T Becker Combo – Four
Records Freight – RFCD107
Bop A Billy Bop – Would You Be Mine – Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye – I Want It All – Too Late – Sweet Heart Of Mine – I’m Back – I Won’t Be The One – Let Me Sleep – I Miss You Baby – Let’s Have A Good Time – What A Fun – Why Do I Fall In Love
With this new album, the T Becker Trio is evolving into the T Becker Combo. Indeed, since their last album, the group has added a drummer, Eric “Rico” Bessenay (Tawny Owls, Pete and the Starphonics), well known to those who follow the trio as he played on I Wanna Bop, their EP released in 2023.
And the result, you ask? Well, nothing changes and everything changes.
Nothing changes because Rico, the new member, integrates perfectly into the group, to the point that it feels like he’s always been there. A band relies on a delicate balance. It’s like haute cuisine; all it takes is one ingredient being out of proportion (for example, a drummer who hits too hard or doesn’t swing) to ruin everything and break the spell (especially when this band had a well-established formula as a trio). Rico knows the group well and has managed to blend in seamlessly without disrupting the dynamic established by the trio on their previous recordings.
But the other good news is that it’s different. This is a completely new group, not just the T Becker Trio plus a drummer. The difference may seem subtle, but it’s definitely there. Together, the four musicians can explore new territories. Axel, who had been practically single-handedly holding down the rhythm section, is now freed up, and this new rhythmic foundation allows Did to continue weaving his sound with complete confidence. As for Tof, he seems more assured with each album, discreetly supported by subtle vocal harmonies.
As with previous albums, this one consists entirely of original material, and the group doesn’t seem inclined to slow down in its pursuit of maintaining the same level of quality. Most of the songs are mid-tempo rockabilly, in the style of the Barnshakers (knowing that I consider the Barnshakers to be the best European band, that’s no small compliment).
Unlike (too) many bands that play too fast and confuse speed with haste, the T Becker Combo lets its songs breathe, allowing each member, Did first and foremost, to express themselves, always emphasizing the melody.
There are also a few tracks that lean towards hillbilly bop, as well as the sumptuous “I Want It All” with its dark western atmosphere. These more country-influenced tracks make us wonder how the band would sound if they added a steel guitar, a fiddle (or even an accordion) to some of them, a bit like High Noon did on Texas Style. But let’s leave these speculations aside and simply rejoice in having this excellent rockabilly album in our hands.
Get your copy here.
T Becker Trio – Third Time’s A Charm!
Records Freight – RFCD106 [2024]
Willing To Make A Fool Of Myself – Lily – Bop That Beat – Don’t Leave Me Now – You Can Keep On Hating Me – You Promised Me – The One I Need – Always On My Mind – All Alone – She’s My Girl – Do The Best I Can – I Don’t Wanna – Like A Ghost
Records Freight – RFLP002 [2024]
I Don’t Wanna – Why Did I Let Her Cross The Line – Please Don’t Cry – Bam Bam – Like A Ghost – Cry Cry Cry / Make Up Your Mind – The One I Need – All Alone – You Can Keep – Bop That Beat – I Love Her So
Nothing seems to stop the T Becker Trio. While we are just catching our breath after listening to Second Round (which obviously knocked us out), the French trio returns to us with an album that once again demonstrates the full extent of their talent.
Traditional Rockabilly, like the one played by the T Becker Trio, is a balancing act that does not allow approximation. Add a touch of modernity, and you veer into Neo-Rockabilly (not that that’s always a bad thing, but that’s not the point); slow the song down, and add a rural touch, and you’re making Hillbilly Bop. In this case, and with such a codified genre, it isn’t easy to renew the genre while also renewing oneself.
But this does not seem to pose a problem for our three rockers, who easily avoid this pitfall. The reasons for this are multiple. First of all, there is this perfect mastery of trio play. Each, in their place, completes, enriches, and highlights the work of the other. Listen to the solid rhythmic work formed by Tof and Axel; it’s like these two share a more powerful bond than music. The two of them create a setting that allows Mister Did to deploy superb solos in complete serenity. His light and virtuoso playing is always inventive without ever being demonstrative. Moreover, it avoids giving us riffs we’ve heard 10,000 times. He always works for the song and never uses it as a springboard for a sterile demonstration.
