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Freddy Frogs

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freddy frogs

Freddy Frogs ‎– At My Front Door

Freddy Frogs

Nervous Records ‎– NERD 013 [1984]
Cheap Thrills – Boppin ‘N’ Jivin – Roxy – Desperate – Livin’ In The Dark – She’s So Mean – Crazy Little Mama – Ain’t Got No Home – Don’t Make Me Wait – All The Girls (Do The Bop) – Pledging My Love – Feelin’ No Pain – I Don’t Care Any More – No Frills

When asked who was his favorite musician, Brian Setzer once answered ‘Freddy Frogs’. This lp, first released in 1982 by Off the Wall records, then licensed to Nervous records in 1984, gathered the sides recorded by Frogs (real name Ferdinando Toscano) with his two bands: the BMT’s and No Frill. The BMT’s featured Tommy Byrnes, who briefly joined the Stray Cats in 1984 as the second guitarist.
The lp opens with Cheap Thrills, a classic Rock’n’Roll in the style of Bill Haley with sax and appropriate backing vocals and handclaps. The program of Boppin and Jivin’ lays in its title. It bops, it jives, and it features fine doo-wop backing vocals too. The next track, Roxy, is an excellent soft Rockabilly. It’s followed by a slow in the best tradition of the Fifties. Freddy Frogs delivers a superb vocal performance, perfectly backed by the band. Livin In The Dark is a good rocking song. Maybe not the most original but quite effective. She’s So Mean is a superb Rockabilly with a blasting saxophone solo. Crazy Little Mama, a cover of El Dorados & Magnificents, is a fantastic doo-wop with a solid dose of Rock’n’Roll in it.
The B-side opens with the logical choice of Clarence Frogman Henry’s Ain’t Got No Home. Don’t Make Me Wait has echoes of Buddy Holly while Do the Bop is in Danny and the Juniors’ style.
You must be one hell of a singer to sing Pledging My Love and compete with Johnny Ace and Elvis Presley. Frogs totally makes this song his own, and his version has nothing to envy to anyone. Feelin’ No Pain is more modern, showing some New-Wave influences, especially in the bass line. Back to boppin’ Rockabilly with I Don’t Care Anymore. No Frills that concludes the album is an instrumental track that answers the LP’s first song, showcasing the piano and the saxophone.
A genuinely great Rock’n’Roll album.
Sadly Freddy Frogs passed away in 2009 at age 66.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Buzz and the Flyers

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Buzz and the Flyers – Little Pig

Buzz and the flyers

Sing Sing Records ‎– S1002 [1980]
Little Pig – You Crazy Gal You – Let’s Bop

Buzz and the Flyers were one of the leading bands of the Rockabilly revival of the late seventies. Like the Rockats and Robert Gordon, they helped to pave the way for the Stray Cats‘ international success.
This EP features the group’s early line-up with the fantastic Dig Wayne on vocals, Michael Gene on guitar, Pete Morgan on bass, and Rock Roll (if you have to choose a nickname to play this music, you might as well pick this one) on drums.
Syl Sylvain, of the New York Dolls, produced it and released it on his own Sing Sing label. It’s interesting to see that at the same time, Jerry Nolan, drummer of the New York Dolls, played with the Rockats.
The A-side is a cover of Dale Hawkins’ Little Pig. Its bare-bone and sparse sound captures the Rockabilly spirit like very few managed to do since the fifties.
Even better is You Crazy Gal You. This one has a strong Charlie Feathers feel without sounding like a carbon copy. Listening to this today, you realize that the fantastic Michael Gene is one of the Rockabilly scene’s unsung heroes. His style incorporates the best of Cliff Gallup and Scotty Moore to mix it with more moderns elements.
This essential EP end with a frantic cover of Jack Earl’s Let’s Bop.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8

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Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 – Ridin’ In A Rocket

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 - Ridin’ In A Rocket

Nervous Records NERD 024 [1985]
Bluest Of Blue – County Jail – Money Talks – Blame It On The Moon – Hey, Baby – Gal O’ Mine – Rock Candy – So What – Oh, My Little Claudie – Ridin’ In A Rocket – Baby, I Know – I’m A Rebel – Big Ol’ Sun – You Can’t Come Out Tonight – I Don’t Know – Teacher, Teacher – Get Off My Train – Movin’ To Memphis – Bop, Man, Bop – Gonna Rock

