Shaky - The Real Deal

Shakin' Stevens was one of the biggest stars in the U.K. in the early 1980's. Unfortunately for us Yanks, he missed being a star of the MTV/British Invasion at that time. I say unfortunately because Shaky was one of the most original-sounding acts of the era. Paradoxically so, because his sound hearkened to the fifties. There was a short-lived U.K. rockabilly craze in 1980 and 1981, featuring acts like Matchbox, the Stray Cats, Queen (remember "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"?), and the King of them all, Shaky.

This collection contains not only his first U.K. Top Twenty hit, "Marie Marie," written by Dave Alvin of the L.A. group the Blasters, but also almost all of his U.K. chart toppers - "This Ole House" (a remake of the Stuart Hamblen (country)& Rosemary Clooney (pop) hit from the fifties), "Green Door" (a remake of the fifties hit by Jim Lowe), and "Oh Julie" (co-written by the man himself and covered in the States by Barry Manilow).

It contains my favorite, "You Drive Me Crazy," a U.K. number two. This collection contains the following gems: his remake of the Rick Nelson hit "It's Late," with backing vocals by the Jordanaires (sp?); his lone stateside chart entry, "Cry Just A Little Bit," which, although it did not make the Top Forty, did make the country & western Top Ten when it was remade by Sylvia, of "Nobody" fame; and his U.K. Top Five duet with Bonnie Tyler (billed there as Shaky and Bonnie), "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)." Other worthwhile mentions include "It's Raining," "I'll Be Satisfied," and "Give Me Your Heart Tonight."

This collection is in no way complete, nor, I believe, was it intended to be. It is a budget compilation disc, which contains many of his greatest hits. It is a wonderful introduction to one of the U.K.'s finest singers of the eighties. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in rockabilly, in the MTV/British Invasion of the eighties, or just fine music, period. Shaky is the real deal!