Considering how many collections of rare small-label rockabilly and first generation rock & roll sides the German Buffalo Bop label has released (close to 70 on CD so far), it's surprising that they've been so uniformly strong, and that
Rhythm Feet is one of the first to feel less than excellent. Compared to most compilations of rare '50 rock,
Rhythm Feet still has plenty to recommend it; the audio is crisp and clean and most of the tracks solidly make with the boogie, especially the emphatic "That's No Way to Treat Your Girl" by
Don Hopkins, the brief but revved-up "Hollywood Rock" by Al Turnage & the Turnpikes, some sub-
Trashmen stomp by
the Rhythm-Addicts, represented with two tracks, "Hey! Watcha Say Babe!" and "If You're Square," and the stripped-down jump blues of Angie Garcia's "Hi Yo Silver." However, this is that rare Buffalo Bop set with a few genuine misfires on it -- Dick Mason's "Cool Cats" is saddled with goofy vocals that sound like a minor-league radio announcer imitating
Julius LaRosa,
the Thunderbirds sound like a pack of clumsy teenagers far gone on cheap suds on their cover of "Flying Saucers Rock and Roll," Gus Coletti's "At the Rock & Roll Party" sounds like one lame bash in this context, and Houston & Dorsey's take on "Green Door" isn't bad but it's sure not rock & roll. But even the lesser cuts are rare enough to draw approving glances from folks with a taste for early rock obscurities, and rare photos and label scans help illustrate Buffalo Bop's impressive findings. Most folks with a taste for such things know even Buffalo Bop's lesser releases are significantly better than the average semi-authorized vintage rock disc, and despite its flaws,
Rhythm Feet easily proves this point.