‘Classic Rockabilly’ is the king of rockabilly box sets by a considerable distance. Packed with some 100 plus songs that appear to reveal something new on repeat listens due to the density on offer here, Proper Records has clearly done their homework as the usual suspects of Presley, Burnette, Perkins, Vincent, Orbison et el are present and accompanied by the lesser-known Justin Tubb, Earl Epps and Vern Pullens. However, it is not just the jaw-droppingly good music on offer here, but the equally compelling comprehensive notes detailing each and every artist and clearly setting this compilation apart from the chasing pack. Viva Proper Records!

Hot on the heels of Volume One, the encyclopaedia of 50s music-related knowledge that is Mark Lamarr compiles another set of frantic rock ‘n’ roll for Vee-Tone Records. There is much to be found here and in particular Rocky Holman’s truly eccentric ‘Wild Boy’ that will leave you grinning long after its conclusion. The equally manic ‘Drummer Boy Rock’, replete with backing hollers and drumrolls, from Gene Watson & The Rockets’ maintains the flow and appropriately followed by the guitar-ringing ‘Six Long Weeks’ and the hip-swinging moves of Hank LeGaults’ ‘I Knew’. Only the more formulaic ‘High School Caesar’ slightly takes the edge off of proceedings to an otherwise enthralling compilation.

As far as rockabilly revival bands go, The Lucky Bullets are actually worth the attention. Spanning not just rockabilly music but blending Western-style influences with added Mexican flavour, ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ is littered with an assortment of hapless figures and chancers compellingly told by the charismatic Tank Harvey. Whether it’s the guitar twang and bubbling under the surface brass of title song ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’, evoking images of deserted towns and rolling tumbleweeds, to the leading bass tempo of love-struck ‘Bosses Daughter’ or the Johnny Cash inspired ‘Heavy Load’ , The Lucky Bullets possess a deft touch when it comes to songwriting. Defining moments, however, are left to the darkly comic film noir that is ‘Mrs B. Have’ and still essential ‘Fire Below’.

A nicely packaged and comprehensive examination of Elvis Presley’s Sun Records phase which takes the listener into the RCA sessions until the latter end of the 1950s. The compact set consists of five CDs and a reasonably detailed booklet detailing all of the recording sessions with added extras. If you are a fan of early period Elvis, then ‘The Complete ‘50s Masters’ is definitely a wise acquisition even if the songs contained within are more than familiar to even the most hardened Presley aficionados.

Ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha finally dusts down the guitar to return with only his second solo offering after his debut back in 1998. That is not to say that Iha has not been a busy man during the intervening years due to various sound projects but it’s ‘Look To The Sky’ which really puts him back on the musical map. In fact, initial first impressions suggest that Iha has hardly been away, as guitars jangle and images of long-gone hazy summer days are projected (‘Summer Days’). Despite residing in a comfort zone of sorts, this does not diminish the qualities of ‘Look To The Sky’, as the sizable gap between first base and second has been long enough to give this sophomore release the gloss of a debut.

On its first release, ‘Generation Terrorists’ was issued in a fanfare of slogans and rants concerning social, political and cultural issues, but more notably for the pronouncement that the band would disband after this debut album. Thankfully, the Manic Street Preachers decided to stay the course and the rest is history. This time around, ‘Generation Terrorists’ has arrived under a fanfare that is more attuned to pipe and slippers than the previous angry incarnation. However, for those who missed out on this timely release during the early nineties, then there is much to delight in here, whether it’s the rifftastic ‘Motorcycle Emptiness’ or the epic finale, ‘Condemned To Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Generation Terrorists’ still manages to evoke levels of passion not found in many of the band’s contemporaries.