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old-school psychobilly

Chicken Jump Skips

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Chicken Jump Skips – Fly Back!!!

Thousands Records – 1000CD-047 [2024]
Honey Hush – Battle Back – Live Wire – Mess Around – Go Heavean – Jailhouse Rock – Mad Stone – Your Wildcat Ways – Saddle Soap

Chicken Jump Skips

Chicken Jump Skips is a band with origins dating back to 1991. Over the years, it has evolved to its current lineup. The band’s first album, released in 2016, demonstrated their talent with an impressive rendition of “Sing Sing Sing.” Now, in 2024, they are back with their second album, which primarily features cover songs. Despite the potential difficulties that come with covering other artists’ work, Chicken Jump Skips’ creativity and skill shine.
The album begins with a strong version of “Honey Hush,” a cover that is certain to capture your attention. Imagine Johnny Burnette’s rendition, but performed at a thrilling 78 rpm, complete with a powerful double bass that will resonate through your surroundings. In just a minute and thirty seconds, the band leaves a lasting impression.
The next track, “Battle Back,” doesn’t skimp on the double bass. It has a perfect melody and a very good structure, alternating between slow and fast parts. A short, original guitar solo brightens up the whole song. Psychobilly is a genre known for mixing with Metal (with various degrees of success). Among the successes is the excellent cover of “Ace Of Spades” by Batmobile. Now we have to consider Chicken Jump Skips’ version of Mötley Crüe’s “Live Wire,” which sets the bar very high and is on par with Batmobile. They manage to maintain the energy of the original track and its characteristic breaks while infusing their own Psychobilly touch. Once again, we can’t help but notice the enormous work of the rhythm section.
We continue with another successful cover with “Mess Around” (Ray Charles), which, in the expert hands of the trio, becomes a clever mix between Ska and Psychobilly with a frantic voice. One of the group’s great qualities is that, although they often play at tempos that would make Chuck Yeager blush, they always remain very melodic, as “Go Heaven” proves. At times, we would be tempted to compare them to Batmobile; this is particularly obvious when we listen to their version of Jailhouse Rock, which copies the melody of its verses from “Bambooland” (and given the result, it is an excellent idea!). “Mad Stone” alternates wild parts with more pop moments. “Your Wildcat Ways” should irritate many a Rockabilly purist, but how good does it feel to hear a band having fun and playing without worrying about anything other than having a good time.
“Saddle Soap” (released in 1985 on the Roughnecks’ first EP) ends the album on a melodious, more Rockabilly note, and it is just as successful.
Furthermore, Chicken Jump Skips has the excellent idea of ​​making a short album (nine tracks and less than 22 minutes), which avoids any attempt at filler and leaves the listener breathless and asking for more (which is always a good sign).

Fred ”Virgil” Turgis

Demented Are Go

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demented are go

Demented Are Go – Demented Are Go Present… The Demon Teds – The Day The Earth Spat Blood

Link Records LINK MLP 084
Country Woman – Brain Damaged Chile (Slight Retard) – One Sharp Knife – Flight 103 – Termite Man -Skitzoid Brain – Now She’s Dead (Warp Mix) Life’s A Bitch/Demon Ted Boogie/Now She’s Dead

demented are go

In 1989, Mark Phillips decided to revive Demented Are Go, which had broken up some time before due to the departure of Lex Luther followed by the double bassist. Faithful Ant Thomas (drums) and Simon Cohen (violin) returned, and the lineup was completed by Billy Favata (double bass) and Mike Pannell (guitar), both from the Court Jesters. The group was quickly offered the opportunity to record an album by Link Records. Despite not having any songs ready and without having rehearsed, Demented Are Go entered the studio to record what would become “Demon Teds… The Day The Earth Spat Blood.” Considering the large quantity of alcohol (and likely other substances) consumed, it’s quite surprising that Link Records was able to release an album at the end of the recording session.
The album includes several filler tracks such as Flight 103, Termite Man, and Life’s A Bitch, which quickly turn into aimless guitar demonstrations with a poor metal sound that borders on bad taste. These are interspersed with various noises and effects seemingly for no reason other than to fill up time. Despite this, there are still some good tracks on this record. When Demented Are Go are at their best, they are truly impressive. With Country Woman, the band creates a new genre that blends country music and Psychobilly with a wild and frantic violin and jaw harp. With its intro that sounds lile a zombie version of the Beach Boys, Brain Damaged Chile is a pure blast of madness, and One Sharp Knife is one of the group’s best songs. This version has a much heavier sound than the first version that appeared on Hell’s Bent On Rockin’! in 1985. Both versions are excellent, but I have a soft spot for the first, which is scarier. Skitzoid Brain is also a good song that captures the band’s signature Psychobilly sound.
It’s unfortunate that the mediocre songs drown out the good ones because these four tracks could have made for a great EP.

