Mac Wiseman - Teenage Hangout (1993)

Fans of Mac Wiseman's bluegrass might not know what to make of this batch of Dot recordings from the mid-'50s/early '60s. These 30 ultra-commercial sides consist of tight, precise performances of teen pop, rock & roll, and country-pop numbers, including many covers of contemporary hits. Wiseman's versions of hits such as "Tom Dooley," "Sixteen Tons," and "The Three Bells" benefit from arrangements that differ from the originals, while performances of less obvious material such as "Teen Age Hangout" and "Step It Up and Go" have become third-string rock & roll classics. Only "I Like This Kind of Music" even recalls bluegrass or hillbilly music -- Wiseman was obviously going for the commercial gold with these tracks. Teenage Hangout documents an odd detour in Wiseman's career while offering some '50s fun for the rock & roll crowd.