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 were a traditional Rockabilly trio consisting of Kevin Fayte on vocals and guitar, Buster Fayte on vocals and bass, and Joe Snare on drums. They seem to be forgotten today, which is rather unfair. Maybe they came too early. When most of the bands were trying to follow the Stray Cats paths, Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 choose to remain faithful to the Rockabilly of the origins.
The band formed in 1983 and disbanded around 1986. In between, the trio managed to release this album consisting of twenty original songs, penned by the band members, but their producer, Gary Rebholz, also contributed to the songwriting. One could fear that twenty tracks are a tad too much for a rockabilly album, but the songs are short, and since both Kevin and Buster share the lead vocals, they manage to keep variety all along the lp. Most of all, they really knew how to write songs, focusing on the melodic aspect.
This excellent album deserves to be rediscovered today.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Sharks (the)

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sharks space race

The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers
The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers

 The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers

Nervous records ‎– NERD 008 [1983]

Moonstomp – Skeleton Rock – It’s All Over Now – Crazy Maybe – Take A Razor To Your Head – Death Row -Love Bites – Short Shark Shock – Ruff Stuff – Phantom Rockers – Charlie! – Slipped Disc – I Can’t Stop – Electrifyin’ – Ghost Train* – We Say Yeah* (* cd only)

There’s a thin line between Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly. “Phantom Rockers” the Sharks’ debut album falls exactly somewhere between those two categories.
Their sound is closer to Restless than the wildness of the Meteors or the garage sound of the Ricochets. But the comparison ends here. While Rockabilly bands are happy to sing about girls and boppin’ all night, the Sharks embrace the Psychobilly idiom with a delectable pleasure. Their songs are about vampires, skeletons, ghosts (trains and rockers), and Charlie, a schoolboy who cuts the head of his classmates and family with a chainsaw.
The music is punchy and aggressive yet melodic and clean. Both Wilson and Whitehouse, who share the vocal duties, show a solid mastering of their instruments and a knack for writing songs that stay in your head.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if you call it Psychobilly or Rockabilly or whatever, you must own this album, that’s all you need to know.

The Sharks - First and Last Live
The Sharks – First and Last Live

The Sharks – First and Last Live

Nervous /Crazy Love [1988 – reissue 2002]
Rock The Joint ~ Pink & Black ~ Tired ‘n’ Sleepy ~ Teenage Boogie ~ Tear It Up ~ Wildcat Rock ~ Sugar Doll ~ We Say Yeah ~ Deathrow ~ Moonstomp ~ Ghost Train ~ Crazy Maybe ~ Buddy Can You Spare A Dime ~ It’s All Over Now ~ Phantom Rockers ~ Chainsaw Charlie ~ I Can’t Stop.

This album captures two shows. The first one has been recorded by the trio at the beginning of their career and the second is the last they played just before they split in 1983, hence the title. It’s mostly made for fans and it’s surely not the best album to discover this great and highly influential band. But it remains very interesting. You can hear a band of teenagers evolving from a good rockabilly cover band (the first show: well played but nothing too exceptional) into a tight psychobilly unit, this time with self penned material and a sound truly of their own.

The Sharks - Live In Japan
The Sharks – Live In Japan

The Sharks – Live In Japan

Crazy Love CLCD 64143
Deathrow – Bye Bye Girl – Cold Heart – Crazy Maybe – Dealer – Schitzoid Man – Love Bites – Morphine Daze – Side Show Freak – Between Two Worlds – Moonstomp – Surf Caster – Phantom Rockers – Charlie – Time Bomb – Ghost Train – Skeleton Rock.
The psychobilly scene counts very few solid live recordings. The reason can be found in the fact that the majority has been released in the mediocre Live’n’Rockin’ serie on Link records. But one can find some exception like The Meteors Live I, The Quakes’ Live In Tokyo, Long Tall Texans’ Five beans In The Wheel (though it’s half fake), Live’n’Undead by the Nekromantix and on top of the list : “Live In Japan” by the Sharks.
 This live recording has been captured on tape in September 1998 in Nagoya and Tokyo, during a successful tour of Japan with the pair Wilson and Whitehouse (both on top form) and Carl Parry (guitar player for Frenzy at the time) on drums who replaces Hodge the original drummer. 
The set spans the entire career of the band with “Phantom Rockers” taking the lion’s share. The trio gives a breath of fresh air – and even surpasses the studio recordings – to their classics like Love Bites, Charlie, Moonstomp and breathtaking versions of Skeleton Rock and Ghost Train. The songs from “Colour My Flesh” and “Recreationnal Killer” are well represented too here and the live gives a grittier sound than the well produced studio versions.
There’s a spirit of sheer joy (even with songs about vampires, psycho killer, electric chairs…) all along this hour plus of tight musicianship (remember we’re talking about Alan Wilson and Steve Whitehouse) that is highly communicative. In the end it’s more than a great psychobilly album, it’s a great rock’n’roll album (that deals with kids with chainsaw, girls from Transylvannia and so on, okay I know).

