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A name familiar to vintage rock'n'roll aficionados via his brace of novelty-tinged Specialty 45s like 'Hiccups', Roddy Jackson was in actual fact a raw, piano-pounding screamer whose most rocking material was banished to the vault. "Central Valley Fireball" aims to correct that injustice by compiling for the first time Roddy's complete 1950s recordings
Much of what is heard on this disc is unissued and far fiercer than Jackson's three sought-after Specialty singles. The singer was groomed as a white Little Richard by the label's Art Rupe and Sonny Bono, but only on throat-tearing gems like 'Juke Box Baby' and 'I Love Her Just The Same' can we hear the true Roddy in action.
An added bonus is the original demo of rock standard 'She Said Yeah', written by Roddy with Bono, recorded by Specialty labelmate Larry Williams and subsequently covered by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Animals. Taken as a whole, "Central Valley Fireball" archives the small but perfectly formed legacy of a quintessential 50s wildman.
The CD is full price despite the relatively short playing time, but this is the only way these tracks could be released as a viable proposition.
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