Various artists, "Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of '50s Rock" (Rhino, 1999)

Further evidence that the '50s weren't all Ozzie and Harriet and Wally and The Beaver, no matter what revisionists might lead to you to believe.

The fabulous Rhino Records has assembled a collection of tunes from the days when rock 'n' roll meant rebellion, rather than something you hear playing over the supermarket PA. Youngsters, and a few not-so-youngsters, embraced the new musical style as the perfect escape from the air of repression and conformity that hung over their lives (see "Invasion of the Body Snatchers.") And the old guard was running scared.

In fact, short commentaries pop up on this compilation of various fire-and-brimstone types denouncing rock 'n' roll - right before, say, Eddie Cochran rips into "C'mon Everybody." Such juxpasositions help you understand why "the Wild Sounds of the '50s" brought out the alarmists in droves.

Rhino packs more than 100 tunes onto this four-disc set, representing the best of what rock's nascent era had to offer. Check out a small sampling of the artists: Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Bill Haley, Larry Williams, Bo Diddley, Duane Eddy, Carl Perkins ... and of course, Elvis.

Some songs qualify more as belonging to other styles: the rhythm and blues of Big Joe Turner and Fats Domino, the jive of Louis Prima and Keely Smith, the vocal stylings of the Everly Brothers and the Coasters.

But it's all good, including lesser-known gems like Don & Dewey's "Koko Joe," Dwight Pullen's "Sunglasses After Dark" and the manic "Love Me" by The Phantom (long rumored to really be Pat Boone cutting loose).

For listeners who want to take a walk on the wild side - half a century ago - this is the place to go.