The Sharks - Songs from the Sarcophagus
The Sharks – Songs from the Sarcophagus

The Sharks – Songs from the Sarcophagus

Western Star [2011]
She’s Fallen In Love With A Monster Man – Draculas Daughter – Jack The Ripper – Monster In Black Tights

We’ve waited for years for it. Here it is, at last, a brand new release from those neo-rockabilly/psychobilly masters.
This 4 songs vinyl ep is a tribute to the late Screaming Lord Sutch and who was more designed to do it than the Sharks and Joe Meek specialist Alan Wilson? They manage to give their own rendition of these classics while staying true to Meek and Sutch versions.
A total, definite and absolute must have.

The Sharks - Infamy
The Sharks – Infamy

The Sharks – Infamy

Western Star WSRC 057 {2012}
House of Wax – A Tornado Called Smith – Holloway Road – The King Of London – First Men On the Moon – Control – Ship To Shore – Hell Riders – I Can’t Believe You’re Back – Breakin’ Bones – Luck O’ The Irish – Desert Diamond – She’s Fallen In Love With The Monster Man

The Sharks are back! After a 15 year hiatus Alan Wilson (guitar, vocals), Steve Whitehouse (super sonic slap bass, vocals) and Hodge finally got together again to record a new album. I must say that I was a little apprehensive when I put the cd in the player. Could the band match my high expectations, after all they had released some of the best neo/psychobilly album made in the 80’s (Phantom Rockers) and the 90’s (Recreationnal Killer and Color My Flesh). Recently released material on compilation albums and an ep showed they were still in good shape, but could they make it on long distance? It took just one song to see all my doubts vanish. Not only the Sharks were good but they sounded better than ever, benefiting of 30 years of experience in term of producing, playing and writing songs. Most of all they managed to keep what make their identity and reinvent themselves in the same time. You don’t have a band of fifty year old men (or so) who run after their youth, trying to sound like they did in thirty years ago. They don’t come back by pure nostalgia but because they have solid songs to defend (mostly penned by Wilson with the exception of the First Men On the Moon co-written with Whitehouse and Lord Sutch’s She’s Fallen In Love With the Monster Man). Of course there are hot psychobilly numbers like House Of Wax (perfect opener with superb vocals from Whitehouse), A Tornado Called Smith (listen to this guitar solo, it kills!), Men On the Moon and Breakin Bones (already a classic alternating slow and fast parts). Next to this psychobilly gems you’ll find an instrumental mixing Surf guitar with Mariachi music (Hell Riders),  60’s country music with a Bakersfield feel (Desert Diamond), and a great tribute to Joe Meek in the form of a pop song (Holloway Road) featuring female backing vocals and Merv Pepler (Frenzy) playing some strange noises that would have pleased the producer of Telstar. Other real life character also have their own song like the notorious bare knuckle boxer Pretty Boy Shaw (The King Of london with plunking piano) and Ronald Biggs. That’s what I call a casting!  More surprising is Luck’o the Irish sung by Doyley (Klingonz) with accordion and penny whistle for a full Pogues ambiance.
It was worth a wait of 15 years..
Comes in a nice digipack with lyrics included.

