Here's two four-CD box sets that both cover the rocking 1950s, but they are certainly not the same product. Both are from Rhino Records. Both feature 50s music that parents of the day would not appreciate. Given that those parents were raised on The Andrews Sisters and Benny Goodman this should come as no surprise. Loud, Fast and Out of Control covers a broader range of sounds and hits a few more of the big name artists that anyone (over 60) will recognize. Rockin' Bones focuses more on rockabilly, and as such includes a few more artists and songs that will be unfamiliar to most listeners.
As an introduction to what made early rock and roll sound dangerous to adult ears, either will help a young person today in an academic study of the era. For the older music fan that wants to dive deep into 50s rock, both are almost indispensable.
Several writers have complained that the two sets have too much overlap, and I have thought that myself. So I did the dull work of actually finding out how many songs they share. Both sets have just over 100 songs. There are fifteen identical songs that are included on both sets. There are also four songs that are included on both, but in versions by different artists. So there is less that a CD's worth of duplication. It could (and should) have been avoided by Rhino without significant loss to either set, but it isn't as big of a deal as I thought it was.
I think Loud, Fast and Out of Control is the better all-rounder. It's got more familiar material and still throws enough lesser-knowns into the mix to keep things interesting. But Rockin' Bones, with it's focus on rockabilly, has more to offer someone already tuned into the early days of rock and roll. If you already have some early rock compilations, Rockin' Bones will have more new material you haven't heard.
I'm happy to have them both. Neither appear to be available through streaming, a situation that applies to many great compilations. Both are available used at reasonable prices well below their original cost. As usual with Rhino, the booklets that come with the sets are well done and discuss each song individually.
