The seventy-fifth song: Honey Hush - The Johnny Burnette Trio
There's something odd about the sound of this song. It's rocky, but almost derivative in that sound, and the rockabilly sound is somehow similar to Elvis, but with a clearer vocal sound. If I heard of it today, I'd feel it was derivative. The fifties lyrics also feel tame for a large part - old fashioned in part, while trying to be edgy in places. It's the muted guitar that stands out though, the first try with a fuzz guitar.
The seventy-sixth song: I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash
One of the minor interesting things about the song are the key changes - introduced by a hum because Cash needs to get them right - that make each verse sound different, and imbue it with a slightly different atmosphere. It sounds simple, though, no complex lyrics, but something that appeals. There's vulnerability in it, but not overly much.
The seventy-seventh song: Knoxville Girl - The Louvin Brothers
Another country song, coming from a murder ballad, a term I hadn't heard of before this song. It's actually a fairly dark story, something that doesn't come quite through in the melody, which is happy although it has a darker undertone. It's fascinating to hear as well.
The seventy-eighth song: Ella - Jose Alfredo Jimenez
Soothing Mexican vocals, this song written by an at the time untrained Jose Alfredo Jimenez (working as a waiter) is slower, with a mostly simple orchestration - mostly focusing on violin parts - bringing out the deep vocals, one where I only understand some of the words, but where the love song qualities come out.
The seventy-ninth song: Take My Hand, Precious Lord - Mahalia Jackson
I am not sure where my thoughts on gospel go. The voice and singing sound good, but as a song I'm not sure it really works for me. It's sweet and sad, and lovely in that setting, but some songs don't quite connect emotionally, and that's the case here.
The eightieth song: Folson Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
While Johnny Cash's previous song was very vulnerable and personal, Folsom Prison Blues sounds different. While not a light subject - he killed someone "just to watch him die", a memorable line - the music sounds a bit more upbeat, a bit of freedom as he's traveling by train. It's good, really, it works well. Knowing that this will influence many future songs bodes well.
The eighty-first song: I Put a Spell on You - Screamin' Jay Hawkins
My reaction to the first few bars: This sounds old fashioned and too orchestrated. The vocals make up for this, however, sounding weird, creepy and off beat. He sounds slightly insane, which makes it interesting to listen to. It apparently fits his performance style, the closest I've heard to a horror rock song. I would want to stay away from him - at least the character he's performing in the song. As a performance it sounds like it would be more interesting.
The eighty-second song: Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody - Louis Prima
Two songs pretty much always joined together in this medley, swing is still coming hard (a gentler alternative to rock - probably more palatable for the parents?). It sounds good, featuring a group that seems like they're mostly having fun making music together.
The eighty-third song: Rock Island Line - Lonnie Donegan Skiffle Group
Almost more of a spoken word song, we get anohter train song - one that speeds up (it feels) as the train does, the slow delivery transforming a verse in into a fast and happy song that becomes pretty impressive to keep up with. You can imagine how this would have fired up the imagination of players, tieing into the obsession with beats per minute that came around about four decades later.