Virgil, Auteur à the rockabilly chronicle

Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio

7 April 20247 April 2024

Reviews

Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio – Don’t Desert Me

Dionysus Records – ID074524
Don’t Desert Me / I’m gonna Leave

Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio recorded this single in 1991, the year following the release of their first album and Bobby Trimble’s replacement of drummer Will B.
Side A is a beautiful medium Rockabilly. The B side is just as successful, a superb melancholic ballad highlighted by the voice of Big Sandy/Robert Williams and the delicate pickin’ of TK Smith. Both songs are from Williams’ pen. The 45 version was released on Dionysus Records, but there is a much rarer 78 rpm version that the group published on Jeems Records, its own label (Jeems 1085).

Fred ”Virgil” Turgis

The Barnshakers

6 April 20247 April 2024

Reviews

The Barnshakers ‎– Whiskey River / Hollow Grave

Goofin’ Records ‎– GRSI 224 [2012]

Another excellent single released by the Barnshakers. The A-side is a cover of Johnny Bush’s Whiskey River, also a hit for Willie Nelson. They deliver a superb muscled-up version with powerful slap bass and intense vocal by Vesa.
The flip is an excellent Rockabilly with harmony vocals, typical of the style of the band.

The Barnshakers – Twenty One

Goofin Records GRCD6130
Twenty-One – Come On – Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop – Have A Ball – Knock Knock Rattle – Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby – Yah! I’m Movin’ – Wiggle Like A Worm.

Very good mini cd from the Barnshakers, one of the best, if not the best european band in activity made of one studio track and seven live recording. The studio track “Twenty One”, a Vesa Haaja’s own, is an immediate addictive song with its great vocal and lead guitar part and the piano support. This song proves how right they were to add a piano in their line-up. The live show, with the exception of “Wiggle Like A Worm” is made of covers and songs that were never recorded in the studio by the band. This gives another interest to this record to hear them playing classic songs by Wynn Stewart (Come On), Lew Williams (Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop) and Carl Perkins (Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby). The set ends with a frantic Vesa singing and screaming on “Yah! I’m Movin’” and “Wiggle Like A Worm” with Lester playing Burlisonnian licks. By far the best cut of this record. An advice, if you want it, you should hurry as the cover states it’s a limited release…

The Barnshakers – The Single album

Goofin Records GRCD6126 {2004}
She Done Quit Me – So Doggone Blue – Big Sandy – Ooh’ Baby -Complicated Fool – Who’s Gonna Be The Next One Honey – When I Take My Sugar To Tea – Take One – Wiggle Like A Worm – Choo Choo’s Coming Back – Desperate Santa – Santa’s Got A Brand New Steel Pedal – Hocus Pocus – Gone A-Rockin’ – You’re The Cause Of It All – Tell My Baby I Love Her – Move On – What’cha Gonna Do – Boppin’ In Roswell – Raining In My Heart – What’cha Doin’ To Me – Lotta Lotta Women

It’s a good idea to issue all the Barnshakers singles on one cd as some are not that easy to find. You can also see the evolution of the band through the years from the rockabilly of the beginning to the addition of a piano player and the touch of boogie of today. The first single shows what a good songwriter Jussi Huhtakangas (aka Lester Peabody) is, too bad he doesn’t write more songs. Vesa, the lead singer and main writer wrote my two favourite songs on the cd issued from the Xmas single «Desperate Santa» and the great «Santa’s got a brand new pedal steel». You got some covers too and a song penned by Shaun Young. So what could you ask for more ? Unissued material ? You’ve got it, two new songs recorded in 2004. So I guess you understood this record is a must have for all Barnshakers and rockabilly fans everywhere.

The Barnashakers – Complicated Fool

Goofin’ Records – GOOFY 546 [1994]
Complicated Fool – Whose Gonna Be The Next One Honey / When I Take My Sugar To Tea – Take One

This superb EP opens with Complicated Fool, a superb Rockabilly tinged with Hillbilly, which is a composition by Vesa Haaja, the singer of the group. Peabody’s guitar and Haaja’s vocals, capable of alternating Rockabilly tension, Hillbilly style and the softest crooning, are the two elements that jump to the ears first. Still, one should not forget the rhythm section. Mika Liikari (double bass) and Mike Salminen (drums) are Europe’s answer to the rhythm section that Bobby Trimble and Wally Hersom of the Fly-Rite Trio formed.
Next comes a cover of Whose Gonna Be The Next One Honey (Hal Goodson & the Raiders in 1957). The Barnshakers’ version is very close to the original, although softer, thanks to Haaja’s fabulous singing.
The first track on side B is a cover of When I Take My Sugar To Tea, a song from the early 1930s, made popular by artists as talented as the Boswell Sisters, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, to name a few. The Barnshakers approach their version by adding a Gene Vincent touch, reminiscent of him when he covered standards such as Up A Lazy River or Peg O My Heart. The rhythm is subtle, Vesa croons and the guitar part is sparkling.
Speaking of guitar, the last piece is a cover of Take One, Phil Baugh’s very jazzy instrumental. It is a tour de force and a demonstration of Lester Peabody’s know-how.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Barnshakers (left to right: Mike Salminen, Vesa Haaja, Mika Liikari, Lester Peabody).

Miss Mary Ann / the Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers

5 April 20247 April 2024

Reviews

Miss Mary Ann & the Ragtime Wranglers – Danger Moved West

Home Brew Records – Sonic Rendez Vous SRV059 [2013]
Danger Moved West – Little Ole You – You Made A Hit – Strange Things – The Blues Come Around – Honey – Fine Tuning Buddy – I Ain’t That Strong – Do You Wanna Rock – So You Think You’ll Come Back – Knock Knock Rattle – Falling For You – Make The Most Of It – I’ve Got Leavin’ On My Mind – Blue Days Black Nights – I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You

