50 scene-setting singles that surfaced in the UK in the lead-up to the Rock & Roll revolution Compiled by music historian and producer Stuart Colman, The Road to Rock & Roll series highlights the surprising wealth of trailblazing American recordings that surfaced in the UK between 1934 and 1955, ahead of the rock & roll explosion. The second volume in the series, Dangerous Liaisons, concentrates on the period 1953 to 1954 and features a potent mix of American hillbilly, rhythm & blues, western swing and doo wop: shake up these ingredients and you have Rock & Roll! The Road To Rock & Roll series was commissioned by Fantastic Voyage as a response to Stuart Colman s I Shall Be Released feature, which appeared in leading rock & roll magazine Now Dig This back in January and February 2013. Following the July release of Vol. 1: Jitterbug Jive (which concentrated on the period 1934 to 1952), comes Vol. 2: Dangerous Liaisons, which spotlights both the rhythm & blues of Wynonie Harris, Tiny Bradshaw, The Orioles and John Lee Hooker, and the country sounds of Hank Thompson, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Bob Wills and Hank Williams: seemingly unrelated genres, but unified by their determination to rock, and thus forming the foundations of rock & roll. Other artists featured on the latest volume include Bill Haley, whose Rock Around The Clock was a slow burner upon its original release in 1954, but would become a massive hit the following year, Fats Domino, Merrill Moore, Piano Red, Eddy Arnold, T-Bone Walker and Jimmy Witherspoon. The third volume is scheduled for early 2014.