And let’s not forget to talk about the vocals. Tof has a solid Blues background, which can be heard in his singing and composing. Sometimes it’s just underlying, but it’s definitely there.
But all this talent would be useless if it was not at the service of a repertoire worthy of the name. Especially since, as with the two previous albums, the T Becker Trio strives only to offer compositions. Tof, Mister Did, and Axel manage to compose mini-classics, which demonstrate solid know-how beneath their apparent simplicity. One would have thought that with such a pace (three albums in three years) the group would run out of steam or repeat itself, but quite the contrary. Not content with renewing themselves, they still manage to progress.
The leading quality of the T Becker Trio, which is enormous, is that they can never be compared to any other group. Of course, its formation brings to mind Elvis, Scotty & Bill, or closer to us, High Noon and the Roy Kay Trio. And sometimes, Did slips a Buddy Holly intro here or a Cliff Gallup riff there. But they sound more like quotes, like a wink, than slavish copying.
Ultimately, the music they produce is entirely theirs. This is how they achieve a degree of authenticity that many must envy. It’s very subtle, but let’s say that the T Becker Trio doesn’t just play Rockabilly (it’s not manufactured); they are Rockabilly (it’s almost intrinsic).
As if all this were not enough, the trio offers six new songs on the vinyl that cannot be found on the CD.
T Becker Trio – Second Round
Crazy Times Records CTR-CD-125 [2023]
Gone She’s Gone – I Wanna Bop – Baby Look At Me – Bop Bop Bop – Cloud 9 – Tell Me – You Can’t Deny – Little Queen – Luckiest Guy – Me And My Baby – Do The Boogie – I’m Not Going Down – Why Does She Never Look At Me?
Can you believe it? One year after their debut album, the T Becker Trio returns with a second one that is even better than the first. These three guys are in a tiny circle of top authentic-sounding Rockabilly bands. Tof (vox and rhythm guitar), Did (lead guitar), and Axel (double bass) did a superb job with these 13 new and self-penned songs,
The album opens with Gone, She’s Gone, a superb mid-tempo with hillbilly echoes, think Lefty Frizzell, though it remains 100% Rockabilly. It has to be said Tof is an excellent vocalist: he never falls into mannerisms that plague too many singers of the genre but embellishes his singing with a hiccup here, a blue tone there, and always feels relaxed and in total control. I Wanna Bop changes the pace. Let’s say that if Gone She’s Gone took you back to 1954, this one is more 1956. Great frantic vocals and Did jumps in the song with incisive riffs. One of the most challenging things when you play as a trio, is the balance between the instruments; T Becker Trio mastered this art. Did knows when to play, and most importantly, when not to play, making the songs breathe.
Baby Look At Me reconnects with the Hillbilly roots of the genre and shows how the band is attached to melodies and variations. Now that’s songwriting! The bopping fever grips Tof once again with Bop Bop Bop. Behind, ably supported by Axel’s hot and melodic slap bass and Did Burlisonian guitar, which later erupts into a sparkling solo that briefly quotes Cliff Gallup. Cloud 9 has a country-noir feel, with Indian echoes in the melody. This is the perfect example of what I said when I told you that the trio never was happy to give you your run-of-the-mill Rockabilly. I particularly enjoy this one as it tells you a story, not only the singer but the guitar solo too.
Do you want some wild Rockabilly? Don’t look any further, Tell Me is the song for you, hot breaks, frantic vocals and guitar while Axel propels the whole thing. In terms of sound and atmosphere, Both You Can’t Deny and Little Queen are pure Sun Rockabilly, but once again, the songwriting brings slight variations and takes you to unusual places while remaining true to the idiom. I’m a sucker for 50’s ballads and was happy to find Luckiest Guy. Ideally placed on the album just before the home stretch, this lovely song brings a welcome respiration. Me And My Baby is darker and features harmony vocals in the chorus. Do The Boogie is a simple invitation to dance, nothing fancy (except for the twin slap bass/guitar part), but so damn compelling. Back to Sun, but more a Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two mood. But again, they keep Cash’s steady beat and bring the song elsewhere. The album ends on a high note, at least for the listener, because for the poor singer, that girl still doesn’t want to look at him. Seriously, it’s another demonstration of first-rate Rockabilly.
Tof, Did, and Axel prove that you can take a 70-year-old genre and still manage to create something new, original and highly (I mean HIGHLY) entertaining.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