Miss Mary Ann and the Ragtime Wranglers danger moved west

Sometimes, bands or artists are such a part of your musical landscape that you tend to take them for granted. Take Miss Mary Ann for example… I bought the debut album of this lady and her faithful Ragtime Wranglers when it came out nearly 20 years ago and since, I know that once in a while I’ll have my dose of Miss Mary Ann, Ranch Girls, Ragtime Wranglers or the three in the same time. Of course, I knew they were good, even extremely talented but it struck me while listening to their latest effort, like the first time I discovered them. I suddenly realised that the rockabilly (in the large meaning of the term) scene would be a much sadder place without them.
First you have Miss Mary Ann. Unlike many others of her counterparts, she’s not affected by all those mannerisms you often find, especially with female singers. She never tries to sound mean (I suspect it’s not in her nature anyway) or to fake what she’s not. She just sings frankly, sincerely and with passion and that’s all. She goes easily from hillbilly bop to rockabilly, from rock’n’roll to jazz tinged stuff like on “Make the Most of it” penned by Dave “Pappy” Stuckey who also wrote the liner notes by the way. And when she sings harmonies with Raina Thompson, the new Ranch Girl, oh my, you’re just shaking nervously in anticipation for the new Ranch Girls album (or at least for the next time you’ll see them on stage). Icing on the cake, she also writes her own material. Her six self penned songs blend perfectly with the likes of Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, Ray Smith, Wayne Walker and more, if you please! Then you have the Ragtime Wranglers who always deliver the goods. Joe Sixpack draws from his bottomless bag of riffs while Huey Moore and Sietse Heslinga set the perfect rhythm. You even have Carl Sonny Leyland who guests on piano on a couple of tracks (including “Honey” an original he penned).
I know that you must think “there must be something wrong; I bet this album comes in an ugly cover!” Not even that! It comes in a superb gatefold digipack (and in vinyl format too) designed by Pieter Dorrenboom.
Take my advice, run to your music store, whether it’s on the web or in your city, and do yourself a favour, you won’t regret it!

Miss Mary Ann & The Ragtime Wranglers – Rock It Down To My House

Sonic Rendezvous Records SRR33
Rock It On Down To My House – Easy Does It – I Got Stung – Don’t Wait Up – Tell Me Who – Forget About The Past – Ooh La Baby – I’ll Be Your Slave – Watch Dog – That’s The Way I feel – Don’t Lie To Me – I Can’t Quit – Sweet Sugar Booger – What Am I Doing Here – Don’t Stop The Music.

Miss Mary Ann - Rock It Down To my House — Miss Mary Ann – Rock It Down To my House

This is the second solo album from Miss Mary Ann also known as one half of the famous Ranch Girls from Netherland. And like the Ranch Girls she’s backed by the Ragtime Wranglers. But the comparison with her other outfit stops here. If the Ranch Girls’ repertory is made upon harmonies, duets and western swing/hillbilly, Miss Mary Ann goes for a more rocking sound. And the opening track leaves no doubt about that. You’re going to rock and bop ’til the end of night and guest Carl Sonny Leyland on piano will help you to loose some weight on the dance floor. “I Got Stung” and “I’ll be your slave” (man, what a program) are in the same vein while “Tell Me Who” brings a little swing. To slow down the pace and let us take our breath there’s some honky tonk and country tunes to the mix : Faron Young’s “Forget About The Past” features the steel-guitar wizard himself, none other than Jeremy Wakefield and so does George Jones’s Dont Stop The Music. Her interpretation of Marty Robbins’ “I Cant Quit” where she seems both desperate and resigned is simply superb. I’ve always thought nobody could top Robbins on that, but right now I have serious doubts. And the smooth instrumentation of the Ragtime Wranglers reinforces that feeling. This cd is not only a pleasure for your ears, it has been beautifully designed by Mighty Sam and comes in a superb digipack.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Miss Mary Ann / The Ragtime Wranglers / The Ranch Girls – Selections 1993-2008

Sonic Rendezvous Records SRV055
Hang On Folks – Mama’s Here – Rock-a-bye Baby – I Got Stung – Baby Of Mine – Flying Saucer Boogie – I Ain’t Worried About Tomorrow – Rock It On Down To My House – My Adobe Hacienda – Homebrew Hooch – Kokomo – What Am I Doing Here – Hey Doll Baby – Kaw-liga – Groovesville – Don’t Lie To Me – Hi De Ank Tum – Flipsville – Sweet Thing – If You Don’t Somebody Else Will

Wether it’s with the Ranch Girls, Mary Ann’s solo act or the Ragtime Wranglers on their own, this bunch of guys and girl has conquered the world with their mix of hillbilly harmonies, rockabilly and early country (when this word still meant something).
This album is a celebration of the band’s first 15 years and gathers songs from most of their releases. I can hear you say: “Great! a best-of, but we already own the albums”. Sure, but there’s more than one reason to buy this cd.
First it comes in a deluxe digipack in DVD format, beautifully designed with lots of photos inside. I see I grabbed your attention. Then you have a couple of tunes from not so easy to find 7″ (Kaw-Liga, Flying Saucer Boogie…) which should be enough to convince you, but you also have unissued live demos (Hi De Ank Tum), outtakes from their second album (My Adobe Hacienda, Rock A Bye Baby), two live songs recorded on the Radio that makes you regret they didn’t release a live album too (Sweet Thing and If You Don’t Somebody Else Will), and icing on the cake six tracks entirely remixed , giving them a fuller and a better sound.
At the end, this cd is far more than just a best-of, it’s almost a brand new album, sure to gain them new fans and please old ones like me, who, 15 years ago fell in love with the sound of the Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers and never stopped digging them since.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers – Can You Hear It??

