Buddy Holly: Down the Line: The Rarities

As all fans of early rock know, even the late, great Mr. Holly’s table scraps are worth savoring. The Rolling Stones, Beatles and others weren’t no fools when it came to citing the Texas troubadour as a main influence, after all. For the 50^th anniversary of the rock pioneer’s death at age 22 (yes, 22), Geffen Records has compiled a 59-song two-disc set of start-to-finish rarities and unreleased works. Some of the highlights that should have fans doing backflips include early tracks Holly cut with Bob Montgomery (as Buddy & Bob) as well as the undubbed final recordings Holly made at home before just before his death. The collection is said to have been compiled with the cooperation of Holly’s widow, Maria Elena, which is probably how Geffen got their hands on the cut titled “Buddy & Maria Elena Talking in an Apartment.”

~ Tony Sclafani

Your Rating

Track list

Disc 1

1	My Two-Timin' Woman
2	Footprints In the Snow - Buddy & Bob
3	Flower Of My Heart* - Buddy & Bob
4	Door To My Heart* - Buddy & Bob
5	Soft Place In My Heart - Buddy & Bob
6	Gotta Get You Near Me Blues - Buddy & Bob
7	I Gambled My Heart* - Buddy & Bob
8	You And I Are Through - Buddy & Bob
9	Down The Line - Buddy & Bob
10	Baby, Let's Play House
11	Moonlight Baby a/k/a Baby, Won't You Come Out Tonight
12	I Guess I Was Just A Fool
13	Don't Come Back Knockin'
14	Love Me Buddy Holly & The Crickets
15	Gone
16	Gone (alternate take)
17	Have You Ever Been Lonely (alternate take)
18	Have You Ever Been Lonely
19	Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
20	Good Rockin' Tonight
21	Rip It Up
22	Blue Monday
23	Honky Tonk
24	Blue Suede Shoes
25	Shake Rattle And Roll (partial)
26	Bo Diddley
27	Ain't Got No Home
28	Holly Hop

Disc 2

1	Last Night (undubbed)
2	Not Fade Away (alternate overdub)
3	Peggy Sue (alternate take)
4	Oh Boy (undubbed)
5	That's My Desire (two false starts plus undubbed master)
6	Take Your Time (false start & partially undubbed take)
7	Fool's Paradise (alternate take undubbed)
8	Fool's Paradise (undubbed master)
9	Fool's Paradise (alternate #2 undubbed)
10	Think It Over (false start & rehearsal take)
11	Think It Over (undubbed alternate)
12	Think It Over (undubbed master)
13	Love's Made A Fool Of You (undubbed)
14	That'll Be The Day (greetings to Bob Thiele)
15	That'll Be The Day (greetings to Murray Deutsch)
16	That's What They Say (w/fragment)
17	What To Do
18	Peggy Sue Got Married
19	That Makes It Tough
20	Crying, Waiting, Hoping
21	Learning The Game
22	Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
23	Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #1)
24	Slippin' And Slidin' (slow version #2)
25	Slippin' And Slidin' (fast version)
26	Buddy & Maria Elena talking in an apartment
27	Dearest (fragment)
28	Dearest
29	Untitled Instrumental (a/k/a Buddy's Guitar/listed as a Tremolo Instrumental")
30	Love Is Strange
31	Smokey Joe's Café

Buddy Holly »
Artist Page

More features, reviews, photos, mp3s, and video

Buddy Holly: Memorial Collection (Preview)

Buddy Holly: Down the Line: The Rarities (Preview)

2 Responses

January 17, 2009 at 7 p.m.

Eric Gaiger

An intersting collection, but, while this may be new for USA, almost all of these tracks, and many more rarities, have already been issued in England. Everything except the instrumental & Maria Elena talking in the apartment track. What we still need is a complete CD set of the comprehensive 1979 Vinyl Box Set of 120 recordings with the additional material found subsequently. Only when all have been remastered will Buddy Holly fans be stisfied !!!

February 3, 2009 at 5:11 p.m.

sponson

Mr. Gaiger is correct. I have the 1979 LP set but it's an extreme rarity these days, why has it never been issued on CD?