Album #47 : The Crickets - The "Chirping" Crickets

The Crickets

The "Chirping" Crickets (1957)

Many people know the tragic story of early rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly - a young man with an incredible talent, who lost his life (along with other rock and roll pioneers Richie Valens and The Big Bopper) in a plane crash in 1959. At the time, Holly had gone solo, splitting from The Crickets after he wanted to go to New York (while they wanted to return to Texas). Despite the split, the group had planned to reconvene somewhat after Holly completed the tour that, ultimately, was to kill him.

That tragic set of circumstances meant that The "Chirping" Crickets was to be the only studio recording performed by the band while Holly was a member (contrary to present album labellings, the band was never known as Buddy Holly and the Crickets; this was done post-mortem to capitalise on his unfortunate fame). History tells us that this album is one of the most important in rock, inspiring countless future musicians to pick up their instruments and play. If music family trees were to be drawn up for many bands, their branches would likely lead back to this album.

The question is, does it stand the test of time? Can we, 57 years after its release, still get something out of it?

The Album

The album's signature sound contains all the hallmarks of 50s rock and roll - soft, sparse production (due, obviously, to the limited technology of the time), male bopadoowop backing vocals taking great prominence, simple instrumentation and steady backbeats. From that perspective it offers nothing that many of its contemporaries didn't offer themselves.

There are, however, two key distinctions that give The Crickets some distinguishing features from other contemporaneous artists. Firstly, there's Holly himself, whose vocal tics and frequently altering timbre are a delight to listen to. Most importantly there's a sense that he knew when to adjust his vocal to suit the song; consequently, the ballads are delivered in a more straightforward style, but when the songs are more rockabilly or rock and roll in style, the tics come out in spades.

The second distinction is the work of drummer Jerry Allison. You might call me biased (yes I love drummers) but Allison is close to the standout performer on this album. He balances dexterity and a light touch with a speedy, fill-heavy style; and on occasion, eschews the rapid-fire snare fills for the more subtle nuance of tom rhythms. He elevates some of the more mundane tracks to barely listenable status.

That last sentence might give you an indicator of my view of the album's quality. There are a few standouts, of course, as you would expect on such an influential album. There's not much I can say about That'll Be The Day that other, better, actual music writers haven't said. It's every inch a great rock and roll song. Holly's vocal is fantastic with those famous vocal tics seemingly in every line, the drums are played with a touch of swing, and the lead guitar break, for once, takes a few risks (comparatively speaking). Not Fade Away is a nice skiffle-style tune, with Allison smacking a box in the famous Bo Diddley beat, although I can't help but feel that The Rolling Stones version is so much better than this one. Oh, Boy! is real rock and roll dance hall stuff, speedy in tempo with Holly showing a bit of gruff and gravel in his voice at times...and there's more nifty drumming. Maybe Baby slows rockabilly down slightly and, despite not reinventing the wheel, is an awfully catchy song; while I'm Looking For Someone To Love is straight-up quick tempo rockabilly, with continued great drumming from Allison and a surprisingly inventive guitar solo.

Other than that, though, there's slim pickings. There's some interest in the tracks An Empty Cup (And A Broken Date) and You've Got Love, as they were cowritten with Roy Orbison (the former in particular certainly has that Orbison touch about it). Everything else though is stock standard 50s rock and roll with all the cliches and none of the interest factor.

The saddest part though is that, apart from That'll Be The Day and maybe I'm Looking For Someone To Love, the album has dated badly, in my view. That's not just because of the ancient mono sound, either. Those hallmarks of 50s rock and roll, that made it such an appealing sound to the teenage wannabe musos of the late 50s and early 60s, no longer have any relevance. There is no timeless quality to the music (the two exclusions I've listed are such because....well, That'll Be The Day is just brilliant songwriting full stop, while I'm Looking....echoes the rockabilly sound later taken up by revivalists like The Stray Cats and The Living End).

The Verdict

Nobody, short of the extremely ignorant, can deny the role played by The Crickets in rock and roll's development. They inspired many of music history's great (and not-so-great) performers, and for that they deserve great praise and plaudits.

It must also be said that The Chirping Crickets is far from terrible. There's a great song, some good songs, then some forgettable songs (arguably, this is a common pattern amongst the majority of album releases, to be fair).

But ultimately, the album left me feeling like a time traveller from the future, observing a past that was both confusing and irrelevant. Does it stand the test of time? Probably not, no.

Can we get something out of it? Yes. We can ascertain that Holly was truly as talented as music writers paint him to be. We can also see why the album was so influential, as this was a sound that persisted well into the 60s.

And that's about it.

My rating: ** and a half

Standout Tracks

That'll Be The Day

Oh, Boy!

I'm Looking For Someone To Love

Tomorrow....finally, the country album I've been promising for ages!