Track Listing
1. Whoopsy Daisy
2. Road Hog
3. Wet Suit
4. Intermission
5. Talkin' About My Baby
6. Clown's Coffee
7. Walkin' Down the Street
8. Mr. E. Claffn
9. Martin Denny's Sake Rock - (previously unreleased)
10. Bold Rat
11. West Couch Place
12. It's All Right
13. Since October
14. Don't Got Time
15. City Gone
16. In a Tub
17. Dom Casual
18. Jobless - (previously unreleased)
19. Old Gray Mare
20. Cakewalk
21. China Song - (previously unreleased)
22. Florence
23. Prisoner of the Highway
24. Waiting for Godot

Details
Playing Time:	59 min.
Distributor:	Caroline Distribution
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	n/a

Album Notes
THE EARLY HI-BALL YEARS includes the Coctails' first two LPs, HIP HIP HOORAY and HERE NOW TODAY, and the "Songs For The Children" single.
The Coctails started life in Kansas City when the four members were attending art school there. Moving to Chicago in the early nineties, they began recording and releasing exuberant and widely diverse takes on lounge music, jazz, rock, and more. THE EARLY HI-BALL YEARS collects most of their early vinyl releases (on their own Hi-Ball label) onto a one hour-plus CD. The music ranges from the Jonathan Richman-esque "Walkin' Down The Street" to the Raymond Scott-like "Road Hog" (they were later to record some of his music as well). The only outside material here further clouds the mirror, with their take on a Martin Denny number and their own pseudo-party anthem, "Waiting For Godot," which uses words from Samuel Beckett as its core. The Coctails were an intelligent band who also knew how to have a good time--their smarts never get in the way of the fun.

Editorial Reviews
3 Stars - Good - ...droll, versatile, oddly-spelt lounge lizard quartet...mostly sax-driven party jazz, with some flakes of early Madness...
Q (12/01/1994)