Release Date: 08 December 2023
Label: Bear Family (Code 7)
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 4000127177445
Genres: Rock 'N' Roll R&B
Description
Long before he was anointed as 'The White Knight of Soul,' Wayne Cochran made a stack of intriguing but rare early '60s 45s for various small Georgia concerns and later considerably larger labels spanning the gamut from hauling rockers to dramatic teen tragedy themes. They've occasionally been anthologized over the years, but never as comprehensively as on Bear Family's 'The Bigger The Pompadour... - His Complete Recordings From 1959- 1966 (2-CD)', a 32-track extravaganza tracing Cochran's recording career from its humble beginnings with The Cooto just before he fully exploded on the national scene with his explosive brand of horn-leavened blue-eyed soul. Naturally, Wayne's immortal pre-J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers rendition of Last Kissis here in several incarnations (he wrote it) along with its little-known sequel Last Kiss II. So is the equally foreboding Edge Of The Sea. But Cochran's output also included plenty of swaggering rock and roll; all of those extreme rarities are on board too, even three extremely obscure instrumentals by his combo, The Rocking Capris. Towards the end of the set, as Wayne and his C.C. Riders blast through Harlem Shuffle, the Mercury version of Get Down With It, and his thundering original Goin' Back To Miami, the fully developed Cochran emerges, his sky-high white coiffure remaining awe-inspiringly intact as his mighty C.C. Riders horns blast and his melismatic screams pierce the studio air. Cochran was a thoroughly electrifying live act, but this jam-packed collection demonstrates that his often-overlooked recording legacy was scorching too.
Tracklisting
Various Artists
Randy Starr
Eddie Bond
Various
Benny Joy
Various
Wayne Cochran
Various
Wayne Cochran
