RONNIE HAWKINS AND THE HAWKS, “RRRRACKET TIME” (Charly Records LP)

Those who like the R&B side of Ronnie Hawkins should enjoy this LP
collection of obscure 58-64 Canadian sides from The Hawk.

RONNIE HAWKINS AND THE HAWKS
“rrrracket time”
Charly LP (UK) CR 30180

come one, let’s go
diddley daddy
going to the river–slow version**
bluebirds over the mountain
suzie q
i still miss someone(slow, acoustic)
four strong winds(slow, acoustic)
little red rooster**
going to the river–fast version**
ain’t that just like a woman
got my mojo working
let the good times roll
ooby dooby
love me like you can
hey bo diddley

collection released circa l982

Except for the two acoustic cuts–the Johnny Cash chestnut and the Ian
and Sylvia tune–this album is solid R&B and rocknroll. The final two
tracks are from his first, l958 session in Hamilton, Ontario,(w/ Levon Helm),
interesting garage recordings. “Hey Bo Diddley” is like a rougher version
of Buddy Holly’s cover of the song.

The rest of the album is l964 singles sides released on Hawkins’ own “Hawk”
label in Canada and some unreleased demos.The three tracks I’ve marked **
feature JAMES COTTON on harmonica!
The common denominator here is the lack of production throughout–it’s
refreshing to hear these thin-sounding, unadornedtracks. Coming from 58
and 64, these tracks are like bookends around Hawkins’ best-known period at
Roulette. I’ve never considered The Hawk a rockabilly performer, in the
purest sense. His influences seem to be…one foot in rockin’ uptempo
honkytonk country of the early 50s, the other foot in the blues.

While this album contains no instant-masterpieces…and I can’t really
agree with the hyperbolic linernotes’ assertion that these “the frantic
rockin’ racket of a true primitive”…the album is very consistent and
documents the blues-side of a classic 50s rock’n’roller. There was no
“blues revival” to cash in on when these sides were cut…and a free
spirit like Ronnie Hawkins would probably NOT do what was “in” at a
particular time. If you’ve ever liked Hawkins, you’re sure to appreciate
these obscure recordings. I’ve played it six or seven times this week
since retrieving it from “storage.”

Re CD availability, I wouldn’t think that these lo-fi sessions would be a prime
candidate for digitalizing, but who knows? This being a Charly release, perhaps
you can get a two-dollar Portugese cassette of it from a Charly “licensee”?

Hats off to Ronnie Hawkins!! Time to go blast his hit version of “Who Do You Love”!

“The highway is like a woman…soft shoulders and dangerous curves”
–Percy Mayfield

BILL SHUTE, originally published elsewhere online in 1996

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STATIC STRUT by Bill Shute

KSE #421, 125 pages, 6″ x 9″ perfect bound, softcover, $6.95 cover price

published 2 January 2024

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