Format Details: Jewel Case
Format Details: Single Sleeve Vinyl Album
Release Date: 25 November 2002
Label: Big Beat
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 029667421324
Genres:
Release Date: 26 January 2015
Label: Big Beat
Packaging Type: Slip Sleeve (CD or Vinyl)
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 029667002714
Genres:
Description
The missing link between wild rockabilly abandon and snarling garage punk Dean Carter was/is the ultimate rock'n'roll anomaly. Just check out the photo on the cover of CALL OF THE WILD!, one of the craziest collections your humble compiler has had the pleasure to assemble in recent memory. Presley-like stance, guitar by his side, with a swept-back do and zebra-striped jacket to die for. The ultimate in rockin' cool. Must be late 1950s, right? Uh-uh. How does 1968 grab ya? Carter was a wildman, coughing up some of the most insane rock'n'roll platters known to man and beast, records that are all the more remarkable for their improbable recording dates. There's a time-warp sensibility to the sound of Dean Carter that is truly intriguing. He'd been singing rock in his native Champaign, Illinois since the late 1950s - indeed, there are even a couple of his rebel-raw 1959 demos included here - yet Carter retained his trademark rockabilly hiccup whether he combined it with a stomping garage beat (Sizzlin' Hot) or a rough hewn soul shout (Love's A-Workin'). Dean Carter really wanted to be a star and it's obvious from the sounds contained onCALL OF THE WILD! that he really had the goods to have become one. With an uncanny ability to swing from a high falsetto to a moody growl, the singer could switch from crooning a dramatic ballad to belting out a sizzling rocker. He just did things he wanted to do, in the way he felt right. With his sidekick Arlie Miller behind the studio controls, the amazing recordings here span a full decade (1959-69), yet they sound as though they all could have all been taped at the same session, such is the relentless rocking drive common to each and every performance. The apex of Dean Carter has to be upon the truly berserk treatment of Jailhouse Rock that was issued as a single on Carter and Miller's tiny Milky Way label in 1967 (and has been widely bootlegged in subsequent years). The record itself defies description - suffice to say, it sounds as though a riot really is taking place - yet incredibly the research for the notes threw up the fact that buried amongst the sonic chaos is not only an accordion and a frantically-scrubbed dobro, but also a clarinet played by a 12-year old girl!! Joe Meek could not have devised a more unusual session. Many other tracks are only slightly less crazed, such as I Got A Girl, Black Boots and the stomping Mary Sue, the latter cut as a single in Washington in 1968 with the aid of one-time Gene Vincent sidekick Jerry Merritt. I could blather on about the genius of Dean Carter for a whole RT, but instead I urge you all, if you say you like rock'n'roll, to buy this CD, ogle the eye-bending pix, read the bizarre story and revel in the unselfconsciously manic sounds it contains. This guy is an unsung hero of unprecendented proportions. All hail Dean Carter! By Alec Palao
Description
Dean Carter is the ultimate rock'n'roll anomaly. Just check out the picture on the front cover: a wild-eyed madman throwing a Presley-like stance, guitar by his side, with a sweptback do, and zebra-striped jacket to die for. The ultimate in rockin' cool. Must be late 1950s, right? Uh-uh. How does 1968 grab ya? Known by his real name, Arlie Neaville, in the earlier part of his career, Carter's base for most of the 1950s and 1960s was the midwestern town ofChampaign,Illinois. His first significant combo was the Rock N Roll Devils, where he ran into fellow rock enthusiast Arlie Miller. In the early 1960s Neaville recorded for Ping, Fraternity and Limelight, but none of these releases hint at the wild rock persona he presented on stage. Miller and Neaville - the latter by now officially Dean Carter - teamed up on a permanent basis in 1963, forming the Lucky Ones. The pair invested in their own home studio, dubbed Midnite Sound. Demonstrating a natural aptitude for recording and with a particular sound in his head, Miller became the engineer, and the band began to hold regular sessions from 1964 onwards. There was a glut of sessions in late 1966 and early 1967 that produced a batch of pumped-up, crazed material, a handful of which escaped on Miller's Milky Way label. 'Run Rabbit Run' was a bizarrely constructed yet insanely catchy dance tune, while 'Rebel Woman' parlayed a dark, brooding brand of garage rock. The flip to 'Rebel Woman' is possibly one of the finest examples of pure rock intensity ever committed to wax. When Miller suggested a cover of 'Jailhouse Rock', it was with the concept that it should sound like a riot really was going on. Elsewhere, the violent sound was only slightly toned down for stomping cuts such as 'Black Boots' and 'Sizzlin' Hot'. In late 1967 Carter ended up in Washington State, falling in with Gene Vincent's guitar slinging sidekick Jerry Merritt. Two singles were the result, released on Merritt's Tell International label in 1968. With its barnstorming beat, 'Mary Sue' is a glorious noise and the obvious sequel to 'Jailhouse Rock'. Left in the can was a bona fide classic in 'Call Of The Wild'. Carter returned to the midwest and recording with Miller, experimenting with more overtly country/folk influences, although he continued to rock out with dynamite tracks such as 'Don't Try To Change Me' and 'Dobro Pickin' Man'. Arlie Neaville today preaches, sings gospel music and apparently has little time for his rock'n'roll past. But his alter-ego lives on, captured expertly by his friend Arlie Miller in the wild, unbridled sounds on those rare Milky Way singles and now this compilation. Alec Palao
Tracklisting
Tracklisting
