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Count Orlock

Bang Bang Bazooka

Bang Bang Bazooka – S/T

Count Orlock R.O.C.K. IV [1988]
Wild One – Dirty Hound – I’m Gonna Love You Too – Stop It Baby – Cheetah Man – Rockin’ Shock – Drive – Rocky Mountain Blues – Goldrush – Red Dress -The Blues That I Hate – Black Widow – Vampire

Rene van Lersel (drums) formed Bang Bang Bazooka in 1987 with Marcel Hoitsema (vocals and guitar), Francois Besson (guitar), Bart Gevers(double bass) and Rene van Lersel (drums).
Their first album saw the light of day the following year. Their sound combines traditional Rockabilly with metal. Despite being uneven in the songwriting, a totally wasted cover of Buddy Holly’s I’m Gonna Love You Too, this album contains a healthy dose of good ideas and originality that saves the final result.

Bang Bang Bazooka – True Rebel

Count Orlock C.O.C.K. VIII [1990]
Frankenstein Rock – Big City – True Rebel – Outlaw Man – Crime On Time – Human Alligator – Gonna Have A Ball – And I Play – Long Black Train – Joe Survived – Big John – Crimson Moon

bang bang bazooka

In 1990, Count Orlock released True Rebel, the band’s second album. It was dedicated to Arno V.D. Wassenberg, the band’s roadie who tragically died in a car accident.
True Rebel sounds like a better and more accomplished version of their debut album. Having Dick “Hardrock-abilly” Kemper in the producer’s seat marks an improvement in terms of production.
The songwriting is better too. A song like Frankenstein Rock, which shows the influence of Batmobile, could easily find its place on Sex Starved or Hard Hammer Hits. They also developed a more aggressive brand of neo-rockabilly by adding elements of Metal and Glam Rock (hence the presence of Crimson Moon, a cover of T-Rex) and even some Boogie Blues.
The guitar is powerful and very present, and the band makes good use of the two guitars even though the lead can sometimes be too intrusive.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Crackle Rattle Bash

Crackle Rattle Bash – S/T

Count Orlok Music – R.O.C.K. II [1987]
Save My Money – Gone – I Really Know – Gotta Get You – He Good Lookin’ – Black Out – Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms – When You Wanna Go (It’s A Choice) – Wrong Direction, No Perfection – There Was A Time – What Shall We Do Now? – Someday – Memoires – Trouble Minded Girl

Crackle Rattle Bash

Crackle Rattle Bash started around 1986 when Kay Kesting and Aris de Vries performed in a squatter’s building in Arnhem (Holland). Kay played his T-bass, and Aris played the guitar and sang.

Afterwards, they regularly played Amsterdam streets, and Richard Weydert soon joined them on the washboard. They eventually switched the washboard for drums, and the T-bass was dropped for the double bass. They were asked to record two tracks for the Cool Cat Go Ape compilation album.
Then, Frank Bayer joined the band on guitar and ukulele, and in July 1987, they recorded their first and only album on the Count Orlok label.
The band’s overall sound falls somewhere between Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly. The whole is pleasant, and some songs are good, but very often, the group does not have the means of its ambitions. And, although they make detours through Rockabilly with doo-wop or skiffle influences, the album is a bit monotonous. Furthermore, the production is a bit light and lacks power. They should have recorded an eight-track mini-album and thus devoted more time to arrangement and production.
They played many gigs in Holland, and after a while, Paul van de Groen replaced Richard on drums. They did a short tour with Batmobile in Germany and eventually split around 1990. Recently, Just Another Normal Guy Records released an album with demos and live recordings of the band.

The Radioactive Kid

crackle rattle bash
crackle rattle bash

Powerdog

Powerdog – S/T

Count Orlock R.O.C.K.13-C.O.C.K.13 [1992]
What Else Is New – Wild Cat – Dog Power – Hideaway – Blood Like Mine – Wild Places – The Gambler – There Ain’t That Much – We Used To Rock – It’s Alright – Sun Goes Down – True Rockabilly – I’ll Be Your Man – I Can’t Believe It