Homebrew Records HB6 / Hayden’s Ferry Records 22032 [2001]
Can You Hear It – Tennessee Saturday Night – Be Gone – Hang On Folks, Here We Go -Seashore – O.k. You’re My Baby – I Ain’t Worried About Tomorrow – Between the Devil and the Deep Blue See – Harmonize – Don’t Lie To Me – City Boy – You’ve Got Everything – Baby Of Mine – Hillbilly Jive With a Boogie Beat – Sugar Booger

Can You Hear It is the third long play by the Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers. Still with Miss Mary Ann at the helm, this one features the new Ranch Girl Mary Lou, who replaced Esther (aka Lil Esther) who had already replaced Caroline.
Except for this, there’s no big changes and one will be happy to find the brand of stuff one can expect from this excellent band, mostly from the pen of Miss Mary Ann.
Can You Hear it, the tile track, is full of Collins Kid exhuberance and fun. Red Foley’s Tennessee Saturday Night is turned into a fast paced swing with questions and answers by Mary Lou and Mary Ann and features Carrie Luz Rodriguez on fiddle. Next is Be Gone, a plain rockin’ tune. Hang On Folks, Here We Go is a two parts harmony version of Miss mary Ann’s song previously recorded on her solo EP. Hard to chose which one is the best (and glad I don’t have to).
Mary Lou proves to be a solid songwriter too with Seashore that sees the return of one thing I particularly like in the Ranch Girls: the accordion. Also of her composition is the very good City Boy with fiddle.
Back to the rockin’ Collins style with OK You’re my Baby. Jimmy and Johnny’s I AInt Worried About tomorrow follows on which they added a bit of Rumba beat . The accordion makes a welcome return with Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (not the jazz standard) which is pure hillbilly gold. You’ve got Everything is a solid hillbilly boogie with steel guitar played by Jimmy Roy (Ray Condo, Big Sandy, Jimmy Roy’s Five Star Hillbilly).
Baby of Mine was the song that really hooked me and made me crazy about the Ranch Girls on their debut album and I was glad to find a brand new version on this album. This one features a prominent mandolin instead of the accordion. It’s different, are as the slight variations in the vocals, but equally great.
The album ends with two covers : Reece Shipley’s Hillbilly Jive with a Boogie Beat (that perfectly sums up what the Ranch Girl are) that features none other than Deke Dickerson on vocals and twin guitar and the Marcus Brothers’ Sugar Booger.
Needless to say that the Ragtime Wranglers – Sietse on drums and percussion,Patrick on double bass, Jerome on acoustic and electric mandolin and Joe on acoustic and electric guitar – are as usual perfect, swingin and boppin’ when it’s needed and blending perfectly with the vocals.
Another killer from our favorite European hillbillies !
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Miss Mary Ann & the Ragtime Wranglers – Hang On, Folks, Here We Go

Goofin’ Records – GOOFY 588 [1998]
Hang On Folks, Here We Go / Hey Little Dreamboat, Flyin Saucer Boogie

In 1998, Miss Mary Ann, always accompanied by the Ragtime Wranglers (Jelle Van Hatten, guitar; Sietse Heslinga, drums; Patrick Hemelrijk, double bass; and Erik Van Beek, steel guitar), took a break from the Ranch Girls to record this very pleasant EP. Side A is a composition by Mary Ann, and on side B, we find Hey Little Dreamboat (Rose Maddox) and Flyin’ Saucer Boogie (Eddie Cletro, who also accompanied Rose Maddox on Hey Little Dreamboat). There is no big departure in terms of sound compared to the Ranch Girls except for the obvious fact that Mary Ann sings alone and not in harmony. This gives a slightly more Rockabilly/Rock’n’roll tone than Hillbilly, although the rural bop touch is present, if only through Van Beek’s steel guitar.

The Ranch Girls and the ragtime Wranglers – Hillbilly Harmony

Goofin Records – GRCD 6071 [1996]
Move Over Rover – I Wanna Wanna – Make Up Your Mind – Sure To Fall – Rock-A-Bye Baby – Travelling Blues – Rock’n Roll Polka – Buzzin’ Around – Oh, Monah – Seven Lonely Days – Pal Of My Lonely Hour – Mad At You – Hopin’ That You’re Hopin’ – Hey, Sheriff – Roundup Of Fun

Except for the label and the bass player, not much has changed betwen the first album and this one. You’ll find on this platter the same brand of hillbilly boogie, close harmony with a dose of Rockabilly that you liked on Rhythm on the Ranch. Another little change is that you’ll find more western swing influences with the Mc Kiney sisters’ Pal Of My Lonely Hour and Buzzin’ Around, an instrumental penned by the band’s steel guitar player.
The girls seem also more confident in their vocal talent and explore new manner of singing. I particularly like how they trade intricate vocal lines in some sort of canon (listen to Seven lonely Days to hear a fine example of what I’m telling about.)
All in all a solid second album thta makes more than confirming the very good impression made by the first.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers – Kaw Liga

Home Brew HB002 – [1995]
Kaw Liga – I’ll get Him Back

Excellent single in the wake of the band’s debut album with a cover of Hank Williams (via the Davis Sisters) Kaw Liga and the Davis Sisters’ I’ll Get Him Back.
Limited edition of 1000 copies.

The Ranch Girls and the Ragtime Wranglers – Rhythm on the Ranch

Longhorn Records, Holland ‎– LHC 502 [1994]
Gotta Git Goin’ – Baby Of Mine – I’m Done, I’m Through – Go Away Don’t Bother Me – Hi De Ank Tum – Hey, Doll Baby – I Gotta Know – Hot Rod – Peepin’ Eyes – Hillbilly Gal – Crazy – Foggy Mountain Top – Wildwood Flower – Fiddle Diddle Boogie

Rhythm on the Ranch is the Ranch Girls’ debut album. The Ranch Girls are a hillbilly duet formed by Mary Ann and Caroline and backed by the Ragtime Wranglers a fine aggregation of musicians containing members of the Greyhounds and the Bugaloos.

Their sound mixes hillbilly harmony vocals reminiscent of the Davis sisters (whom they cover three songs Gotta Git Goin, Foggy Mountain Top and Fiddle Diddle Boogie) or any of the other « sisters » bands of the same style (Dining, Miller…) with the joyful exuberance of the Collins kids (present here with Hot Rod and Go Away Dont Bother me) sprinkled with some Rose Maddox and a bit of bluegrass too with Charlie Feather’s Peepin’ Eyes.
Each girl takes a solo spot, Caroline with Wanda Jackson’s Gotta Know and Mary Ann with a moving rendition Patsy Cline’s Crazy.
Shaun Young of High Noon fame is the author of « I’m Done I’m Through » performed here in full honky tonk style with appropriate steel guitar (and talking about High Noon, Sean Mencher introduces Fiddle Diddle Boogie).
Joe, the guitar player, penned Hillbilly Gal and Mary Ann contributed by far my favourite song of the album, the excellent baby of Mine perfectly arranged with accordion.

