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Ezra Lee

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Ezra Lee & The Havoc Band - Boomerang Boogie
Ezra Lee & The Havoc Band - Boomerang Boogie
Ezra Lee & The Havoc Band – Boomerang Boogie

Ezra Lee & The Havoc Band – Boomerang Boogie

Rhythm Bomb Records – RBR 5823 [2016]
Boomerang Boogie  – My Baby Wants To Rock’n’Roll All Night – Nasty Boogie – Is It Wrong (For Loving You) – Caught In The Middle – Honky Tonk Girl – Motorbilly Radio (Go Cat Go) – My Baby Dont Lie To Me – Tore Up – Honky Tonk Downstairs – Try To Forget My Name – So Long – Endless Sleep – She`s Tough – Let It Rock

For his new album, the third, for Rhythm Bomb, Ezra Lee teamed up with the Shaun Havoc band (Shaun Havoc on drums, Kevin Spiers on guitar, Pete Mavric on double bass and Mark McGurgan on tenor saxophone). To bring variety to the set both Lee and havoc takes the lead vocal duties.
If you compare to his previous albums, it shows a slight departure in term of sound. It delves more into the sixties and mixes rockin’ blues, New Orleans rock’n’roll and country rock. Some songs evoke either Creedence Clearwater Revival or even the Flyin’ Burrito Brothers like Motorbilly Radio (Go Cat Go). The later features a pedal steel while some other songs have a guest fiddle for a straight Honky Tonk sound (Try to Forget My Name).
The choice of covers reflects that eclectism too with songs coming from the catalogs of Champion Jack Dupree, Charlie Rich, Jody Reynolds, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry but also the Paladins, the Reverend Horton Heat and Aussie fellows Pat Capocci and Danny & the Cosmic Tremors.
Pumping piano, strong drum beat, mean electric guitar and jumpin’ sax, everything concurs to make a solid Rock’n’Roll album.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Ezra Lee - Motor Head baby
Ezra Lee – Motor Head baby

Ezra Lee – Motor Head baby

Rhythm Bomb RBR5809 [2015]
Rock Little Baby – Motor Head Baby – Wow Wow – Volcanic Boogie – Over At Hattie’s Barrelhouse – It’s You Baby – The Entertainer – Don’t Say That You Love Me – Last Date – Pink Champagne – Rocker – A Little Unfair – Skinny Woman – Low Down Piana Blues – Rock & Roll Outlaw

Ezra Lee the piano pounding wizard of Oz returned with a brand new album that confirmed all the good things we thought about him.
Backed by the excellent Firebird Trio (Pete Belair on guitar, Hank Elwood Green on drums and on slap bass Chris Nomad D’Rozario who played with Brian Setzer during one of his recent Rockabilly Riot Tour) Lee covers a wide range of style. Of course there’s plenty of Jerry Lee influenced Rock’n’roll (and the production of Paulie Bignell with the drums to the fore strenghten that impression). there’s also a good dose of blues (most notably the excellent Low Down Piana Blues), some Boogie Woogie and even of cover of Scott Joplin’s ragtime classic The  Entertainer. The sole minor flaw would be the cover of AC/DC’s Rocker that doesn’t really fit him vocally but that shouldn’t prevent you to buy that very good album.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Ezra lee - You Can't Stop A Freight Train
Ezra lee – You Can’t Stop A Freight Train

Ezra Lee – You Can’t Stop A Freight Train

Press-Tone Music PCD 15.
Just One Of Those Things / Mean What I Say / Creola / Can’t Stop A Freight Train / I’ll Keep Waiting / Rock’n’Roll Piano Man / Pantin’ Panther / Ezzy’s Boogie / Look, But Can’t Touch / Count On Me (To Shoot You Down) / Firefly / Spread It All Around / The Devil Is A Dame / She Done Gone.