powerdog

Powerdog is another band that is difficult to pigeonhole. Marcel Verbaas formed the combo in 1988 with Wim Van Der Heiden, an old friend with whom he used to hang out in the Rockabilly clubs of Rotterdam. They decided to form a band right away. They rehearsed with various drummers for their first year of existence, playing only covers. The band finally took shape when Robert Van Driesten joined them in 1989. From that moment, they begin to write their own material, with Wim taking the lead vocals duties. They also adopted the name Powerdog.
They caught the attention of Count Orlock, and by October 1991, they found themselves in the studio (Commodore Studio at Zelhem) with Dick Kemper (Batmobile, Bang Bang Bazooka…).
All songs on the album are originals and are very good. Powerdog developed a highly unique sound. They mixed influences from early eighties Neo-Rockabilly (one can hear echoes from the Polecats throughout the platter), Batmobile, and Psychobilly, with hints of Country music (Blood Like Mine) or Heavy Metal (Marcel used to play rhythm guitar in a Heavy Metal band). But they always emphasise the melody, and some songs sound like a cross between Batmobile and the Beatles. The minor flaw is their instrumental (Dog Power), which could be more inspired and sounds more like a backing track than a real instrumental.
Count Orlock released the album in 1992, and that same year Powerdog was the support act for the Stray Cats when they played at the Paradiso in Amsterdam in September.
Powerdog disbanded in 1994.

Powerdog
Powerdog

Blue Cats (the) / G-Men / Beltane Fire

The Blue Cats - The Blue CatsThe Blue Cats – The Blue Cats

 

Rockhouse LPL 8011 [1980]
Just Go Wild Over Rock ‘N’ Roll – I’m Gonna Die – Pretty Pretty Baby – I Dreamed You Left Me – Southbound Blues – Boogie Up Roar – Five Days Five Days – I’m Driving Home – Sweet Love On My Mind –
Caldonia – I Sure Miss You – Jumpin’ Little Mama – Juke Joint Jem – Sure-Fire Way – Goofin’ Around
Debut album featuring the Carlo Edwards (guitar), his brother Stef (drums), Clive Osborne (sax, rhythm guitar) and Dave Phillips (vocals and double bass). Excellent from start to finish. A true classic!

 


The Blue Cats - Fight BackThe Blue Cats – Fight Back

Rockhouse ROCKCD 8111 [1981]
Fight back – Hot & cold – Tired & sleepy – Love me – Jump cat jump – Up a lazy river – Who stole my blue suede shoes – Who slapped John – Wild night – Thunder & lightning – Life fast die young – Made for rockin’ – Slippin’ in – Idle on parade – Birth of the boogie – Everybody’s rockin’
By the end of 1980 the Blue Cats found themselves in need of a bassist and a singer after the departure of Dave Phillips. They quickly recruited Mitch Caws and Clint Bradley both from The Tennessee Rebels and started to work right away. From that moment they started to experiment and write new material with a more modern edge. Released in 1981 Fight Back is representative of that era.
Half of the album reminds the “old” Blue Cats with covers of the Cochran Brothers, Gene Vincent, Eddie Bond, The Phantom, Marvin Rainwater, that are probably here to satisfy the label who didn’t want to make a big departure from their successful debut album. The other half is by far the most interesting with six neo-rockabilly jewels, sometimes close to early psychobilly, written by Bradley.
One can only regret the light production on some of this tracks and wonder how it would have sounded with more studio time.
Almost three decades later, “Fight Back” remains a key album of the early 80’s and a huge influence on numerous bands.


The Blue Cats - The TunnelThe Blue Cats – The Tunnel

Nervous records Nercd069 [1992]
Man With A Mission – Galluping Man – Casting My Spell – The Tunnel – Heavens Gate – Cry On The Wind – Car 76 – Take And Give – Bad Mans Money – Wild Dogs Of Kentucky – Rivers Bend
All I Can Do Is Cry

Winning return for the Blue Cats with this 1992 album with Paul Diffin (Sugar Ray Ford) on bass. Every track here is a killer from the manic neo-rockabilly of Man With A Mission and the Tunnel to the tributes to Cliff Gallup (Gallupin’ Man) and Gene Vincent (Cry On the Wind) and what could possibly be the definitive version of All I Can Do Is Cry. 
Fred “Virgil” Turgis


Blue Cats (the) – 1978 The Re-discovered Masters 1984

Count Orlock – COCK XXIII
I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine* – Jumps Giggles and Shouts* – Mystery Train** – I’ll Never Let You Go** – The Saints Rock ‘n’ Roll** – Gotta Git A-Goin’ ** – Baby’s Number One** – I’ve Got No Time For You** – Gotta Go*** – Left Out*** – Eldorado**** – The Master’s Call****
*Blue Cat Trio – **The Blue Cats – ***The G-Men – ****Beltane Fire
The title says it all. It’s a compilation of rare and mostly unissued material by the Blue Cats in all their incarnations. It features songs from their beginning with Dave Phillips as a Rockabilly trio. The songs with Clind Bradley easily shows they could have topped any weekender as a traditionnal Rockabilly band. Instead as we know it they continue to explore and pushed the boundaries to create their unique neo-rockabilly sound. It culminates with the G-Men, a band that created something new that had a lasting impact on the Psychobilly scene with Gotta Go being covered by Frenzy and Long Tall Texans.
Two songs by Beltane Fire find Bradley in his natural element singing Marty Robbins tunes.


Blue Cats (the) – Best Dawn Yet

Blue Cats - Best Dawn Yet

Blue Light Records BLR 33165 2
Billy Ruffians – The Norton Spirit – Turn My Back On You – Blue Prairie – My Dark Dark Mind – Badon Hill – Long Road Home – Captain Blood – Burnette – Following Ahab – Secret Agent Man – Lonesome Desperado

Twenty years after the release of the Tunnel, a landmark in the history of modern Rockabilly, the Blue Cats returned with a new double bass player (Steve Whitehouse of Frenzy and the Sharks) and a new album.
Since Clint Bradley joined the band, the Blue Cats always tried to push the boundaries of the genre while keeping the spirit and the essence of true Rock’n’Roll. And this platter doesn’t disappoint. Modern yet classic.
Billy Ruffian is a fantastic piece of modern Rockabilly with exciting changes in the melody, with what I call “typical Carlo Edwards riffs.” The rhythm section is powerful and demonstrates that Steve Whitehouse was the right choice to succeed to Mitch Caws and Paul Diffin. It could be hard to follow such an opener, but not for Bradley and his gang. The Norton Spirit is a powerful rocker. And even with a straight-ahead rocker like this that lets very little margin to the singer, Bradley proves he’s one of the best singers on the rockin’ scene today.
Billy Fury’s Turn My Back On You is pure Rockabilly gold straight from the ’50s with echo and hiccups.
The Sons of the Pioneers’ Blue Prairie seems tailored-made for Bradley’s voice, and it’s the occasion to hear Carlo Edwards play some steel-guitar.
My Dark Dark Mind is another slice of modern Rockabilly. This one features Paul Diffin on bass, so it’s probably an old recording.
The Blue Cats always took care to write different lyrics than your usual “love my Cadillac” thing. Billy Ruffians evoked Trafalgar and Nelson, and Badon Hill is about King Arthur.
Long Road Home is not the most original track of the album, but once again, the playing and the production are flawless. Captain Blood takes the listener back to the Beltane Fire days with Mitch Caws on bass. A good one, though the production is a bit too much for me. Burnette is a tribute to Johnny Burnette and Grady Martin. No big surprise but very well done and pleasant. Though, maybe, I find Gallupin’ Man their tribute to Gene Vincent and Cliff Gallup on the Tunnel more interesting.
After a rocking Secret Agent Man, the album ends with Lonesome Desperado; a superb Marty Robbins influenced tune on which Bradley’s voice is more eloquent than ever.

blue cats
The Blue Cats (Clint Bradley, Stef Edwards, Carlo Edwards and Paul Diffin)

Scam

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Scam - Gamblin fever
Scam – Gamblin fever

Scam – Gamblin’ Fever

Count Orlock
Pirates And Thieves – Captain Caveman – Magic Bus – Searching -. Hangover – Nutcrackers – Island Of Rock -. Somebody Tell Me – Losing Touch – Gamblin’ Fever – Dr. No – Ready, Willing And Able
Scam released their debut album on Count Orlock in 1988, this first album is very representative of the sound of the day. Light drums, slap bass and a clean electric guitar, influenced by Restless and fellow Dutchmen Batmobile. The sound is good (Johnny Z. produces. Any link to Johnny Zuidhof from Batmobile?) but could be a bit “fuller”. They have good original songs (Hangover, Captain Caveman, Ready Willing & Able) but the long distance (12 songs) tends to disadvantage the band and the album sounds a bit repetitive, they could have reduced it to eight solid songs. They also cover the Who’s Magic Bus,a band previously covered on the Juvenile Delinquents album (My Generation). I’m not sure sure it’s been reissued on cd, so try to grab a vinyl copy on ebay.