The band is simply perfect with a tight rhythm section and includes some guests on steel, fiddle and mandolin, and Joe Sixpack’s Maphis inspired guitar licks are the last piece of this superb musical puzzle. They shine throughout and give all their best on the instrumental Wildwood Flower.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Ragtime Wranglers – 15 Smoking tracks

Home Brew Records/Sonic Rendez-Vous SRV057
Harissa / Firewater Stomp / Thunder Reef / Red Rod Race / Sin City Serenade / Resaca / The Sky’s Gone Out / Amor Perdido / Mojo Bag Bop / Mexican Standoff / Driving All Night / Lullaby For Louis / Buck ‘n’ Rich / The Chicken Room / Smoke ’em Out

This is the second all instrumental album for Miss Mary Ann’s backing band, the Ragtime Wranglers, and if you’re too lazy to read the full review here’s what you need to know: it’s a killer!
It opens with the surf tinged “Harissa”, an ode to this North African sauce with sax. I couldn’t help but think it would make a fantastic double-sider with Los Straitjackets’ “Casbah”. With the intro played on the tom-tom, “Firewater Stomp” carries an Indian mood (a bit like Kaw-Liga) and features the one and only Jeremy Wakefield on steel guitar. Next is “Thunder Reef”, the sole cover of the album (from the pen of Bobby Fuller): a solid rocking and surfing number with great drums break. “Red Rod Race” is a rockabilly track that comes complete with car sounds and would have made Bob Keane, boss of Del-Fi, happy. Pictures of desert, setting sun and such other things come to mind while listening to “Sin City Serenade”, a cool atmospheric tune with accordion and muted Mexican trumpet. “Resaca” (hangover in Spanish) has a kind of film noir groove with a Latin beat and a superb tenor saxophone part. And don’t forget Miss Mary-Ann contribution on vocals. If Tarantino doesn’t pick this one for his next movie he’s a dumbass. “The Sky’s Gone Out” is simply perfect or perfect in its simplicity with just the acoustic guitar, a double bass and a mandolin. More Latin fever with “Amor Perdido” which is a mix of twang guitar and mariachi trumpet. How could you resist? Mojo Bag Bop is a rockin’ blues that’ll remind you of John Lee Hooker’s Boogie Chillun with a rockabilly beat. If good, The Mexican Standoff is not very original. More interesting is “Drivin’ All Night” that makes good use of the reverb. “Lullaby For Louis” follows. It’s a gentle waltz that sees the return of the accordion in the background. They couldn’t have done it nice, Louis is a lucky baby. Wakefield returns on “Buck’n’Rich”, a tribute to Buck Owens and Don Rich ‘and incidentally a tribute to the good old Fender Telecaster). “The Chicken Room” sounds like Link Wray (Run Chicken Run) meets the Ventures. “Smoke ‘em Out” closes the album with Joe Sixpack in full Larry Collins/Joe Maphis mode (don’t forget they’ve backed the Collins Kids many times) duelling with Jeroen Jongsma on mandolin.
Icing on the cake, this album comes in a beautifully designed digipack. Pleasure for the ears, beauty for the eyes.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Ragtime Wranglers – Groove A Tune

Sonic Rendez vous Records SRR 22
Low Man On A Totempole- Groovesville- Homebrew Hooch-. Groover’s Bop- I Can’t Stand It- Blue Smoke- Town Hall Shuffle-The Manhunt- Guydid- Get My Bread- Hop Scotch- Black Mountain Rag- Bronco Boogie-West Indies Groove

Do we still need to present the Ragtime Wranglers, this Dutch band who foams the world stages since the beginning of the Nineties with the Ranch Girls and Miss Mary Ann but also backing some of the genuine rockabilly stars (Curtis Gordon, Hardrock Gunter, Sid and Billy King, the Collins Kids, Larry Donn, Marvin Rainwater, Frankie Miller and Jack Earls) and more recent artists (like Sage Guyton and Jeremy Wakefield of Lucky Stars). However this “Groove a Tune” is their first album as a “real” band if one does not take account of two instrumentals “The Rocking Gypsy” and ” Road Stop ” published on a Ranch Girls’ EP in 1995. That 14 instumentals album (in LP or Cd) is an additional demonstration of the combo skills lead by the always phlegmatic Jelle Van Atten – more known under the nickname of Joe Sixpack – (guitar, steel-guitar) with Sietse on drums and percussions and Huey Moor on the double bass.
I can hear you thinking for yourselves: “a whole album of only instrumental ones! what a wound!” But you’re wrong, that doesn’t have anything unpleasing when it is played with as much talent and sincerity. The three rogues helped of some guests take you along for a musical journey through their tastes -comparable with those which Biller and Wakefield organize-with some covers but also a majority of self-penned ones, moreover Jeremy W. is invited on two tracks! Flavors and colours are multiple but always of good quality. There will be of course some country and western with references to Joe’s great inspirers as Jimmy Bryant (“Low Man One A Totempole” which opens the album) Merle Travis (his “Blue Smoke”) and Joe Maphis (“Town Hall Shuffle”). There‘s bluegrass (“Homebrew Hooch” with the mandoline of Joroen Jongsma who belongs to several folk formations like “Valleys Dish” “The Watchman”, “The Very Girls”) and stroll as “Groovesville” in an “exotica” style with the atmospheric steel of JW and “Get My Bread”. The rockabilly sounds are also part of the album (“Groover’ S Bop”) and even surfing music (“I Can’t Stand It” with organ) and some powerful rock ‘n’ rollers as “The Manhunt” which walks on the Link Wray side and “Guydid” reminds me of Cochran). It wouldn’t be complete without some sun of the Caribbean with the swaying “West Indies Groove”. But there are some more for you to discover…believe me, the trip is worth paying!!!
Long Tall

The Ranch Girls (Miss Mary Ann and Caroline)

Lil Esther Mary Ann — Lil Esther with Miss mary Ann when she replaced Caroline in the Ranch Girls around 1998-1999

The New Ranch Girls (Miss Mary Ann with Raina Thompson)

Carl “Sonny” Leyland

4 April 20247 April 2024

Reviews

Carl “Sonny” Leyland – Hot Rhythm Blue Love

Rock-A-Billy R 113
Hot Rhythm, Blue Love – Beat Up Ford /Air Conditioner Blues

This superb single from Carl Sonny Leyland was recorded in 1989 for Rock-A-Billy Records, Willie Lewis’ label. Leyland is accompanied by Joey Torres (drums) and Brad Smith (double bass).
Hot Rhythm Blue Love is a different version from the one that appears on I Like Boogie Woogie. While the album version had a country blues touch, this one is a raw Rock’ n’ Roll that Jerry Lee Lewis would not have denied during his Sun period.
Beat Up Ford is just as Rock’ n’ Roll but closer to Chuck Berry, somewhere between Maybelline and You Can’t Catch Me with a great dose of Johnny Johnson in it. Great art.
As its name suggests, Air Conditioner Blues is a superb blues that lasts over four minutes and leaves Leyland’s subtle pianistic touch plenty of room to expand.

