that "live in the studio, cooked up spontaneously" quality. The results are endearing but just as easy to discount. Sun couldn't havepicked a more perfect B-side for ''Flying Saucer Rock And Roll''. It would have been a rare disc jockey who listened to this and decided to divert his attention from the A-side

Ask yourself: What category of music is this? Everyone knows that Sun produced hybrids, but how would you label this track? Is this country? Rock and roll? Pop? A large part of that confusion stems from Roland's wonderful guitar playing. Some of the alternate takes push the results closer to either country or rock, but the original 45 contains just the perfect measure of confusion.

On the master of "I Want You Baby", Riley and company also shine on this undervalued midtempo gem. The smooth guitar work and pleading vocal reveal an exceptionally talented performer. Once again, it is James Van Eaton, whose tasty licks and accenting raise this fine record to excellence.

[frankchilds]

Real rockabilly, young, alive and trusting ❤