Lately, I’ve been making my way through a lot of compilation albums. I finished the “The Best of” albums yester-day, and now I have a few compilations based off Billboard chart positions. Currently, I’m listening to Tommy Roe’s “Sheila” from Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1962. At the very beginning and again in the middle, there’s something going on with the drums that I’m not exactly sure how to describe. Through some kind of studio technique, it sounds like the drums are alternatively close and then far away.
I’d never noticed this any other time I listened to this song, but listening to it this time, I did, and it reminded me of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue,” which also uses some kind of studio technique for alternating drum sounds.
I don’t know if the effect on “Sheila” was meant to mimic that of “Peggy Sue,” but it is possible, since “Peggy Sue” is an older song. It’s from 1957, and “Sheila” - as the album title would suggest - is from 1962.