Carl “Sonny” Leyland – I Like Boogie Woogie

On The Hill

Carl “Sonny” Leyland likes BoogieWoogie and plays it like no one else today, but not only, this is what this cd proves. It features the many sides of the english piano player : hillbilly, rockabilly, rural and city blues, and of course some boogie-woogie too.
Ten of the tracks included here have been previously released on Willie Lewis’ Rock-A-Billy records, which proves that Leyland is a serious cat about his music.
You’ll find Leyland playing harmonica, guitar and piano. The other musicians listed are Walter Leyland (Carl’s father), Ashley Kingman, Joey Torres, and some tracks are from the Krewmen, when they played the meanest rocking blues you could hear in 1985, before Carl left and their psychobilly era.
Historical (you’ll find some of Carl’s early sides) and musical value.

Carl “Sonny” Leyland – From Boogie to Rock’n’Roll

Honky Tonk Productions HT104 [1995]
Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie – Cat And Mouse Boogie – The Axe Is Falling – New Yancey Stomp – Back To The Boogie – Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar – Jook It Jook It – End Of The Road – Rock And Roll Ruby – Gulf Stream Special – Night Time Is The Right Time – Tuesday Struggle – Drinkin’ Wine Spodee-Odee – Pig Foot Pete – Jimmy’s Stuff – Brown Skin Girls – Couscous Boogie – Chattanoogie – What’d I Say

The name of this album says it all. Leyland recorded this platter in France on a grand Steinway, either alone or with Matt Radford on bass and Brian Nevill on drums. He plays classics from the boogie-woogie era (Pinetop’s Boogie Woogie, Pig Foot Pete), Rock’n’roll (Jerry Lee Lewis’ End of the Road, Drinkin’ Wine Spodee-Odee, Rock’ n’ Roll Ruby) with plenty of blues in between (Big Bill Broonzy’s Brown Skin Girls, Leyland’s the Axe is Falling.) Ray Charles’ What’d I Say ends the selection. Among the 19 tracks, seven are Leyland originals that proudly stand near the classics.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Frantic Flintstones

1 April 20243 April 2024

Reviews

Frantic Flintstones – Bedrock!

Raucous Records RAUC002 [1987]
Bedrock – Hot Head Baby – Let’s Go Somewhere – Sugar Daddy

Released in 1987, Bedrock is the first-ever effort on wax by the Frantic Flintstones. All the ingredients are already in place: demented vocals from Chuck Harvey, furious slap bass by Gary Day, and simple but effective guitar. Three fast-paced Psychobilly tune and a slower one, Sugar Daddy, to conclude.One thousand five hundred copies were pressed; 1000 with a printed sleeve and 500 with a white sleeve.

Frantic Flintstones – A Nightmare on Nervous

Nervous Records NERCD034 [1988]
Hellfire – Monte Carlo or Bust – 44 – Please Cool Baby – Oh Baby oh Yeah – Alley Cat King – Gone Gone Well Gone – Red Chevy – Ring ring ringin’ – What the Hell – Sugar Daddy – Frantic Flintstones – Safe Surf* – Shake Your Honey Maker* – Old Jack Joe* – Jack the Ripper* – Whisky Bottle Baby* [*CD bonus tracks]

Released in 1988, A Nightmare On Nervous marks the debut of a prolific career. In a certain aspect you can compare it to an early Johnny Cash album. By that I mean that this guy turn their weak points into a strength. With a guitarist far from being a virtuoso, they build their songs around Chuck’s distinctive voice and a solid rhythm section that features Gary Day on bass. Sometimes the system shows its limits. Songs like “Sugar Daddy” and “Monte Carlo and bust“, though good, could easily be one minute shorter. But this album is full of classics approaching different styles : early psychobilly (Alley Cat King, What The Hell), neo-rockabilly (44, Red Chevy) and even a wild rockin’ blues (Billy Fury’s Since You’ve Been Gone renamed here Gone Gone Well Gone). The cd version features 5 bonus tracks recorded later with Gasty on bass : two covers played the Flintstones way “Shake Your Honey Maker” and “Old Black Joe“, “Safe Surf” a semi instrumental (Safe surf repeated a dozen times doesn’t count as lyrics, does it?) variation around “Hang 10“, “Jack The Ripper” is not Screaming Lord Sutch’s but another version of “Necro Blues“, and an excellent original “Whisky Bottle Baby” previously known in a live version on the “Live & Rockin'” album.

Frantic Flintstones – Rockin’ Out

Link Records – LINK LP 051 [1988]
Rockin’ Out – What The Hell – One Night Stand – Hot Head Baby / Chuck Blows A Fuse – Rockin’ Bones – Let’s Go Somewhere (Rockin’) – No One Stays

After a successful first album but which would have benefited from being much shorter, the Frantic Flintstones returned the following year with a new label (Link Records), a new guitarist (Jon “Pug” Peet, ex-Mysterons with Gaz Day) and an explosive new mini-album.
It’s an understatement to say that the short distance (eight tracks) suits the group better.
Surprisingly, the disc opens with a Jazzy Fever-style instrumental with a muted trumpet. But something doesn’t quite match the atmosphere: it’s Gaz’s overpowering double bass, which seems invested with a life of its own. And quickly, the group slides, or explodes, the word is more correct, towards a new frenzied version of What the Hell. The future classics follow one after the other. With this new line-up, between the rich voice of Chuck, the furious double bass of Gaz and the economical but always precise guitar of Pug, the group has found its balance. Arriving at the end of side A, the breathless listener barely has the strength to turn the record over, yet the group launches into Chuck Blows a Fuse, a furious instrumental. Three superb compositions follow, two of which were written during the Mysterons era (No One Stays and House Of Rockin’ Bones), and it’s already over.
The Frantic Flintstones have a more than impressive discography, but this record alone would have been enough for Chuck and his band to inscribe their names in the Psychobilly pantheon.

