What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

"THE BOP WONT STOP" Shakin' Stevens (1983)

Shakin' Stevens, or Shaky, as he's known to his fans was born in Wales,UK in 1948, he released his first single in 1970 but it wasnt until 1980 that he hit paydirt with a remake of the Rosemary Clooney classic 'this ole house'. in 1977,prior to Elvis Presley's death, Shaky played the 58-60(army conscript) Elvis in a london musical based on the life of The King, he had the looks,the voice and the movements to carry it off successfully. during the early to mid 1980's Shaky released some 25 singles in the UK,including several #1's and almost 20 top 10 hits. he sung original songs for the most part but also had hits with remakes of 'green door', 'this ole house', 'what do you wanna make those eyes at me for', ' its late' and Brooke Bentons 'rockin good way'.most of his singles had more than an influence of 50's rock 'n' roll to them, afterall, he had spent the best part of the previous decade performing that genre.although he dissapeared from the music scene in the early 90's and mid 00's he did make somewhat of a comeback in 2005 when he appeared on reality tv show 'hit me one more time', where contestants who were so-called hasbeen singers vied for a new recording contract and chance to ressurect their ailing careers, Shaky won the contest and the song he sang on the final night of the show was a cover of Pink's hit 'trouble', this ended up a top 20 hit for him, in 2008 he appeared at Gladstonbury and continues to tour the continent to this day.
on with the album:
as with all of Shaky's albums there are several cover versions of 'minor' 50s-60s hits including Rick Nelsons 'its late' which made #11 in the singles charts in the UK.most of the songs on this album are in the same vein as 'its late'...boppy little pop songs with catchy tunes.
'a rockin good way' featured female vocals by Bonnie Tyler of 'total eclipse of the heart' and 'its a heartache' fame, this reached #5 in the singles chart and was a very good version of the Brooke Benton classic. so if you like the rythem and pace of the above two mentioned covers, you'll love the album, the other 2 hits from the album were 'cry just a little bit' (UK#3) (#67 USA), a slow rocker, and 'a love worth waiting for' #2 in the charts, a very nice slow number,the last two mentioned, penned by Shaky. i think Shakin' Stevens material has held up quite well over the last couple of decades, in direct conflict with most of the songs/albums from the 1980's. the album reached #21 in the UK, no chart entry in the US.

I LOVE THIS ALBUM

best track: cry just a little bit
worst track: could not pick one,sorry!

tracks:

1....the bop wont stop**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqS2tAZhA...re=related live
2....why do you treat me this way?**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmK5bcilf...re=related audio
3....diddle i**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd7m2swh1gQ audio
4....dont be two faced**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt9INfYzLW8 live
5....livin' lovin' wreck**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m5qMBA5i5Y live
6....a rockin' good way***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp9D04pcyV0 video
7....brand new man**
8....cry just a little bit***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih6u7GM_Yys&ob=av2e video
9....as long as**
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDPX3TVm1Ms live
10..a love worth waiting for***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKqmwkGe97g&ob=av2n video
11..love me tonight**
12..it's late***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYcb3CsBXTA&ob=av2n video

3s-4
2s-8
1s-0

rating 2.3