Buddy Holly lived a short yet very important life as a groundbreaking musician way back in the 1950s. Born as Charles Hardin Holley in 1936 during the Great Depression, he quickly became a local talent growing up as a singer and guitarist after learning to play on the farm with his siblings. After seeing Elvis Presley in concert, he convinced his band to shift its music from Country and Western-based music to Rock and Roll. He and his band, The Crickets, were eventually signed to a record label and had some commercial success in the process. After that, he released this album on his own, although some input from The Crickets was present. Sadly, Buddy Holly was killed at age 22 in a plane crash, which ended his brief yet very important lifetime, especially in relation to music. It is best to remember Buddy Holly by his music. Let’s take a listen to this album, his most popular solo offering, and we shall hear how it sounds today.

I’m Gonna Love You Too begins with some energetic chord strumming and quickly launches into a good and smooth sounding song that is very much Rock and Roll Music. Buddy Holly sings a lot like Elvis Presley here, and the music throughout is really excellent to listen to. Minimal, yet great fun to listen to, this music is a real joy to listen to. Buddy Holly plays and sings in a minimal yet accessible 1950s way. This is a tune about missing a lover who another guy takes out of one’s hands. A great song to begin with.

Peggy Sue is a legendary song co-recorded with The Crickets. Instantly loveable and recognisable as a piece of music from the start, this is an energetic and fun listening experience from the start. This has acoustic guitar strumming, pounding drums and sweet vocals based on romanticism. Buddy Holly’s voice throughout is extremely cool to listen to. The guitar solo actually had a pickup selector change initiated by someone else as Buddy Holly was playing so fast. Brilliant. A joyous, sweet and excellent song that everyone who is interested in 1950s Rock and Roll should hear.

Look At Me begins with snappy piano, percussion and launches quickly into a decent song about a passive-aggressive lover. A well written and excellent piece of music from 1958, this sounds sweet, romantic and dramatic throughout. There is a piano solo in the second half which is well played and fits this song perfectly. Again, for such a short piece of music, this is extremely cool to listen to. This is like the best aged fine wine from 1958, and a simply gorgeous tune. Awesome.

Listen To Me has a Latin American musical feel to the song, and has Buddy Holly singing about romance and similar ideals that have been largely forgotten in society since the 1950s. Buddy Holly sings very, very well on this song and he sounds confident and irresistable for all the women in the late 1950s. The guitar work throughout is clean, interesting and fantastic to listen to. A great and anthemic tune to listen to, this is definitely worth listening to this album on repeat. A genuinely great musical effort.

Valley Of Tears begins with some lovely electric guitar, and launches into a superb ballad with some unusual keyboard (a rarity in music at the time) and is a tune about heartbreak per se. A sad and very moving tune to listen to, the keyboard solos are very interesting and refreshing listening. Nonetheless, this music is really cool and transcends its time and audience. A good listen about being heartbroken and blue. “Everyone understands me…in the valley of tears” is a great climatic line. It ends with a gorgeous guitar figure.

Ready Teddy is an upbeat and energetic tune to listen to, with shouted vocals and a frenetic pace that is unforgettably cool. This old fashioned music still retains its youth and vigour as a song to listen to. Buddy Holly’s Fender Stratocaster playing is superb and something special to hear. Awesome and very varied to listen to, this is an outstanding and joyous song that, like all the others on this album, must be heard. Excellent.

Everyday is another song with The Crickets. Buddy Holly sings sweetly and beautifully on this song, and a cool and awesome listen is present throughout. These melodies are fantastically created, simple and inspired throughout. Buddy Holly proves himself to be a fantastic music legend of his time. There is a xylophone solo to accompany this simple and acoustic guitar driven piece of music. In any case, this does sound really top notch and sweet throughout. A great song from start to finish.

