Carl Mann and Larry Trider... "I'm Comin' Home"

Carl Mann seems to get little respect among rockabilly collectors, aside from his Jaxon waxin’. Perhaps it’s the “oldies” tag stuck on “Mona Lisa”. Or that it's easy to find the Phillips material compared to the monsterously rare Jaxon. But the guy had a killer catalogue of stuff for Phillips. Perhaps he's ignored because much of his material was just another stab at the huge success of "Mona Lisa"... reworking standards and hits into his sound.

I got bit by the rockabilly bug back in arond '93 or '94 and Abilene, Texas had exactly one record store at the time. I remember buying three albums in particular from that store. The first was a re-issue of Jerry Lee Lewis material. I later went back and picked up another lp in the series on Charlie Rich and another on Carl Mann soley because they were Sun-related. I seriously dug into the Charlie Rich and sorta enjoyed the Killer and Mann.

5 or 6 years later I was in Austin flying mighty high(Lone Star was my pilot that night) and digging mightily on Ray Condo. Ray and his combo slipped into a cover of "Baby I Don't Care" that felt just so right at the time. I later noticed that "Baby I Don't Care" on Ray's recent release High & Wild and started digging and saw that it came back to Carl Mann. And then the name Eddie Bush popped up.

Though Carl was a piano pounder, the real sound of Carl's records was guitarist Eddie Bush. IMPRESSIVE picking. The guy could really go on those six strings. His impressive history is well documented on the 'net as is Carl Mann's so google away.

But the Condo connection had me digging on that old reissue again for awhile.

Carl Mann's waxing of "Comin' Home" on Phillips Int.

A couple of years ago, a 'couple' being 2 or 3 in this case, I picked up "I'm Comin' Home" on 45 at a favorite northside haunt. Another song not his own (inked by Charlie Rich), but man did Carl and Eddie give it a go. I could not stop spinning the danged thing. The rhythm section gives it a powerful jive feel which is accented by Mann's piano and Eddie's muted picking. In that first break, right after Carl's piano fades away, Eddie's playing, as simple as it may be, really speaks. This is a song about intent and about purpose... I've been away and nothing can keep me from coming back, baby.


When I came upon a country radio haul a few months back there was a Larry Trider 45 on Coral squirreled away among the heap. My awareness of him at the time was that he had a single that regularly went for $130+ among soulies/mods/popcorners and that he was from West Texas.

I suppose that "Carbon Copy" is considered a crossover record in the Northern Soul scene (a scene I know just enough about to come off as sounding mouthy) that is loved by some and absolutely hated by others. It's popular either way.

What I didn't know was that he was one of many Crickets (4th picture down) or that the single I bought had a nice little rocker on it.

Larry Trider's remake of "Comin' Home"

So Carl Mann returned again via this remake from 1963. There's still that Mann vibe, but this version also oozes with the Holly vibe as well. 'Purt cool. And loads better than that "Carbon Copy" bullocks, mate.

Glennis Annette & the Confederates

You Better Find Your Way (Texas Recording Company 2083)

This disc is not unlike the Kent Chapman recording on Sea Ell I blogged a few weeks back. You've got an obscure local Tejas label and a so-so recording. Both labels had some pretty hip releases. I mentioned a few of the Sea Ell's in the Chapman bit. For TRC it's the Wanderer's "Higher Education", which I've always found a bit stuffy, and the Sundowners rockin' "Live It Up". Then there's a late 70s thing... "When The Sun Goes Down In Medina (I'll Be Going Down On You)" by Fast Buck. Okay... maybe the last one isn't that hip.

Unlike Sea Ell, the Waco-based TRC had a history that ran close to 20 years as best as I can figure. I believe it to have started off just down the road in Temple under the Ton moniker with releases by Dale McBride and and cool teener made up with a pair o' slow sides by (Were there any others?) My evidence is the fact that Chuck Harding's name is on the Ton releases and then figures heavily on a large part of the TRC output. Solid as a rock, eh?

I picked up this particular TRC release by Glennis Annette in a central Texas Salvation Army back at the beginning of the summer. Overall, so so. Verses build to the chorus. Drops back again with the intenstity building toward the end which features the most exciting part of the song. And which I trimmed off.

Nancy Sinatra-lite.

Also interesting to to see Gaylon Ladd's involvement, he of "Her Loving Way" fame.

My apologies for the incorrect scan. Just imagine it says YOU BETTER FIND YOUR WAY. 'Kay?