Eddie Bush Biography
If Eddie Bush’s vocalizing had just a little of the manic energy or character of his guitar playing, PI-3558 would have been one hell of a record! No such luck. It’s not that these vocal performances are bad, it’s just that they really lack anything distinctive. That’s particularly disappointing considering the energy and excitement Bush’s guitar work had brought to Carl Mann’s records. In truth, Bush was a pretty fair songwriter as some of contributions to Mann’s output attest. “Baby I Don’t Care,” a tune cut by Mann as well as Bush (Carl’s version appeared on his Phillips International LP), works pretty well when things are kept simple. Unfortunately, Bush was barely out the door when the choral overdubs started. He never had a chance.
The flipside, “Vanished,” is actually a pretty interesting song, although it might have been a touch too unusual for the pop marketplace. Those acoustic guitar major-yths are powerful, when you can hear them for all the echo, and the wood block percussion adds an atmospheric touch. Interestingly, it is Carl Mann who takes the lead vocal on the chorus of the Flamenco-styled tune. Along with these tracks, Bush left quite a few unissued titles in the Sun vaults. Many were instrumentals, which suggested some exciting unknown performances. But the truth is that most of his solo efforts were mediocre at best. The verdict seems to be that Eddie Bush did his finest guitar work in the role of support player behind Carl Mann.
