A fantastic collection of rockers from the Decca/Coral family of labels – companies that gave the world key recordings by Buddy Holly and the Johnny Burnette Trio – and who also had a huge commitment to other lesser-known acts as well! This overstuffed package is a great illustration of the wealth of material that Decca, Coral, and Brunswick recorded back in the late 50s and early 60s – a time when they seemed to have a very open door policy with both rockabilly and hillbilly artists – who they often recorded with the raw power that you might normally find with a smaller indie label. If you know the classic sound of "Train Kept A Rollin" by Johnny Burnette, you'll know what these guys are capable of – and even though that track's not here, there's plenty more great numbers – including "Big Town" by Ronnie Self, "Crazy Dream" by Terry Noland, "Broke Down Baby" by The Tyrones, "Rock Of Gibraltar" by Hank Penny, "Man Hunt" by Dodie Randle, "Where'd You Stay Last Night" by Joe Hudgins, "Gonna Have Myself A Ball" by Lance Roberts, "Honky Tonk Freeze" by Sandy Coker, "The Raven" by Jackie Brooks, "Midnight Monster Hop" by Jack & Jim, "Blue STreet" by Arnie Derksen, and "Tarzan" by Glenn Reeves. 33 tracks in all! (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A really fantastic little record, and one with a sound that's a surprising as the album is obscure – a mix of Takoma Records-styled acoustic instrumentals blended with other cuts that have a much more funky jazz approach – all wrapped together as a wonderful testament to the overlooked talents of this Swedish guitarist! Thomas plays both acoustic and electric on the record – the former on those spare numbers that have a great sense of intimacy, and even on some of the fuller numbers that bring in a bit of electric piano, bass, and drums – as well as some earthier percussion that's especially nice! The electric guitar comes in a bit here and there, but always in ways that are nicely restrained compared to fusion – on titles that include "Nyanser", "EM", "Horisont", "Quebec", "Coral Reef", and "Frost". (Jazz, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album