Sharks (the) – Space Race

sharks space raceWestern Star Recording Company ‎– WSRC EP006 [2014]
Mercury Mission – Cosmonaut – Rockabilly Moonquake – First Men On The Moon (Queen Victoria Mix)
The Sharks recorded and released this space-themed 10″ mini-album in 2014.
Sung by Whitehouse, Mercury Mission is the most Psychobilly sounding of all four tracks. Knowing Wilson’s admiration for the work of Joe Meek, it’s no surprise to find a Telstar vibe in the following instrumental titled Cosmonaut.
On the b-side, there’s an excellent neo-rockabilly tune that you could easily imagine sung by the Polecats, whereas the Queen Victoria Mix of First Men On The Moon doesn’t add much to an already great song.
It’s a limited white vinyl edition.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Sharks
The Sharks

Darrel Higham

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darrel higham

Darrel Higham – Mobile Corrosion

Nervous Records NERCD082 [1995]
Like A Brand New Man – If You Can Live With It – Long Lonely Road – Deep In The Heart Of Texas – I Like Me Just Fine – Second Hand Information – In My Heart – No One Will Grieve – Revenue Man – Country Lila Rhue – You Were Right, I Was Rong – I’ve Been Gone A Long Time – Don’t Bug Me Baby – Amanda’s Song – Travis Pickin’ – Life Goes On – Rockin’ Band Blues

Recorded in 1995 for Nervous Records with Rusti Steel (lap steel), Les Curtis (drums), Mick Wigfall (bass), and Dave Brown (piano), Mobile Corrosion is one of Higham’s most country-tinged albums.
Like A Brand New Man is a perfect opener, sounding like a cross between Johnny Horton’s Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor and Berry’s Promised Land. If You Can Live Without It is a country ballad yet muscled up by the slap bass and features nice guitar picking.
Long Lonely Road is a Rock’n’roll tune on which Darrel’s Cochran inspired vocal makes wonder. Geraint Watkins’ Deep In the Heart Of Texas is an excellent country drive with a powerful drive. The following track, I Like Me Just Fine, is way heavier, with mean guitar and powerful vocal. Back to traditional Rockabilly, with a hillbilly touch, with Gentleman Jim’s Second Hand Information. Every good Rock’n’Roll album should feature a slow number. Good news, you have two on this album, In My Heart and Amanda’s Song, and one more time, Higham’s voice, not far from Cochran on Lonely Street here, is perfect.
No One Will Grieve is a modern Rocker with a solid bass part. Revenue Man is a cover of George Jones tune, Country Lila Rhue is more on the hillbilly bop vein, while You Were Right, I Was Wrong is a Rockabilly ballad.
I’ve Been Gone Too Long is a mean Country-rock, and you could easily imagine Sonny George singing it. Though Milton Allen did the original of Don’t Bug Me Baby in 1957, Higham’s version comes from the cover made by Shakin Stevens in 1981. It’s instrumental time with Travis Pickin’. No surprise, all is in the title. Life Goes On shows the influence of Gene Vincent, which means brushed snare drums and plenty of jazz influences in the guitar. Rockin’ Band Blues is a Cochran pastiche. Nothing really original but a good song nonetheless.

Darrel Higham & the Barnshakers – Pretty Little Devil

darrel higham

Goofin Records GOOFY 570 [1997]
Sweethearts Or Strangers – Don’t Be Gone Long – Pretty Little Devil – Flattin’ & Thumbin’

Darrel Higham recorded this ep in 1997 with the ever-excellent Barnshakers from Finland. That was not the first collabration between the British guitar picker and the Finnish Rockabilly band. Both recorded a full album together in 1993. Sometimes when two talented artists or bands join forces, the result doesn’t keep up with the expectations (I have a few example that I’ll keep for myself.) That was not the case here, this four-track ep is excellent.
Side one kicks off with a cover of the old classic “Sweethearts or Strangers”. Higham’s vocals and guitar give it a strong Eddie Cochran feel, and Lester Peabody’s steel guitar nicely enhances it. Next is a cover of Bod Doss’ “Don’t Be Long Gone.” Like the original, it’s jet-propelled by a solid slap bass intro.
Vesa Haaja, the singer of the Barnshakers, joins forces to sing harmonies for the Everly sounding Pretty Little Devil, recorded initially by Bob Denton and Eddie Cochran.
The last track is a guitar duet between Higham and Peabody/Jussi Huhtakangas. Well, the title says it all. It’s a gentle battle between these two great pickers. One can only regret that Deke Dickerson wasn’t there at the time of the recording.
There are still a few copies left on Goofin Records.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Deltas (the)