Scam - Infant Years
Scam – Infant Years

Scam – Infant Years

Tombstone
Haunted House – Death Train – Can I Get A Witness – Cry Out – I Can’t See – The Eyes – Boogie Disease
Despite an ugly cover, this mini lp, recorded in 1989, shows an improvement from the first album. If there’s not a big departure in term of sound but the band is tighter and the songs less repetitive.

 


Scam - A million dollar scam
Scam – A million dollar scam

Scam – A Million Dollar Scam

Rockhouse
The getaway – Dead and gone – Cold as ice – Where did I go wrong – Stop bugging me – I’m going crazy – Hang ’em high – Stop that gorilla – You can’t trick me – Goodbye so long – Which way now – Devil’s music – It ain’t right – Bloodbrothers – Trouble tonight – Loved that woman – Drink that bottle down – Candy man
Released in 1991, this album (their third after Gamblin Fever and Infant Years) marks a new step for the band. To their usual brand of light psychobilly/neo-rockabilly, they add a good dose of rockin’ blues with blues harp, saxophone and slide guitar. The set is varied and the song inspired. A guest singer is present on a couple of songs and brings a bit of diversity. A good album that shows the evolution and the maturity of the band. Reissued on cd with four bonus tracks.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Count Orlok records

A dutch label connected to Batmobile (their drummer was involved in it).

count orlok
Note :
B.O.C.K are vinyl releases (ep)
R.O.C.K are vinyl releases (lp)
C.O.C.K are cd releases
F.O.C.K are videos

Count Orlock also had a subsidiary label (Sonovabitch) exclusively dedicated to the Meteors and Paul Fenech.

Batmobille – Bambooland/Kiss Me Now/Raw Dick – k1 B.O.C.K

Batmobile – Bambooland – R.O.C.K.1-C.O.C.K.1
Crackle Rattle Bash – Crackle Rattle Bash – R.O.C.K.2
Batmobile – Buried Alive – R.O.C.K.3-C.O.C.K.3
Bang Bang Bazooka – Self titled – R.O.C.K.4
ScamGambing Fever – R.O.C.K.5
Batmobile – Amazon From Outer Space – R.O.C.K.6-C.O.C.K.6
The Cavemen – Stone Age Beat – R.O.C.K.7
Bang Bang Bazooka – True Rebel – R.O.C.K.8
Batmobile – Is Dynamite – R.O.C.K.9-C.O.C.K.9
Slapping Suspenders – Blood Sucking Freaks – R.O.C.K.10
Batmobile – Sex Starved – R.O.C.K.11-C.O.C.K.11
Rattlers – Gangsters and Loose Women – R.O.C.K.12-C.O.C.K.12
Powerdog – Powerdog – R.O.C.K.13-C.O.C.K.13
Slapping Suspenders – Good, Bad & the 7 Waffles R.O.C.K.14-C.O.C.K.14
Batmobile – Midnight Maniac – C.O.C.K.15
Batmobile – Hard Hammer Hits- R.O.C.K.16-C.O.C.K.16
Ricochets – On Target -C.O.C.K.17
Asmodeus – Psycho On Hell’s Request C.O.C.K.18
Batmobile – Blast From The Past – C.O.C.K.19
Atomics – Fallen Like Her Angel -C.O.C.K.20
Batmobile – Shoot Shoot -C.O.C.K.21
Sin Alley – Headin For Vegas -C.O.C.K.22
Blue Cats – The Rediscovered Masters -C.O.C.K.23
Penguin – Penguin -C.O.C.K.24
Slapping Suspenders – Greece -C.O.C.K.25
Crestlers – I’m A Crestler -C.O.C.K.26
Dave & Deke Combo – Hollywood Barn Dance -R.O.C.K.27
Mad Sin – God Save The Sin -C.O.C.K.28
Fireballs – So Bad It’s Good -C.O.C.K.29
Ubangi 4 – I’m Coming Home-C.O.C.K.30
Frenzy – Nine O Nine -C.O.C.K.31
Batmobile – Welcome To Planet Cheese -C.O.C.K.32
Asmodeus – Diggin’ Up The King -C.O.C.K.33
Lovesteaks – Spending Quality Time With -C.O.C.K.34
Triple Dynamite – Elvis in Wonderland – C.O.C.K.35

Batmobile – Live In Japan – F.O.C.K 1