Red Prysock

August 29 - September 5, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

**** Red Prysock

THE BEST OF RED PRYSOCK

(AVI)
Yes, Virginia, there was rock and roll before Elvis -- wild, stompin', screeching rock and roll that usually involved sax players who sounded as if they could blow the house down. Red Prysock was the state of the art for crazy, honkin' sax; his biggest hit, "Handclappin'," has never been surpassed in terms of either sheer energy or pure swing. It's the blueprint for the small-group (piano, bass, drums, sax, and vibes) rocket-fueled sound that abounds on this long-overdue collection from the mid to late '50s, most of which has been unavailable for 20 to 30 years. Compiler Matt Goldman went out of his way to include not only "Handclappin' " -- along with much of the seminal 1956 album on which it first appeared, Rock 'n' Roll (originally issued on Mercury) -- but some of Prysock's more obscure singles and B-sides. The result is invaluable. If you've seen the old black-and-white movies of reckless, hopped-up dancers throwing their partners in the air and gyrating at the speed of light and wondered how they ever got white people to act like that, here's your answer.
-- Peter Travis