Rockabilly filly Janis Martin has often been called "the Female Elvis," largely because both artists recorded for RCA, and for a time, Martin had the endorsement of Colonel Tom Parker, but her music doesn't really bear the comparison. While her voice has a Presley-like wobble and she has an easy and natural talent for rock & roll, Martin lacked Elvis' raw sensuality and the dangerous edge he brought to his material (Wanda Jackson came a whole lot closer). But Martin was one of the first bona fide teenage rock & rollers of ...
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Rockabilly filly Janis Martin has often been called "the Female Elvis," largely because both artists recorded for RCA, and for a time, Martin had the endorsement of Colonel Tom Parker, but her music doesn't really bear the comparison. While her voice has a Presley-like wobble and she has an easy and natural talent for rock & roll, Martin lacked Elvis' raw sensuality and the dangerous edge he brought to his material (Wanda Jackson came a whole lot closer). But Martin was one of the first bona fide teenage rock & rollers of the female persuasion, and between 1956 and 1960 she made a fistful of great rockin' records that showed off her excellent voice and spunky enthusiasm to their best advantage, with "Drugstore Rock and Roll" and "My Boy Elvis" capturing the teen scene of the era with commendable accuracy and pep. Masters & Studio Outtakes isn't the most complete Janis Martin collection on the market, but you could hardly ask for a better one. The disc starts out with 15 of Martin's finest RCA sides, with the singer backed by first-call studio cats of the era and produced either by Chet Atkins or Stephen H. Sholes, and there's not a dud in the bunch. The next 14 tracks are outtakes and alternate versions from the RCA vaults, sometimes dotted with flubs and studio chatter, and if this material is more of a mixed bag, Martin sings up a storm, with "My Confession" and "I Don't Hurt Any More" showing she could handle more mature material with equal aplomb. The sound quality and remastering is splendid, and Bear Family has given this a beautiful package (designed to look like an old tape box) with the booklet filled with rare photos, session details, and a fine biographical essay from Colin Escott. If you already have The Female Elvis: Complete Recordings 1955-1960 (also released by Bear Family), you don't really need this, but someone looking for a more recent one-stop collection of Janis Martin at her best will have one hot boppin' time with this disc. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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