Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly and The Fireballs (1969)

 After he died, there was a scramble to overdub the final demos that Buddy Holly made. There were some done in 1959 and 1960, but I don't like those, so I'm electing to ignore them. The ones I prefer were the ones done by the group The Fireballs, but even then, like I said, it wasn't always appropriate. Generally, when it comes to Holly's 1959 acoustic apartment demos, they work more often than not. Outside of those, the only one I really think improves the original is Bo Diddley, so I'll slap that on as a bonus track.

The Fireballs recorded their overdubs between 1962 and 1969, so maybe this could have come out on the 10 year anniversary of his death.

Side One

1. Peggy Sue Got Married
2. What To Do
3. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
4. That Makes It Tough
5. Learning The Game
6. That's What They Say

Side Two

1. Slippin' and Slidin'
2. Wait Till The Sun Shines, Nellie
3. Smokey Joe's Cafe
4. You're The One
5. Love Is Strange
6. (Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest

Bonus Tracks

• Bo Diddley
• Slippin' and Slidin' (Other version)
  

Buddy Holly - Alone (1959)

 Like most musicians, Buddy Holly liked to play music at home, and write there too. He had gotten married to a woman named Maria Elana, and they got an apartment together in New York City, where Buddy Holly made some home recordings on his acoustic guitar. These recordings, much like his final studio recordings, are superb. These recordings just go to highlight Holly's superb skill as a songwriter and as a performer.

Side One

1. That's What They Say
2. What To Do
3. Peggy Sue Got Married
4. That Makes It Tough
5. Crying, Waiting, Hoping
6. Learning The Game

Side Two

1. Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie
2. You're The One
3. Slippin' and Slidin'
4. Love Is Strange
5. Smokey Joe's Cafe
6. (Ummm, Oh Yeah) Dearest

Bonus Tracks

• Untitled Instrumental
• Slippin' and Slidin' (Other Version)
  

Buddy Holly - Reminiscing EP (1958)

 Before he died, Buddy Holly seemed to be branching out, stylisticly. He was incorporating more strings, more balladry. Borderline crooner. These would be Buddy Holly's final studio recordings. In total, they're only about half an LP, but they still make an impact as some of his finest work. These would be among the first tracks released after his demise.

Side One

1. Reminiscing
2. Moondreams
3. Raining In My Heart

Side Two

1. Come Back, Baby
2. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
3. True Love Ways
   

Buddy Holly - You'll Miss Me (1958)

 So in 1957, Buddy Holly and The Crickets hit it big with a long line of hit singles, most of which made it onto their debut album. More hits followed on the next album, issued in '58 as a Holly solo album, though the group still performed on it. In addition to all that, there were still plenty of outtakes, b-sides, and whatnot. A lot of them would appear in 1959 on the "The Buddy Holly Story" LP, rush-released after his death in February. They could have been put out as another LP, however, which I've tried to put together here.

Once again, all of these are undubbed, as they were complete when they were originally recorded. EXCEPT! "Wishing", of which the original undubbed version no longer exists, or is otherwise lost. However, the overdubs seem to have been kept tasteful, or otherwise to a minimum on that release, so I reckon it's okay.

Side One

1. Wishing
2. That's My Desire
3. Well... All Right
4. Take Your Time
5. Fool's Paradise
6. Think It Over

Side Two

1. Lonesome Tears
2. It's So Easy
3. Heartbeat
4. Love's Made A Fool Of You
5. Early In The Morning
6. Now We're One
   

Buddy Holly - Holly At Home (1956)

The Crickets were the first garage band. At least if the liner notes of the Not Fade Away box are anything to be believed. The group recorded a number of home demos in the Holley family home's garage. Once again, these are lo-fi recordings, in line with the Buddy & Bob recordings, except these tracks are very plainly rock and roll. Immortals like "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" and "Blue Suede Shoes" find homes here. These aren't all of the Crickets' garage tapes, however. During these demo sessions, they also did versions of "Bo Diddley" and "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", of which I've included the studio versions as bonus tracks on the previous "Holly Hits!" EP. However, if you wish to include them, and to catigorise this as a live album, by all means.

