Bobby Vee - Down the Line

Anyone who thinks that Bobby Vee's credentials as a rock & roller were a little shaky back when ought to check out this 1999-vintage album, a latter-day tribute to Buddy Holly that's about the best this reviewer has ever heard. Vee's career started in Holly's shadow, of course, so it's no surprise that he did this album, but that he does it this well 40 years on is astonishing. He not only sings the stuff with a power and sensitivity that he couldn't have achieved back in 1959/1960 (plays guitar as well), but has assembled a trio that isn't bad when it comes to emulating and modernizing (without destroying) the sound of The Crickets or Holly's post-Crickets work -- and there's a moment or two when they could pass for The Stray Cats; and even more impressively, Vee co-produced this record. Read More