Mystery Train – Cheers Cheers Rock’n’Roll
Rockhouse – ROCKCD 9410 [1994]
Cheers Cheers Rock ‘n’ Roll – My Back Like A Cat- Brand New Cadillac – Fallin’ Brain – Good Time Jump – Tribute To Buddy Holly – My Baby Runs Away – Go! Lula Go! – Hot Sexual Fret – Blue Jean Bop – Dynamite – Love Me More – Tonight It’s Christmas – I’m A Crazy Rockabilly Man – The Sky Had Never Been So Blue – Rock ‘n’ Roll
Mystery Train was a French rockabilly trio formed by Hervé Loison (double bass), Philippe Nowak (guitar), and Nico on drums. The band’s name is a double homage to the Elvis song and the Jim Jarmusch film. Hervé and Philippe share vocals. We can hear the latter on the cover of Blue Jean Bop and on his own compositions, some of which are strongly influenced by Gene Vincent, whether it is Fallin’ Brain, a copy of Who Slapped John, on which the guitarist enjoys quoting all the Gallup plans he knows, going so far as to encourage the group with a “Rock It Blue Caps” (unfortunately for the listener, they are not present in the studio) or Go! Lula! Go! (heavily inspired by Jumps, Giggles & Shouts). More interesting are Love Me More, a modern Rockabilly tune, halfway between the Everly Brothers and the Stray Cats, or The Sky Had Never Been So Blue, an Elvis-style ballad. Loison provides vocals on the other tracks. The title track is a rocker propelled by a powerful double bass, unfortunately the vocals are really not up to par, and are on the verge of parody.
Things improve on My Back Like A Cat, also heavily influenced by Gene Vincent. Their version of Brand New Cadillac, despite a good guitar solo, adds to the long list of unnecessary covers of a song that’s been covered too often. A saxophone is heard on Good Time Jump, which wouldn’t have been out of place in the Stargazers‘ repertoire, but once again the vocals show their limitations. Tribute To Buddy Holly is composed in the style of Gene and Eddie from the Stray Cats, the lyrics being formed by song titles from the brilliant bespectacled Lubbock native. My Baby Runs Away is a good neo-rockabilly tune, with the double bass well in advance. Hot Sexual Fret sees the group try their hand at hillbilly, and the result is rather pleasant. Love Me More is an a capella doo-wop that works well, despite some pitch issues. The very short Tonight It’s Christmas (less than a minute) leans toward the Jets, and I’m Crazy Rockabilly Man blends Cochranian power with the energy of the Burnette brothers. The album concludes with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, on which the band’s sound is close to Batmobile, except for the vocals, once again.
In the end, despite some successful moments, the album lacks coherence, conciseness, and often personality, with the band tending too much to copy the artists’ style.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