Frantic Flintstones – Not Christmas Album

Link Records – Link LP 072 [1989]
Frantic – Wider Road To Hell – Honey Maker – Necro Blues – Oh Little Town Of Bedrock – Gone Gone Well Gone (Harp Mix) / Alone Again/Round Mountain – Just Because – Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me – Santa Claus Is Back In Town – Blue Christmas – Ole Black Joe

The year 1988 ends and the Frantic Flintstones seem to show no signs of fatigue. With their new double bassist, Gasty from the Blue Ridge Rockets (Martin “Griz” Smith, also from the Blue Ridge Rockets plays drums on some tracks), they entered the studio to record what would become Not Christmas Album.
With the help of its guests (saxophone, slide guitar, banjo, harmonica), the group expands its range. So the album begins with a cover of Prince Buster’s Madness, aptly renamed Frantic. The sax and slapped double bass combination gives an explosive result.
Alternating slow and threatening parts with sudden accelerations, it’s a return to Psychobilly in top form with Wider Road To Hell. Shake Your Money Maker by Elmore James is transformed into a psychotic blues that fits Chuck and his acolytes perfectly. Necro Blues, also recorded under the title Jack the Ripper, leans more towards the Rockabilly/Hillbilly side.
Oh Little Town Of Bedrock begins as a gospel song (Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem) before the group launches into a furious new version of Bedrock.
Chuck and his gang then give a new version of Gone, Gone, Well Gone (Billy Fury’s Since You’ve Been Gone), which benefits from an extended bluesy intro with a harmonica.
Alone Again begins slowly in a country blues atmosphere reinforced by slide guitar before ending with a festive Round Mountain.
Then comes an excellent version of Just Because with sax, and continuing on the Presley vein, the Frantic Flintstones play three Christmas classics played by the King, including an excellent Santa Claus Is Back In Town, bluesy as hell.
Ole Black Joe concludes this superb and eclectic album in style.

Frantic Flintstones – Live’n’Rockin

Link Records – LINK LP 098 [1989]
Alone Again – Round the Mountain – What The Hell -. Shake Your Moneymaker – No One Stays – Rockin’Bones – Necro Blues – Hang Ten – Bedrock – Old Black Joe – Gone Gone Well Gone – Playschool Baby – Just Because -. Whisky Bottle Baby – One Night Stand – Blue Christmas

The Live and Rockin’ serie on Link was mostly a poorly recorded (and often poorly played) affair. One notable exception was the Frantic Flintstone live album recorded during the Rocking Out tour in November 1988. Despite being recorded just after the departure of ace bass player Gary “Gaz” Day who is replaced by Gasty from the Blue Ridge Rockets, it found the Flintstones in top form playing classics one after another. The songs come from Nightmare on Nervous, Rockin’ Out and for the large part Not A Christmas Album recorded a couple of weeks after this gig.

Frantic Flintstones – The Nightmare Continues…Demonic Verses…Chuck’s Revenge

Link Records LINK LP 109 [1989]
Smack Smack – Dog Rip – Bone Rest – Twisted Retard – Rasppin’ Grasses – Burned ‘N’ Turned – Dustbin Case – Five Clawed Talon – Angel – Lost Love – Astral Cowboy – Waste of Life

After a few high-end Psychobilly albums still very much influenced by Rockabilly and Neo-Rockabilly, the Frantic Flintstones released The Nightmare Continues in 1989. The album was recorded in June that year, with Gasty (ex-Blue Ridge Rockets ) on the double bass. The result may be surprising at first. If Chuck’s voice remains recognizable among thousands, the whole album is very dark. The sound is heavy and powerful, supported by one or more distorted guitars. It’s as if the Frantic Flintstones had merged with Demented Are Go. It’s pretty successful, and the graft between Psychobilly Gothic and the Frantic Flintstones works well, although it’s a bit repetitive in length. The sound homogenizes everything, and all the songs end up sounding similar.

Frantic Flintstones – Schlachthof Boogie Woogie

Link Records LINK LP 129 [1990]
Drugs in the Valley – Holy Sisters – Playschool Baby – Absolution – Endless Sleep – Hang 10 – Trips – Pantman – Breakout Mania – Gonna Miss Ya! – Sexy Red Number – West of London – The Race Is On – Legion Song – D.S. – Pantman

Schlachthof Boogie Woogie was released in 1990. If it contains good songs, there’s also a good dose of filler too. The whole album lacks coherence and suffers from the absence of a solid line-up behind Chuck and Johnny Pug. The group is scattered a little between the acoustics of Drugs In The Valley (Peace In the Valley), Holy Sisters, which recalls The Nightmare Continues and yet another version of Playschool Baby (this time with fiddle, perhaps in an attempt to sound like Demented Are Go?) And those are just the first three tracks on the album. The rest is of the same ilk, a catch-all mixing skabilly (Endless Sleep), tunes with a laid-back feeling (Trips), a massacre of a classic tune (The Race Is On) useless instrumentals like Breakout Mania or Pantman (aka Batman) with which we are gratified (afflicted ?) two versions. It’s not always played very well, so Sexy Number‘s double bass leaves something to be desired. The best song remains West Of London (an adaptation of John Denver’s West Virginia), but again, the group will record a superior version on Cuttin’ A Fine Line.

Frantic Flintstones – Well Gone In Europe

Kix4U KIX 3358 [1990]
Ole Black Joe – Alcohol Buzz – 44 – Honey Maker – Necro Blues – Gone Gone Well Gone – Let’s Go Somewhere – The Race Is On – Legion Song – Cryin’ Eyes (Country Mix – Broke Up (f/mushrooms Mix) – Endless Sleep (Skankabilly Mix)

The Frantic Flintstones released many albums often with the same songs. In the end, you keep wondering if you have another best-of of slightly different versions. This is what happens with “Well Gone In Europe.” Except if you’re a total and absolute completist, you can live without that one.

