America
does nostalgia quite well, and the emergence of new technologies allows us to
continue to perpetuate this unrelenting packaging of yesteryear. Presenting
eight cherry-picked acts each jamming through two tunes, the concert
compilation ’60s Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox
does a good job of that, even if its material is somewhat uneven.
awkward crowd dancing mark this title a kitsch delight of sorts. Erstwhile teen
heartthrob Bryan Hyland kicks things off — he of the chart-toppers “Sealed with
a Kiss” and “Itsy Bitsy,” that rather cloying tune currently getting some
commercial run pegged to that yogurt ad about the girl who works up the courage
to finally sport her bikini at the beach. Del Shannon follows, working through
the utterly pedestrian “Hats Off to Larry” before more or less still
approximating the high notes of the solid bop ditty “Runaway,” which also
features a wicked synth keyboard pattern.
Davis — whose top 10 hit “Gimme Some Lovin’” helped bring British rock to the
rest of the world — plays that tune and “Keep on Runnin’,” while ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn
offers forth lilting versions of “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Turn Turn Turn,”
which the audience doesn’t really seem to recognize until about halfway through
its first choral pass.
rock ’n’ roll generation, grabs a stool to massacre “Old Time Rock ’N’ Roll”
and “Shake Rattle & Roll” in sweaty, obese fashion, while the goofily
earnest John Sebastian reveals himself a one-trick pony with the very
similar-sounding “What a Day For a…” and “Welcome Back Kotter” (yes, the TV theme
for the show of the same name). Rounding out the disc are Johnny Tillotson
— who charted 26 hits between 1958 and ’65, and here plays “Dreamy Eyes” and “Poetry
in Motion” — and Ray Peterson, who contributes “Goodnight My Love” and the
maudlin “Tell Laura I Love Her.”
region-free disc. Its soundtrack is pretty solid, though definitely not given
to a lot of rear channel differential. There are some nice, quite extended
text bios for most of the acts (Spencer Davis also plugs his own web site), but
this title runs only 38 minutes, despite the hour-long running time advertised
on its back cover. Additionally, a few of the numbers end abruptly, giving off a very
choppy, unprofessional vibe.