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Reverend Horton Heat

McKinley James

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McKinley James – Who Will The Next Fool Be

Fun-Guy Records – FG-5906 [2020]
Who Will The Next Fool Be / Thunderbird

McKinley James released this single on James Heath’s Fun-Guy records. He’s backed by his father, Jason Smay (JD McPherson, Los Straitjackets) on drums and Ray Jacildo on Hammond organ.
The A-side is a soulful rendition of Charlie Rich’s Who Will The Next Fool Be. The young boy has a surprinsingly very mature and deep voice and the Hammond lays down a perfect backing.
The B-side is a cover of ZZ Top’s Thunderbird (from their 1975 album Fandango.) While the original is a boogie blues, James version slows things down, and in his more than able hands, the song becomes a mean blues with a superb guitar part.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Jimmy Dale Richardson

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Jimmy Dale Richardson -‘58 Buick

jimmy dale richardson

Fun-Guy Records – FG 5907 [2021]
‘58 Buick / She’s Wild

Though I enjoy sitting comfortably in a armchair and listening to twelve songs in a row, there’s no such pleasure as putting an exciting rock’n’roll single on the turntable, watch it spin and bop in the same time.
Jimmy Dale Richardson, whose previous release on Fun-Guy records (James Heath’s label) blew me away, is back with a killer double-sider, this time with the Reverend Horton Heat as a backing band. The A-side is everything that Rock’n’roll should be: imagine a Chuck Berry rocker led by a Johnnie Johnson piano with hints of Jerry Lee mixed with a good dose of Ronnie Dawson. This kind of mid-tempo is perfect for his voice.
The flip side is titled “She’s Wild”, and is, not surprisingly, a frantic rocker, more in the style of the late great Little Richard.

Jimmy Dale – Dallas Barbershop Sessions

Jimmy Dale Dallas Barbershop sessions

Fun Guy Records – FG-5905 [2019]
Side A: Riverside Jump – Don’t Come Back Knockin’ – Three Alley Cats
Side B: Diggin’ the Boogie – Love Me – Go Go Go

Even though these recordings took place in 1998, they only see the light of the day recently on Fun-Guy records, the Reverend Horton Heat’s label. 

Here’s the story. In 1998, Jimmy Dale Richarson, Nick Curran, and Jake Erwin (who were both in Kim Lenz’s Jaguars) decided to record one of their rehearsals. The recording was made like in the good old days, live in the same room with one microphone. With two guitars and one double-bass, this is stripped down and traditional Rockabilly. And the result is impressive. One of the best Rockabilly records I’ve heard in ages and by far my favorite of 2019. This is everything this music should be: raw, threatening, exciting, energic, mean and melodic. One of the best thing that I can say about this album is that it could have easily been released on the late Willie Lewis‘ Rock-A-Billy Records.

There’s no surprise in the setlist, and the songs are well-known to the Rockabilly fans, but the way this trio plays them is so fresh that you’d never believe these are covers. 

Deke Dickerson and James Heath have mastered the whole thing (Woah! that makes a lot of talents for one single record), and the pressing is limited to 500, so hurry while it lasts, you couldn’t tell I didn’t warn you.

Available at Fun-Guy Records

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Reverend Horton Heat

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Reverend Horton Heat (the) – 25 to Life

Yep Roc [2012]
Best Of
Eat Steak – Big Little Baby – Loaded Gun – One Time For Me – Five-O Ford – Liquor, Beer & Wine – I Can’t Surf – The Entertainer – It’s Martini Time – Cowboy Love – Now, Right Now – Pride of San Jacinto – Jimbo Song – Sue Jack Daniels – Spend A Night In The Box – The Girl In Blue – The Party In Your Head – What’s Reminding Me Of You – Loco Gringos Like A Party – Like A Rocket – Galaxy 500 – Callin’ in Twisted – Indigo Friends
DVD
Bullet – I’m Mad – Big Little Baby – Loaded Gun – 400 Bucks – The Devil’s Chasing Me – Big Sky – Baddest Of The Bad – t’s Martini Time – Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store – Death Metal Guys – Jimbo Song – Spend A Night In The Box – Galaxy 500 – Callin’ in Twisted – Indigo Friends – Psychobilly Freakout – Where The Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush – Bales of Cocaine – Big Red Rocket/Folsom Prison Blues
Live At The Fillmore
I’m Mad – Big Little Baby – 400 Bucks – The Devil’s Chasing Me – Big Sky – Baddest of the Bad – It’s Martini Time – Please Don’t Take the Baby to the Liquor Store – Jimbo Wallace Introduction – Jimbo Song – Spend a Night in the Box – Callin’ In Twisted – Indigo Friends – Psychobilly Freakout – Where in the Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush – Big Red Rocket of Love

The Reverend Horton Heat celebrated its 25th anniversary with this three-disc set.
Cd 1 is a best-of gathering songs from every album released so far except for the Christmas album, which is a good idea. With 23 songs (by the way, why not 25?), it’s a good overview of the band, though like every best-of each fan has his personal favorite and could come with a different selection. For exemple, I always believed that James Heat was a first-class country singer, a side of his career absent from this best-of.
All songs come from the albums with no rare or unissued stuff.
Cd2 is a DVD recorded live at the legendary Fillmore Theater in San Francisco. The setlist is excellent; it’s professionally shot and features interviews with the band.
Cd3 is a selection of 16 songs taken from the same performance.
The boxset features a thick booklet full of pictures of the band at different stages of their existence, but if you expect a long and detailed story of the Reverend Horton Heat, you’ll be disappointed.
This set is an excellent introduction to discover the trio, and old fans will be happy with the live recordings.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Beverley Stauber

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Beverley Stauber – Good Love / Oh Baby

Pee Wee Records PWR1007

beverley stauber

Beverly Stauber is not a great singer. She’s not always in tune, and her voice could even make you cringe. Released on the tiny Texas label “Pee Wee” this single features two covers (from Janis Martin and Barbara Lynn .) It would go unnoticed if it weren’t for the backing band.
On side A you find two-third of the Paladins in the person of Thomas Yearsley and Scott Campbell. These recordings dating from 1985, it predates, to my knowledge, anything recorded by the Paladins. The same goes for side two which features Ted Roddy and a young James Heath (aka the Reverend Horton Heat) which only appeared on a Teddy and the Tall Tops single prior to this.
Both songs appeared on a full-length cassette featuring the same line-up.