Down the Line: Rarities
Compilation album by
Buddy Holly
ReleasedJanuary 27, 2009
Recorded1949 - January 20, 1959
GenreRock and roll
Length120:55
LabelUMe, Geffen, Decca
ProducerNorman Petty, Milton De Lugg, Andy McKaie (compilation)
Buddy Holly chronology
Not Fade Away
(2008) 		Down the Line: Rarities
(2009) 		Memorial Collection
(2009)

Down the Line: Rarities is a 2009 compilation album of American singer–songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly's alternate takes and demos. It includes the original undubbed "garage tapes" with The Crickets and the "Apartment Tapes", which were recorded in the months before his death. Along with Memorial Collection, this album was released a week prior to the 50th anniversary of Holly's death (February 3, 1959) on January 27, 2009.[1]

The compilation album chronicles Holly's journey from a 13-year-old novice (the album features his very first recording, a cover of Hank Snow's "My Two-Timin' Woman") in Lubbock, Texas through to his early recordings with The Crickets and unsuccessful contract with Decca Records to his recordings in New York after signing with Coral Records.

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."My Two-Timin' Woman"Hank Snow 2:15
2."Footprints In the Snow"traditionalBuddy & Bob1:20
3."Flower of My Heart"Don Guess, Bob MontgomeryBuddy & Bob2:36
4."Door to My Heart"MontgomeryBuddy & Bob2:23
5."Soft Place In My Heart"MontgomeryBuddy & Bob2:16
6."Gotta Get You Near Me Blues"MontgomeryBuddy & Bob1:53
7."I Gambled My Heart"Holly, MontgomeryBuddy & Bob2:43
8."You and I Are Through"Holly, MontgomeryBuddy & Bob2:05
9."Down the Line"Holly, Montgomery, Norman PettyBuddy & Bob2:03
10."Baby Let's Play House"Arthur Gunter 2:28
11."Moonlight Baby (Baby, Wont You Come Out Tonight)"Holly 1:58
12."I Guess I Was Just A Fool"Holly 2:19
13."Don't Come Back Knockin'"Holly, Parrish 2:00
14."Love Me"Holly, Parrish 1:53
15."Gone"RogersBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:12
16."Gone" (alternate take)RogersBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:16
17."Have You Ever Been Lonely"Brown, DeRoseBuddy Holly & The Crickets0:53
18."Have You Ever Been Lonely" (alternate take)Brown, DeRoseBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:18
19."Brown Eyed Handsome Man"Chuck BerryBuddy Holly & The Crickets2:08
20."Good Rockin' Tonight"Roy BrownBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:57
21."Rip It Up"Robert Blackwell, John MarascalcoBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:25
22."Blue Monday"Fats Domino, Dave BartholomewBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:57
23."Honky Tonk"Billy Butler, Bill Doggett, Clifford Scott, Shep ShepherdBuddy Holly & The Crickets3:26
24."Blue Suede Shoes"Carl PerkinsBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:52
25."Shake, Rattle and Roll"Charles E. CalhounBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:21
26."Bo Diddley"Ellas McDanielBuddy Holly & The Crickets2:20
27."Ain't Got No Home"HenryBuddy Holly & The Crickets2:01
28."Holly Hop"HollyBuddy Holly & The Crickets1:36
Total length:54:54
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Last Night"Mauldin, Petty1:56
2."Not Fade Away" (partial alternate overdub)Charles Hardin, Petty2:23
3."Peggy Sue" (alternate take)Jerry Allison, Holly, Petty2:32
4."Oh, Boy!"Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Petty2:09
5."That's My Desire" (two false starts and master)Kresa, Loveday4:11
6."Take Your Time" (false start and partially undubbed take)Holly, Petty3:32
7."Fool's Paradise" (alternate take)Leglaire, Linsley, Petty2:30
8."Fool's Paradise" (master)Leglaire, Linsley, Petty2:32
9."Fool's Paradise" (alternate take #2)Leglaire, Linsley, Petty2:33
10."Think It Over" (false start and rehearsel take - take 1)Allison, Holly, Petty2:13
11."Think It Over" (alternate take - take 2)Allison, Holly, Petty1:51
12."Think It Over" (master - take 3)Allison, Holly, Petty1:51
13."Love's Made A Fool of You"Holly, Montgomery2:04
14."That'll Be the Day" (greetings to Bob Thiele)Holly, Allison, Petty0:35
15."That'll Be the Day" (greetings to Murray Deutsch)Holly, Allison, Petty0:32
16."That's What They Say"Holly1:52
17."What to Do"Holly1:54
18."Peggy Sue Got Married"Holly1:50
19."That Makes It Tough"Holly2:17
20."Crying, Waiting, Hoping"Holly1:52
21."Learning the Game"Holly1:34
22."Wait Till the Sun Shines Nellie"Sterling, Vontilzer1:14
23."Slippin' and Slidin'" (slow version #1)Edwin Bocage, Al Collins, Richard Penniman, James Smith3:11
24."Slippin' and Slidin'" (slow version #2)Bocage, Collins, Penniman, Smith3:35
25."Slippin' and Slidin'" (fast version)Bocage, Collins, Penniman, Smith1:27
26."Buddy and Maria Elena Talking In Apartment" 3:28
27."Dearest" (fragment)Baker, McDaniel, Polk1:13
28."Dearest"Baker, McDaniel, Polk1:53
29."Untitled Instrumental"Holly1:20
30."Love Is Strange"Baker, Smith1:43
31."Smokey Joe's Cafe"Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller2:14
Total length:1:06:01

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Paste(78/100)[3]
Pitchfork(7.0/10)[4]

In an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Holly's eldest brother Larry Holley commented before hearing both this album and the Memorial Collection, "María [Elena Holly] told me I was definitely going to just break down and cry when I hear all these CDs, because they've cleaned them (the songs) all up and Buddy's music never has come across so pure before."[5]

Release details

Country Date Label Format Catalog number
United States January 27, 2009 UMe, Geffen, Decca CD B0011675-02 (6 02517 79891 5)

References

  1. ^ "Geffen, Vintage Vinyl do right by Buddy Holly". APP.com. January 15, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  2. ^ allmusic review
  3. ^ Paste review
  4. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  5. ^ Kerns, William (March 14, 2009). "Oh Boy! New collections released". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved October 5, 2009.

External links

Buddy Holly
Authority control databases
Categories