The Radioactive Kid

Spook and the Ghouls

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Spook and the Ghouls – Whitechapel Murders

Nervous Records – NERD 043 [1988]
Reaper Grim – Demon Barber On Fleet Street – Vampira – Nightmares From Beyond – Love Me So – Let ‘Em Swing – Twisted Kind – Gallows Are Awaiting – Werewolf In Our Town – Dead Flesh Creeping – Bela Lugosi’s Dead – Live And Raw – Death Ride – Rocker

Spook and the Ghouls

Spook and the Ghouls formed in the mid-1980s with Simon Badminton (vocals and double bass), Dave Kingdon (guitar), and Vic Greener (drums). The band’s outrageous makeup on the album cover tends to make them lose credibility. But it would be a shame to stop at this first sight because you would be missing out on an original group that stood out in the Psychobilly landscape of the second half of the 1980s.

Spook and the Ghouls develop a highly original style that is dark, grim, and very gloomy—in other words, gothic—but always melodic and in which the Rockabilly base remains very present.

The group’s success lies in their unique approach. Their music is not about being loud or aggressive. It’s about creating an unsettling, even oppressive atmosphere as if the singer is whispering a story directly into your ears. This aesthetic is perfectly captured in their cover of Bauhaus’s ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead ‘. The guitar work is a journey through various sounds and textures, from rock’n’roll to garage (Vampira), with detours into Surf and Metal (Nightmares from Beyond). The few Rockabilly tunes, lighter and bouncy, may seem out of place, but they are surprisingly effective.

Ultimately, when the trio plays a more classic and predictable Psychobilly, it loses its personality and is less convincing (like on their cover of AC/DC’s Rocker). Fortunately, there are very few.

If you’ve only skimmed through this record or are open to discovering a different album, I urge you to give this hard-to-pigeonhole record a thorough listen. You might just find yourself drawn into the unique world of Spook and the Ghouls.

The Radioactive Kid

The Graveyard Mutants

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The Graveyard Mutants – Afterlife Love Machine

Crazy Love Records CLEP64518
Afterlife Love Machine – Bloodlust / Puzzle Girl – The Witch

graveyard mutants

The Graveyard Mutants are a new trio from Spain. But if the band is new, the musicians are well-known names in the Spanish Rockabilly/Psychobilly and Punk scene.
David (lead vocals and double bass) previously slapped his bass in the Calamitiez and, before that, Smell of Kat. Julio (guitar) also played in the Calamitez, and Miguel drummed for various Punk bands.
Their new venture is one of the best Psychobilly releases I’ve heard in years, along with the Rusty Robots and the Nevrotix. But since the genre has seen many evolutions since its creation, and sometimes not for the best, and to avoid confusion, the term early-Psychobilly would be more appropriate (I also thought about borrowing the term Mutant Rock to Paul Fenech). There’s no trace of Metal or Punk in their music, despite the pedigree of some band members. The Graveyard Mutants play their own style of unhealthy Neo-Rockabilly, dealing with weird themes. But don’t think they’re a retro-sounding band trying to imitate what has been done 30 years ago. Even though you could take one of their songs and include it on any compilation album from the 80s without anyone noticing it, their EP, consisting of four self-penned tracks, manages to be, at the same time, a record that unmistakably sounds like a release from 2023. In other words, their music is timeless. That’s a prowess not given to anybody.

Let’s talk a bit about the music in detail. First, if you expect fast tunes, you will be disappointed. The band is clever enough to know that a song, especially a spooky one, needs breath to create an atmosphere. The four songs here are all mid-paced, some even with a slight country beat. The musicianship is also top-notch. I guess you can’t beat experience. David’s bass and Miguel’s drums work well together, blending to create a perfect rhythm section. Too often, the drums are poorly played and just here to give the tempo, or the band thinks that they have to put the bass and especially the slap to the fore, destabilising the ensemble’s sound. Not here. Then you have an excellent guitar player playing with a clean sound who favours fast licks instead of powerful chords. Then those licks explode into hot solos that are always inventive. Woah! With such a setting, David just has to add his confident and powerful voice, though he never shouts or screams, to these four excellent mutant gems.
Icing on the cake, Crazy Love released it in five different colours (black, green, yellow, red, mixed colors and white).