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deltas from fleetville to vegas

The Deltas – Boogie Disease

The Deltas - Boogie Disease

Nervous Records NER002 [1981]

Boogie Disease – As You Like It – Blues In The Bottle – Honey Babe – Victim Of My Love – London Girls – Who – That Ain’t Your Business – Raging Sea – Heart Attack – Temperature – Pie ‘n’ Mash – Moonshine – Nine Below Zero – Fashion Train – Long Black Train

The Deltas were playing wild and frantic Rockabilly but unlike many other bands, they related heavily to the blues idiom covering the likes of Doctor Ross, Slim Harpo, Lightnin’ Hopkins or Sonny Boy Williamson. If the Meteors created psychobilly by mistreating rockabilly music, the Deltas were doing the same to the blues.

The Deltas were one of the very first act to be signed by Roy Williams on his Nervous label. It’s no surprise for their were among those who wanted to push the boundaries of the genre like Restless, the Meteors, the Blue Cats to name but three.

Their debut album is loaded with 16 wild and psychoticwith half of them penned by the band. The triple attack of Littlejohn’s double bass, Pat Panioty’s guitar and Steve Bongo banging his drums while singing his heart out (which often leads him to end the song faster than it started) takes no prisonners.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

deltas-first45The Deltas – Heart Attack b/w Spellbound

Nervous Records NER005 [1981] 
In 1981 the British rockabilly scene was in bloom. After Raw Deal split, Paul Fenech and Nigel Lewis formed the Meteors and Pat Panioty formed the Deltas. This single announces their excellent debut album. The version of Heartattack is different than the one that appears on the album.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

 

The Deltas - You Cant Judge a BookThe Deltas – You Cant Judge a Book

Raucous Records – RAUC006 [1988]
How Come You Do Me Like You Do – You Can’t Judge A Book – Do What I Do – This Train Is Bound For Glory

Superb ep recorded for Raucous featuring high octane rockin’ blues in the same vein of Tuffer than Tuff.

 

The Deltas - Mad for itThe Deltas – Mad for it

ID Records NOSE 11 [1986]
Whip It Up – Cigarette – Catch’em Young – The Cat – Age Of Nil – Electric Chair – Hit The Road Jack – Mad For It – Sex Therapy – Gimme The Drugs – No More No More No More – How Come You Do Me Like You Do* – You Can’t Judge A Book* – Do What I Do* – This Train Is Bound For Glory* (*cd bonus)

In 1986 the Deltas returned with a brand new album and a brand new lineup. The orginal trio (Captain Pat Marvel, Little John and Steve Bongo) added a drummer Ricochet Ray (allowing Steve to fully concentrate on the vocals) and a second guitar and a saxophone in the person of Boz Boorer of the Polecats who also produced the album and wrote several originals. With the addition of guests on piano and blues harp, the result is a blusier album, yet with a rockin’ feel to it, and a fuller sound.
It also sees them more at ease to go into new territories like the jazzy “Electric Chair”. But fans of the first lp and their psychotic rockabilly will sure enjoy the title track and their cover of the Cat. The cd version includes the “You Can’t Judge a book… ep” recorded for Raucous in 1988.

The Deltas ‎– From Fleetville To Vegas

deltas from fleetville to vegasRockout Records ‎– NIT 007
High Falutin’ Mama – Getting Drunk – Look Out Mabel – Shim Sham Shimmy – Willie Brown – Doctor Jazz – Down By The Riverside – I Love To Boogie – King Of The Road – Rock Me
Released in 1995 on Gary Day’s short-lived Rockout Records, From Fleetville to Vegas is one of the very best Deltas album.
The five-piece line-up (the original trio plus Boz Boorer and John Buck) rips through a set of wild and frantic rockin’ blues leaving the listener breathless. Amid that wildness, they managed to add some Jive (Gettin’ Drunk), Jazz (Doctor Jazz, a Boorer’s original that quotes Charlie Parker), Rock’n’Roll (High Falutin’ Mama), Rockabilly (Rock Me) and even Gospel (Down By the Riverside.)
Occasional piano, saxophone, and harmonica enlighten the performance. The sound is raw and crude, in the same vein as Billy Childish’s blues albums.

Deltas


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