Down the Line: Rarities is a 2009 compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer–songwriter

Singer–songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 pioneer Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

's alternate takes and demos

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

, including the original undubbed

Overdubbing

Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....

 "garage tapes" with The Crickets

The Crickets

The Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s. Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day", released in 1957....

 and the "Apartment Tapes" recorded in the months before his death. Along with Memorial Collection

Memorial Collection (Buddy Holly album)

Memorial Collection is a 2009 compilation album of American singer–songwriter and rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly's master takes and hit singles, including some rare recordings...

, this album was released a week prior to the fiftieth anniversary of Holly's death (February 3, 1959) on January 27, 2009.

The compilation album chronicles Holly's journey from a 13-year old novice (the album features his very first recording, a cover of Hank Snow's "My Two-Timin' Woman") in Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

 through his early recordings with The Crickets and unsuccessful contract with Decca Records

Decca Records

Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 to his recordings in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 after signing with Coral Records

Coral Records

Coral Records was a Decca Records subsidiary formed in 1949. It recorded pop artists McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer, as well as rock and roller Buddy Holly....

.

Track listing

Reception

In an interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. It is owned by the Morris Communications Company.-History:The Lubbock Avalanche was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" was chosen due to his desire that the...

, Holly's eldest brother Larry Holley commented before hearing both this album and the Memorial Collection, "María [Elena Holly

Maria Elena Holly

María Elena Holly is the widow of rock and roll pioneer Buddy Holly. She owns the rights to his name, image, trademarks, and other intellectual property.-Early years:...

] told me I was definitely going to just break down and cry when I hear all these CDs, because they've cleaned them (the songs) all up and Buddy's music never has come across so pure before."

Release details

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog number
United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	January 27, 2009	UMe Universal Music Enterprises Universal Music Enterprises, a.k.a. UMe is the catalogue division of Universal Music Group. It includes Hip-O Records, Universal Chronicles and UM3 .... , Geffen Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:... , Decca Decca Records Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....	CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...	B0011675-02 (6 02517 79891 5)

External links

• Buddy Holly - Geffen - Buddy Holly's artist page at the Geffen label website