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Ricochets (the)

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Ricochets (the) – Made In the Shade

Nervous Records NERD 005
Hey, Girl – Yomping – I’m A Loser – Crazy Dream – King Rocker – Black Magic Baby – Runnin’ Wild – Hit Man – Worried ‘Bout You Baby – Brand New Cadillac – Night Ship – Everybody’s Rockin’ (Live)

the ricochets

This album is a landmark in the history of Psychobilly in more than one title. Not only is it one of the very first albums to define Psychobilly, but it also inspired many young musicians to form their own combos. In addition, the Ricochets also had Sam Sardi, who later joined the Guana Batz, and Ginger Meadham, who drummed for the Meteors and later the Highliners, in their ranks.
The Ricochets first started under the name Pink and Black and played a more traditional style of Rockabilly. The original line-up featured Sam Sardi (double bass), Steve Sardi (guitar), Ginger Meadham (drums) and Dave (Sam and Steve’s cousin) on vocals. But by the time of the recording, he was deeply involved in his day job, and Lester Jones replaced him. The legend says that Roy Williams went to hear them rehearse and was far from convinced until the band – not knowing that the label owner was still listening to them – started messing with more modern and adventurous stuff. A deal was quickly signed, resulting in a noticeable appearance on the compilation album Hep Cat Hop, followed by an album.
Being pioneers, the Ricochets invented the style while they were playing it. Hence, the band didn’t feel contrived by rules and definitions. The Ricochets were playing the kind of music they liked, the way they felt and wanted to. The result is a fantastic album, built around a Rockabilly structure, featuring a frantic slap bass, with dark lyrics, and permanent anguish, elements of Punk (they cover Gen X’s King Rocker), some garage with a Psychedelia flair influences (the magnificent Night Ship). Even a bit of Glam can be heard in their instrumental Yompin (they also covered Slade’s Don’t Blame Me for the compilation album Stack-A-Records, later reissued on the CD version of Made In The Shade). Even what could be pointed as a potential negative point (Jones isn’t the most tuneful singer ever) turned to the band’s advantage. His singing brings a strange and uneasy yet addictive feel to the songs, comparable in a certain way to what Nigel Lewis brought to the Meteors.
Shortly after the release of Made In the Shade, Ginger joined the Meteors and appeared on two of their legendary albums (Live I and Wreckin’ Crew); Sam teamed up with the Guana Batz for a string of classic albums. In the late eighties, the original line-up of the Ricochets was reformed with Dave Sardi on vocals and released On Target for Count Orlock records.

Guana Batz

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Guana Batz - Held Down... At Last!
Guana Batz – Held Down… At Last!

Guana Batz – Held Down… At Last!

CDMPSYCHO64
Down The Line / Got No Money / Can’t Take The Pressure / Nightwatch / Lady Bacon / King Rat / You’re My Baby / Nightmare Fantasy / Please Give Me Something / Bust Out / See Through / Batman (Live) / B-Side Blues
Truly a classic and without a doubt one of the ten “must have” psychobilly records. After two singles that made quite a stir on the relatively new psychobilly scene and a decent life in the indie charts, Pip and the boys toured heavily, switched to double bass by recruiting Sam Sardi of the Ricochets and took their time to write a solid debut album.
Expectations were high, but the debut long player (10 songs for 25 minutes) largely fulfiled them (and even more). Not only the Batz were talented, but they came with a different sound, both classic and innovative.
The A-side delivers a solid set of five originals, mostly acoustic with slap bass and rhythm guitar to the fore, light drums and electric lead guitar. It stays close to 50’s rockabilly, but more frantic (Can’t Take The Pressure, Got No Money) and weird (Nightwatch, Lady Bacon).
B-side is slightly different. It opens with the manic pace of King Rat, followed by the wild cover of Johnny Cash’s You’re My Baby. Nightmare Fantasy, written by Sam Sardi, is no less frantic and shows the influence of the Ricochets. Please Gimme Something is the slower song of the side but is very torrid. The original album closes with an instrumental from the Busters’ catalog.
This reissue features three bonus songs that come from a 10″ issued around the same time. Seethrough is as good as any of the songs included on Held Down, B-Side Blues feels more like a studio jam and their cover of Batman is fun though not essential.

Guana Batz - Loan Sharks
Guana Batz – Loan Sharks

Guana Batz – Loan Sharks

CDMPSYCHO69
Pile Driver Boogie / My Way / Slippin In / Tiny Minds / Radio Sweetheart / Life’s A Beach / Loan Shark / I’mWeird / Hippy Hippy Shake / Live For The Day / No Particular Place To Go / I’m On Fire / Your Baby Blue Eyes
Anagram/Cherry Red reissues Guana Batz’s second record. Originally released one year after their successfully debut album, “Loan Sharks” marks a big move into the sound of the band and delivers their most radio friendly album (and it did a decent stint into the independent UK charts). Though they’re still firmly anchored in Psychobilly with heavy slappin numbers like Pile Driver Boogie, the spooky “I’m Weird” or their instant classic “Loan Sharks”, they don’t hesitate to explore new territories like the self-penned “Tiny Mind”, a jazzy number with piano (a psychobilly version of this songs is available on the b-side of the single version of I’m On Fire). Under the guidance of their producer Danny Dawson, the band has added a couple of instruments to expand the sound of the band like saxophone, harmonica, piano and…  synthesiser (hey ! this album has been recorded in 1986). They also escape the rock’n’roll clichés by covering unusual songs for a psychobilly band (but what is a psychobilly band?) like Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire and Elvis Costello’s Radio Sweetheart. Though different you can compare their direction with the one taken by Frenzy around the same period. Of course one can argue that half of the album is made of covers, but you can’t deny that Pip and the boys had totally made them their own (with maybe the exception of “Baby Blue Eyes” included here as a bonus track – it was formerly a single b-side – which doesn’t bring anything new to this great song). It’s probably not the Guana Batz album I’d recommend to someone who wants to discover the band, nonetheless it’s a good record.