Frantic Flintstones – Take A Hike

Kix 4 U KIXCD3363 [1991]
Your Cheatin’ Heart – Dream On-Blue – Just A Dream – Sweet Nothings – So Sad – Little old Lady – Necro Blues – Burned’n’Turned – Rockin’ Bones – Frantic – Honey Maker – Gone Gone Well Gone – Blue Xmas – Santa Bring My Baby Back – Santa Claus Is Back In Town – Old Black Joe – Dream On-move

Though the sound is quite good, this album is far from being essential. Actually, on the 17 songs , 7 come from “Not A Christmas Album”, 3 are re-recorded versions of Flintstones classics (Burned and Turned, Rockin’ Bones, Necro blues) and in the remaining 7, Dream On is featured two times (a slow one and a fast one). That said the new versions are excellent, the group is in fine form and the Frantic Flintstones have released far worst than this album. One for the completist.

Frantic Flintstones – Rockin’ With…

Rumble Records – GANG 011 [1991]
Tom Dooley – Gotta Know – Brown Eyed Girl – Therapy

Out of the four songs that constitute this EP, only Therapy is unissued, the other three being lifted from Cuttin’ A Fine Line. It’s a Doo-Wop tune with only Chuck, a vocal accompaniment by the band and light piano.You never know what to expect with the Frantic Flintstones and that’s why they are great!

Frantic Flintstones – Cuttin’ A Fine Line

Rumble RUMBCD009 [1991]
Chilled bones – You’re the one who done it – Sweet Marilee – Jungle love – Time of day – You got me rockin’ – Tom Dooley – Gotta know – Brown eyed girl – Boneshaker baby – Slowly killing me – Don’t want you baby – Drug squad – West of London – Love me – Am I that easy to forget

Released in the early nineties for the German label Rumble Records (Scum Rats, Rockabilly Mafia, Punishers etc.) “Cuttin’ A Fine Line” finds the band in superb form with the return of Gaz Day on bass with Rich Taylor on drums (Nitros), Pug still on guitar and of course the unmistakable voice of Chuck Harvey. This excellent album (one the very best ever released by the band) mixes classic psychobilly numbers (Chilled Bones, Don’t Want You Baby that features Gaz on lead vocals), blues (Time Of A Day), first class rockabilly (You’re The One That Done It, Sweet Marilee, Gotta Know), skiffle (Tom Dooley) and some country songs like West Of London and Drug Squad that deals with one of Chuck’s favourite subject. The selection is rounded with two acoustic numbers (Elvis’Love Me and Am I That Easy To Forget) with just Pug and Chuck that announces their following album, the all acoustic Skin Up, Chill Out, Just Buskin’ Through.

Frantic Flintstones – Skin Up, Chill Out, Just Buskin’ Through

Rumble RUMCD018 [1992]
Hello Marylou – Blue Moon of Kentucky – Will the Circle be Unboken – You Are my Sunshine – Tom Dooley – I Can’t Help it – Born to Lose – Goodnight Irene – It’s Hard to be Humble – Love me – Drugs in the Valley – Take me Home, Country Roads – I Gotta Baby – Am I That Easy to Forget

The only thing predictable with the Frantic Flintstones is that they are unpredictable. For this record originally released on Rumble Records in 1992 the band – reduced to just Chuck and Pug – went for an acoustic session. The mood is very laid back and the repertoire is made of covers of classic rockabilly and hillbilly tunes taken from the catalog of Hank Williams, Mac Davis, John Denver, Ricky Nelson, Elvis, Johnny Cash, The Carter Family and though they appear in brand new version here, some of them have been recorded by the band before. It’s not completely representative of the style of the Frantic Flintstones but it’s a nice addition to your collection.

Frantic Flintstones – Flesh’n’Fantasy/My Woman Is A Leach

Tombstone Records – Tomb CD 2006 [1992]
My Woman Is A Leach – J.B. Boogie – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – So Close To Heaven – Out Of My Face – Lock Me Up – Fruit Batz – Don’t The Moon Look Lonesome (Lupo) – Sweet Nothings – Gone To The Dogs – Drugged Up Fool (Bonus Track) – Stiffies (Bonus Track) – Devils Rain (Bonus Track) – Fantasize – Fantasize You (Bonus Track) – Sub-Sic-Mental-Menial (Bonus Track) – Tom Dooley (C.D.B.) (Bonus Track) – Necro Blues ’91 (Bonus Track)

We find the Frantic Flintstones, this time made up of Chuck, Pug, Jonny Bowler on double bass, and Rich Taylor on drums, but also Gaz on three tracks from a previous session and Graeme “Captain Drugbuster” Grant.
The album begins with the excellent “My Woman Is A Leach”. After the neo-rockabilly interlude on the Rumble label, we find the Frantic Flintstones more Psychobilly than ever in the vein of The Nightmare Continues. Then follows an instrumental that is not particularly original but has the merit of highlighting Jonny Bowler’s double bass (probably the “JB” of the title). The next track is the Country classic Will The Circle Be Unbroken, which the band plays over an almost Rocksteady beat. So Close To Heaven and Don’t the Moon Look Lonesome are two blues-tinged songs which allow us to hear another, more demonstrative side of Pug. Out Of My Face is a typical Frantic Flintstones song, alternating slow and fast parts. Way stranger is Lock Me Up. The music mixes Rockabilly with Samba on a House beat. It could almost work (almost), at least until halfway through, when the group abandons us, letting the rhythmic loop play ad nauseam.
The listening continues with a pair of Psychobilly tracks (Fruit Batz, Gone To The Dogs) and a more Neo-Rockabilly Sweet Nothings. Then comes a series of “bonus tracks”. The first is Don’t Be Cruel, transformed into Drugged Up Fool, which is neither original nor very good. More interesting are the three songs (Stiffies, Devils Rain, Fantasize – Fantasize You) on which Gaz Day plays and produced by Bon Boorer. We find the very dark Frantic Flintstones from Nightmare Continues. More or less in the same line, Sub Sic Mental Menial is reminiscent of Demented Are Go (One Sharp Knife), with Chuck’s voice played backwards. The album ends with Tom Dooley and Necro Blues, the latter coming from Take A Hike.
In the end, the album indeed contains good songs, even if none reach the status of the group’s classic. Still, Flesh’n’Fantasy/My Woman Is A Leach clearly lacks the direction and homogeneity to rise to the rank of some of its illustrious predecessors.

Frantic Flintstones – Rock it Boy

Rumble RUMBCD024 [1993]
Marylou – You Call Everybody Darlin’ – You Ain’t Nothing But Fine – I Cant Trust Me In Your Arms Anymore – Carry Me Back To Old Virginia – Blues Stay Away From Me – Blue Moon Of Kentucky – Your Cheatin’ Heart – I’m Walkin’ – Sweet Baby Doll – Will The Circle Be Unbroken – So CLose To Heaven – Jimmy Jazz – Love For A Nutter – Broken Heart

Originally released in 1993, this is the third Frantic Flintstones’ album for the German label Rumble records. And like “Cuttin’…” and “Skill Up…” it has a strong rockabilly flavour in it. The line-up for this one is Chuck, Pug, Johnny Bowler (Get Smart, Guana Batz) and Scag. It’s a very good album that only lacks of original songs, but with a charismatic band-leader like Chuck (and a solid band to back him) that’s not such a big problem. The band draws into the catalog of Jerry Lee Lewis, hence the presence of a piano, Ricky Nelson, Rockin’ Sydney, Johnny Burnette/Delmore Brothers, Hank Williams and delivers an excellent rockabilly version of the Clash’s Jimmy Jazz. As usual with the FF it features different versions of previously released tunes like Blue Moon Of Kentucky, Will The Circle Be Unbroken and Your Cheatin’ Heart wasted by the backing vocals. “Love For A Nutter” is a demo recorded with Alan Wilson that announces the following albums (X-Ray Sessions and Jamboree) and the beginning of a fruitful collaboration. Bowler closes the set with a vocal prestation on “Broken Heart” that won’t figure as one of the highest moment in the Frantic Flintstones history. It’s been reissued on the British label Raucous Records with a slightly different cover.

Frantic Flintstones – Jamboree

CDMPSYCHO15 [1993]
Detroit Dirtbox – Love For A Nutter – Your Time Is Up – Mean Mean Woman – Diablo – Stay With Me – Sweet Georgia Brown – Lunatics (Are Raving) – Busted – Mindkill – (To The Devil)A Son – Oh 898 – Candyman – He’s Waitin’ – Sad N’ Lonely – Suspended – Chop-Chop, Slash Slash – Honey Child – Hey Chuck – Detroit Bloodbox

Previously issued in 1993 but out of print since then, Anagram had the good idea to reissue this 20 songs album in their Psychobilly serie. Produced by Sharks frontman Alan Wilson who also plays most of the guitar parts, with former bassist Gary Day back in the line-up, this is one of the 3 best album the Frantic Flinstones ever made and probably the richest in styles approached. Wilson is one hell of a guitar player and songwriter and his team with Chuck Harvey is just perfect. From “Diablo” with its surprising jazzy solo in the middle, to the country tune “To the Devil A Son”, and even a waltz (“Sad’n’Lonely”) they apparently have fun to work together and explore various kind of music. Some guests are present too. Detroit Donny plays harmonica on “Detroit Dirt Box” a bluesy instrumental and on Roy Orbison’s “Candyman”, Sonny West, who had an album on Nervous, plays some guitars and sings The Sonics’ “He’s Waitin’”. Alan Wilson sings “Mindkill” he co-wrote with Hodges. This one can be seen as the first song from the resurrected Sharks for this is during this recording that Gaz Day convinced him to reform the band. Psychobilly is present, of course, with”Your Time Is Up” which is not far from “What The Hell” on their debut album, “Sweet Georgia Brown” (not the jazz standard) and the great “Love For A Nutter”, although I do prefer the demo version issued on “Rock It Boy”. Add a bit of rockabilly (“Honey Child” and “Mean Mean Woman”) and if you still wonder why are the Frantic Flinstones so great, just ask yourself who could better than them sing a song about a psycho killer like a sixties pop ballad?

The Radioactive Kid

Victor Leed

23 March 202423 March 2024

Reviews

Victor Leed – Thanks Rock’n’Roll

Big Beat Records – BB805 [1980]
But In Your Eyes – I Forgot To Love – Blue River – To Change My Life – Jenny – Don’t Be Looking For Trouble – She Don’t Care – Shy – Too Much To Be Right – Thanks Rock And Roll

Thanks Rock’n’Roll is one of the best, if not the best, Rockabilly albums ever produced in France. It can compete with everything recorded in Europe at the same time.
Victor Leed started his musical career as an Elvis Presley imitator, but soon, under the guidance of French collector Ding Dong, he found his way and oriented his style toward a more traditional and Fifties sounding style. In 1980, he recorded Thanks Rock’n’Roll with Patrick Lozac’h on lead guitar, Donald Rieubon on drums, Jean Jacques Astruc on rhythm guitar and Freddie Legendre on double bass. This album is nearly perfect. The band perfectly nails the Rockabilly sound and manages to capture the excitement of the Sun sessions without sounding like an imitation or a reconstitution. In other words, the music is lively and doesn’t sound like a museum piece. It’s also mainly due to the songs (all self-penned chiefly by the team Leed/Astruc) that capture the genre’s spirit and essence.
And, of course, there’s Victor’s voice. It’s a clear and beautiful voice, able to mix the young Elvis Presley’s energy and Ricky Nelson’s softness while remaining 100% Victor Leed. The repertoire mixes Rockabilly, country-tinged tunes, and beautiful ballads (Jenny, Shy) that are the perfect vehicle for this unique voice.
More than four decades later, this mini-album remains a timeless jewel. I can only hope that today’s young rockers will rediscover it and that Victor’s name will find the place it deserves in the contemporary Rockabilly story.
Sadly, Victor left us way too soon, dying at age 44 in 1994.

Fred ’Virgil’ Turgis

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