Mailman Bring Me No More Blues is a slower piece of music with a swinging beat, piano and a fluttering vocal by Buddy Holly. Again, this sounds very sweet and unique as a piece of music. Buddy Holly sings about receiving a letter of spite. There is an awesome and clean sounding Fender Stratocaster guitar solo throughout this tune, and this is a great song that delivers a great and interesting musical statement. Very sweet for a gloomy topic.

Words Of Love is a famous Buddy Holly piece later covered by The Beatles. It is a very short, sweet and lovely tune to listen to. Buddy Holly sounds romantic and reassuring on this piece, singing to all the ladies out there within earshot. Nonetheless, a really great and interesting listen with some clean and bright electric guitar work, bongos and sweet singing. A cool tune to listen to for a song less than two minutes in length.

You’re So Square (Baby, I Don’t Care) begins with percussion and launches into Fender Stratocaster strumming. It quickly launches into a good song about a simple woman who only likes the small things in life. Regardless, this is a very good listen that sounds fun, powerful and energetic for a 1950s tune. Buddy Holly’s guitar playing throughout is excellent, and his singing voice is unique. A decent listen from start to finish.

Rave On features The Crickeys and is not the sort of Rave that is referred to in today’s world. Instead, this is a rather retrospective and old-fashioned expression that is about dancing all night in a dance club, at least in this song. It does have an interesting musical layout throughout, with joyous piano soloing throughout. A great song to listen to, and more goodness by Buddy Holly here.

Little Baby is a retro 1950s tune with pounding piano and excellent singing and musicianship by Buddy Holly. This music comes along very nicely, and although its simplicity will not appeal to all, it sounds fantastic throughout. There is a piano solo in the second half of this song, and the music is straightforward and excellent to listen to. Nonetheless, a really great song to listen to. Very sweet to hear.

That’s My Desire is a romantic listen from the male perspective by Buddy Holly. This is a tremendously awesome and joyous listening experience, and it has some absolutely sweet and gorgeous guitar parts throughout, and a really excellent and inspired musical listening experience. A lovely and dramatically simple listening experience, this is some of the best music from the late 1950s. A really great tune to hear, and something very lovely to listen to indeed. A great song, period. Wonderful music.

Think It Over is a piece with The Crickets. It begins with some simple guitar chords and instrumentation and sounds sweet, pretty and simple. This beautiful music is very, very good and it is a stripped-back and enjoyable song that has melodies galore to boot. An upbeat piano solo is present in this song, and the music and singing by Buddy Holly are both simple and sweet. The harmonies throughout are really great as well. Cool song.

Fool’s Paradise is a boogie-styled tune with The Crickets and with some pleasant singing, musicianship and harmonies throughout. Nonetheless, this is the sort of music that makes perfect sense to the 1950s music lover. Indeed, the phrase of this song may refer to how outsiders view The Sunshine State (be it either the USA’s Florida or Australia’s Queensland), who misunderstand the nature of said paradise. Regardless, a simple and very enjoyable song to listen to from start to finish. Another great listen.

Well…All Right begins with a crisp acoustic guitar and launches into a smooth and sweet tune that is put towards the end of this excellent album listening experience. Buddy Holly makes for some excellent songcraft on this album, and he showcases himself to be an excellent and talented musician throughout. Another great listen by the famous Rock and Roll musician, the singing and playing throughout is very beautifully irresistable. Another great two-minute-long song.

Take Your Time is the final song on this album. It isn’t as good as the songs before it, but it does sound sweet and lovely, as usual. Some interesting organs are present throughout this song, and the music is a good mixture of the best sounds of the late 1950s throughout. Good, even if the organ is a little cheesy sounding. A great tune to listen to nonetheless. The album finishes here.

For a debut studio album released in 1958, this certainly has lasted the test of time. Buddy Holly, indeed was a fantastically talented musician. All these songs are, for the most part, absolute winners. The only downside to this album is that Buddy Holly’s performances with his old band, The Crickets, are quite a lot better than his purely solo compositions. Still, this is a very good album. Should you listen to this album? Give it a go, unless you hate the 1950s.

A fairly consistent debut album release.

8/10