Guana Batz - Rough Edges
Guana Batz – Rough Edges

Guana Batz – Rough Edges

Streetwise / Open Your Mouth / One Night / Good News / Rockin On Creek Road / Fight Back / Spy Catcher / Love Generator / Bring My Cadillac Back / Rock Around With Ollie Vee / Two Shadows / You Can Run
After the more pop oriented “Loan Sharks”, the Guana Batz returned to the classical sound of their first album. The band threw away saxes and the keyboards and the covers came from the catalogs of Buddy Holly, Elvis and Baker Knight & The Knightmares. In term of cohesion, recording and songwriting, Rough Edges (which is by no means “rough”) is their absolute best album showing an accomplished band at the peak of its creativity that benifits of a clean (but NOT slick) production. The band offers a solid mix of psychobilly (Streetwise, Fight Back), wild neo-rockabilly (Love Generator, Open Your Mouth), instrumental (Spy Catcher) and even an excellent jazzy number (Two Shadows). You won’t find any filler here and even the construction of the album is perfect. If “Held Down…”, was the revelation of a great band to a wide audience and “Loan Sharks” showed a band avid to explore new territories, “Rough Edges” was simply the album of a band in full mastery of his art.

Guana Batz - Electra Glide In Blue
Guana Batz – Electra Glide In Blue

Guana Batz – Electra Glide In Blue

CDMPSYCHO71
Electraglide In Blue / Green Eyes / Texas Eyes / No Matter How / Wondrous Place / Katherine / Stylin / Spector Love / Self Made Prison / Who Needs It / Lover Man / Take A Rocket / Lights Out
With their fourth album, the Guana Batz surprised their fans with a heavy sounding and powerful lp that goes further the “psychobilly” label. The sound is compact and for some of the tracks the word “Glamabilly” seems appropriate. Though it works rather well on most of the A side from the roaring Electra Glide In Blue to the melodic Texas Eyes, Billy Fury’s Wondrous Place and Katherine on which Stuart takes the lead vocals, on the full length it sounds repetitive. The fact that all the good songs are on the first half doesn’t help either. Had this album been reduced to seven or eight songs it would have been excellent.

Guana Batz – Stuff

NV ReCords – NVEP05 [1995]
Thing In The Cellar – Stuff / Flashy Car (and a Diamond Ring) – Streetwise

Finding information about this ep concerning the line-up and its recording date is challenging. One can assume that the line-up is Pip on vocals, Stuart on guitar, Johnny Bowler (Get-Smart, Frantic Flintstones, Caravans) on double bass and John Buck (Deltas, Polecats) on drums. It was released in 1995, and Boz Boorer engineered and produced it. He also wrote two songs (Thing In The Cellar and Stuff), the other two being from the pen of Stuart Osbourne.
The sound is uncluttered, almost roots and reminds me of the band’s debut album.
The EP kicks off with Thing In the Cellar, a mean Rockabilly track finding the band (that guitar!) and Pip in fine form. It’s simple, yet evident, one of the band’s best tunes. Next is “Stuff”. It has a reggae vibe and sounds a bit like a Clash tune. 
Flashy Car and A Diamond Ring is a slow, mellow tune with a country-blues flair. Once again, Pip’s hoarse voice brings a touch of sadness to the song. Before you start complaining about the lack of Psychobilly, their new version of Streetwise sends a shot of adrenalin straight to your veins and closes this four-track 1O” in beauty.

Guana Batz - Burning Up
Guana Batz – Burning Up

Guana Batz – Burning Up

Tombstone Records – Tomb-45 122 [2017]
Burning Up – Faded Memory – Girl on a Motorbike- Martian Princess

After a recording silence of more than 20 years, the Psychobilly legends from Feltham return with an impressive brand new ep.
The least we can say is that time didn’t lessen their energy. With Jonny Bowler on drums, Paul “Choppy” Lambourne on bass and of course Stuart and Pip at the helm they’re more powerful than ever.
As usual withthe Batz the arrangement are pretty good with a special care given to the recording, the production and the different mood and texture of each of the songs.
Guana Batz fans will jump on it, new fans will discover a new bands and everybody will eagerly wait for a full album.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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