I wasn't keen on the overdubs of these, as I found that the professionally recorded backing tracks clashed with the existing lo-fi instrumentation. 

Side One

1. Rip It Up
2. Good Rockin' Tonight
3. Gone
4. Have You Ever Been Lonely? (Have You Ever Been Blue?)
5. Honky Tonk

Side Two

1. Shake, Rattle, and Roll
2.  Blue Suede Shoes
3. Blue Monday
4. Ain't Got No Home
5. Holly Hop
   

Buddy Holly - Holly Hits! EP (1956)

 Throughout 1956, Buddy Holly recorded several songs for Decca Records, and of them, four or so were put out as singles. They didn't do well, so Decca shelved them, because they're thots or something, idk. Later, in 1957, when Holly hit it big on a smaller label (though still technically owned by Decca), Decca realised their mistake, and finally put out 11 of his early recordings with them on an lp, decepively titled That'll Be The Day, to capitalise on the hit single of the same name. The version of the track on that album was very different from the hit single version, since it was recorded earler and with a different producer, who didn't give Holly much freedom (probably explaining why Decca didn't have any hits with him). 

There were still a handful of good tracks in the Decca vaults that they didn't issue on the LP, so I've put them together in this here EP. At the time, if I reccall correctly, EPs were still a viable concept in the states, so I don't see why they wouldn't have put this out at the time. I've also included two bonus tracks recorded with Norman Petty as producer, who would go on to lead Buddy to stardom. They didn't really fit anywhere else, and they were recorded around the same time as these tracks, plus one of them isn't the best quality, but I'll touch on that later.

Once again, all tracks are their undubbed originals

Side One

1. Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight
2. I Guess I Was Just A Fool
3. It's Not My Fault

Side Two

1. I'm Gonna Set My Foot Down
2. Rockabye Rock
3. Because I Love You
   

Bonus Tracks

• Bo Diddley
• Brown Eyed Handsome Man
  

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Buddy Holly - Buddy & Bob (1955)

 The Buddy Holly Story is one that is equal parts inspiring and tragic. Following a shockingly quick rise to stardom, Buddy Holly would infamously pass away in a plane crash alongside The Big Bopper and Richie Valenz. What Holly left behind were three studio albums, a handful of non album singles, buckets of outtakes, some early demos, some later demos, and some mid era demos. After his death, these tracks would be plundered and overdubbed to varying levels of success in no particular order. 

What I've tried to do is, using the Not Fade Away box set, compile all the orignal, undubbed recordings in a logical order. After he died, some of the demos Buddy Holly recorded were simple acoustic recordings done in his apartment in New York. Overdubbing those made sense, I reckon. What I take issue with was the overdubbing of earlier material that didn't need to be done, as the original recordings were complete tracks to begin with. I've used those original recordings in all but one instance, and the overdubs I don't really take issue with I've put in their own catigory. 

The first of these albums I've put together would've been in 1955, with the earliest recordings going back to potentially 1953. These are, by and large, country and western recordings either put down on Acetate or done on home recording equiptment. Lo-Fi stuff. Some of it sounds alright, while others sound like they've seen better days - but are still putting up a fight. I've included three bonus tracks that sound a lot rougher than the others, one of which was Buddy Holly's first ever recording, a cover of the track "My Two Timin' Woman", recorded when Holly was just 13 (His voice hadn't even dropped yet!). 

Just about all of these recordings are with Bob Montgomery, as Holly was in a duo with him called "Buddy & Bob", hence the name of the album. Other members include Sonny Curtis, who featured on fiddle and guitar. This would have made an interesting start to Buddy Holly's career, and one can see the roots of this style in his Decca recordings.

Side One

1. Flower of my Heart
2. Door To My Heart
3. Soft Place In My Heart
4. Gotta Get You Near Me Blues
5. I Gambled My Heart
6. You And I Are Through

Side Two

1. Down The Line 
2. Baby, It's Love
3. Memories
4. Queen of the Ballroom
5. Footprints In The Snow
6.  Baby, Let's Play House

Bonus Tracks

• My Two-Timin' Woman
• I'll Just Pretend
• Take These Shackles From My Heart