Singer-pianist Ezra Lee is another proof of the good state of health of the Aussie’s rockin’ scene. Like his first recordings available on “Preston Rockabilly vol. 2” this album has been recorded at Preston Studio by the expert hands of Graeme Thomas (and Cal Robinson too) with long time friend Pat Capocci on guitar (who also wrote or co-wrote half of the songs here), Cal Robinson on bass and Ricky “the Goat” on drums.
It’s a pretty good and solid debut album. One could fear that a pianist named “Lee” would merely be a Jerry Lee copycat, but it would be a huge mistake. Sure it contains a healthy dose of piano pounding rockers like Just One of Those Things, Ezzy’s Boogie (pretty much like Jerry Lee’s Real Wild Child) and of course Rock’n’roll Piano man.
 But there’s plenty of other good things too like Sun rockabilly (Spread It Around) and Honky Tonk (I’ll Keep Waiting, Count on Me (to shoot you)) which proves that this boy also likes Moon Mullican. One will also find a couple of blues numbers that show his admiration for Otis Spann and Jonnie Johnson like Mean What I Say or Firefly a Muddy Waters inspired number. There’s also a beautiful New Orleans blues with a Rumba beat called Creola (a little bit like Earl Hooker’s Guitar Rumba), a Texas blues (Pantin’ Panther) and a Carl Mann influenced rocker.
No need to say that Pat Capocci’s guitar is the perfect complement to Ezra’s voice and piano.
Good job folks, I’m really looking forward the next one…
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

 

Scotty Baker

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Scotty Baker
scottybaker
Scotty Baker – Just Like That

Scotty Baker – Just Like That

Press Tone Music [2011]
50 Buick – C’Mon And Fight Me – Broke On payday Again – Just Like That – Tell Me Why You Love Me – Tyre Kickers – Suddenly Alone – Just Can’t Style My Hair – Jacky And Dave – Not Today – I’m Past My Prime – Set Me Loose On That Blonde – That’s The Way I Like It – Doin’ Time On The Passenger Side

Scotty Baker is, after Pat Capocci, Ezra Lee and the Rechords (to name but three) Australia’s latest Rockabilly sensation. With his warm and deep voice, his capacity to write solid originals and a strong backing band, this guy is dangerous! His debut album, features 14 self penned songs and covers a wide range of style.
One can hear a bit of Johnny Cash influences with the boom-chicka-boom Rockabilly of C’Mon and Fight Me or Just Like That, a talkin’ blues ala “Boy Named Sue”. Next to that one will find straight Rockabilly (Jacky and Dave, Set Me Loose On that Blonde), honky tonk with steel guitar (Broke on Payday Again), pumpin’ piano rock’n’roll (Tell Me Why) and bluegrass with (Tyres Kickers). Believe me, the whole album is flawless but if I had to pick some highlights it would be the hilarious “Just Can’t Style My Hair” (with the memorable “I’d rather look like Yul Brynner than David Hasselhoff”), “Not Today” (something like a cross between Hank Williams and Johnny Jano), “Suddenly Alone” that captures the spirit of Elvis’ early ballads like Harbor Lights or Tomorrow Night and “Doin’ Time On the Passenger Seat” a five-minute stroller that closes the album with class.
I really hope to hear more from that guy soon.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Phil Haley and the Comments

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Phil & Gina Haley - Rock'n'roll Lifestyle
Phil & Gina Haley – Rock’n’roll Lifestyle

Phil Haley and the Comments with Gina Haley – Rock & Roll Lifestyle

Press Tone Music International – PCD 28
Rock & Roll Lifestyle – One Step Away – Thirteen Men – Chick Safari – Mockingbird Hill – Dance Me – Farewell, So Long Goodbye – Jealous Heart – Later – Hawk – Tell Me – Rock My Baby – Loveless Blues – Come Rock With Me – Happy Baby – Are You Lonesome Tonight

It was inevitable. One day or another, the finest purveyors of the Big beat, Phil Haley and the Comments, should meet Bill Haley’s daughter, Gina. Not only they met, but thanks to Press Tone, it materialized on records. The album is split in two. One half features Phil and his band and finds them in fine form with no less than five originals played in the style of the real king of Rock’n’roll. They also cover Bill Haley’s Come Rock With Me, the Jodimars’ Later, Mockingbird Hill and Are You Lonesome Tonight. In the great Haley’s tradition, Phil shares the vocal duties and bass player Martyn Savage takes lead vocals on two tracks.
Gina Haley sings lead on the remaining half with Phil and the Comments providing the backing band. The repertoire ranges from Bill’s classics (Thirteen Men [aka Thirteen Women], Farewell, So Long, Goodbye; Happy Baby) to the Warner years (Hawk, Chick Safari in duet with Martyn Savage) and some lesser known stuff like Jealous Heart that Haley recorded in the late 60’s. She has a strong and powerful voice that works fine on the rockin’ stuff but is even better on the more country and jazzy stuff like Loveless Blues (from Bill’s hillbilly era).
It’s a very good album that mixes strong musicianship, good originals, judicious choice of covers (especially Bill’s later stuff that is too often underrated) and two strong singers.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis