Marshall Lytle
Joey Ambrose
Dick Richards
David Byrd
Jackson Haney
Al Rappa
Lenny Longo
Johnny Grande
Billy Williamson
Rudy Pompilli
Al Rex
Franny Beecher
Ralph Jones
Nick Nastos
John "Bam-Bam" Lane
2001 CD Prism Entertainment 664
2001 CD Prism Platinum 664
"Bill Haley kept on working hard long after the glory years were over,"
writes annotator Tony Watts in his liner notes to Prism Leisure's Haley
album Rock 'N' Roll Legend. "He toured, appeared on 'Goldie Oldies'
Rock revival packages, made great re-recordings of his old hits as well
as introducing new material." This is as close as the album's packaging
comes to acknowledging that the recordings of songs like "Rock Around
the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" are not the original hit
renditions, and it appears in the CD booklet that can be perused only
after purchase. After the four re-recorded hits that begin the
collection come some other material from Haley's 1960s years in the
wilderness, the album concluding with five tunes recorded live (or
perhaps with screams overdubbed), probably drawn from the 1966 Mexican
LP Whisky a Go Go, originally released on Orfeon Records. There is
certainly some authentic rock & roll to be found on the disc, but
the buyer purchasing it, even at the budget price for which it should
be sold, will likely be expecting the original recordings, and so will
consider it a rip-off.
