Available now, along with ROLL 2031B, which has the original UK and US sleeve.
The album you are viewing, ROLL2031A, has a front cover version of the original Australian LP, released in 1958 shortly after the Crickets tour there that created so much excitement. Also available is an LP, ROLL 2031B, with the original front sleeve design from the 1957 US and 1958 UK version of The "Chirping" Crickets LP. That LP and the inner sleeve are identical to the 2031A content. The first pressing of 500 copies will include a numbered card based on a bubblegum card from the 1950s and a different card will be included with the 2031B UK version of the album.
The “Chirping” Crickets LP was regarded as a Classic Album not long after its release in the USA, Great Britain and Australia. For many aspiring singers and musicians in the late 1950s, the album was an inspiration, not just due to the fabulous sound but also the original cover photo. This showed electric guitars that many were not familiar with, and a bunch of guys who looked like our neighbours, rather than pretty boy pop stars. It was perfect. So why try to improve on perfection? We knew that the Crickets were a little unhappy with the overdubbed 'vocal group' backings that were added to some of their recordings. Crickets drummer J. I. Allison agreed to help us with the project at a time when AI programs were in their infancy. Thus the CD version (RCCD 3081), released in July 2023, took several years to complete. The vocal backings had mostly been overdubbed while the Crickets were on tour during their first flush of success that followed the number one hit, “That'll Be The Day”. Only few of the original undubbed versions were preserved.
The CD, The Alternative “Chirping” Crickets involved de-mixing and re-mixing the individual parts of the recordings and then presenting improved mono, stereo and 'undubbed' versions of all twelve tracks, even those that featured backing vocals that the Crickets instigated. This LP album contains the latter, as many fans confirmed that those without backing vocals were their favourite re-mixes. Individual instruments could be heard more clearly – previously the were obscured by the rather intrusive background vocals. Buddy's guitar shines through, along with J.I.'s drums, Joe B's bass … and even, in the few tracks he played on, Niki Sullivan's rhythm guitar.
The LP package includes an inner sleeve with the story of the original album together with Crickets drummer J. I. Allison's memories of the songs on the album and the details of the recordings, plus information on the process of de-mixing and re-mixing the tracks into mono and stereo versions. Our CD, The Alternative "Chirping" Crickets (RCCD 3081A and RCCD 3081B) contained three alternative mixes, but for most purchasers, the most exciting and revealing, were the last 12 tracks, without backing vocals. One reviewer commented that we had done a better job on the Crickets tracks than Abbey Road studio achieved with the Beatles recordings, and another felt that we deserved a 'Grammy' for the remixes. The CD also included a 36 page booklet with further information on the original album and our CD tracks.
The album you are viewing, ROLL2031A, has a front cover version of the original Australian LP, released in 1958 shortly after the Crickets tour there that created so much excitement. Also available is an LP, ROLL 2031B, with the original front sleeve design from the 1957 US and 1958 UK version of The "Chirping" Crickets LP. That LP and the inner sleeve are identical to the 2031A content.
