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Rockabilly

Buddy Lee

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Buddy Lee – Let’s Rock Tonight

Self released [2023]
Let’s Rock Tonight – Careful Baby – Digging A Hole To Bury My Heart – Don’t Be Gone Long – Hip Shaking Mama – Long Blonde Hair – Everybody’s Loving My Baby – Pepper Hot Baby – If I Had Me A Woman – I’ll Cry Instead – Here COmes That Train – Gone Gone Gone – Have Myself A Ball – My Baby Don’t Rock – Ugly & Slouchy – Rock All Night

Buddy Lee

Buddy Lee is none other than Buddy Dughi, whom we know for his solo albums and his band, the Hot Rod Trio. He is accompanied here, as usual, by his wife Suzy Q on double bass and the faithful Pete Bonny on drums (both also play in the Hot Rot Trio, and Bonny and Dughi played together in the Rockits in 1988). A fourth member, Kevin Bullat, completes the band on steel guitar.
Let’s Rock Tonight! is made of sixteen covers ranging from classics such as Long Blonde Hair, Gone Gone Gone, and If Had Me A Woman, as well as less common tracks. There is also a cover of the Beatles’ I’ll Cry Instead, which is unsurprising because this track has a solid Rockabilly structure and shows that the Fab Four knew their roots. This song has been covered many times by Rockabilly bands, whether it’s the Polecats, Stringbeans or the Nitros, and before them by Joe Cocker in a fantastic version (go and have a listen, you’ll thank me).
Buddy Lee achieves a real tour de force with this album, remaining both faithful to the original versions while appropriating them, ultimately giving a very personal album.
If Buddy Lee covers these songs, it is with sincere love. He does not transform them into something they are not. It is this same approach that guides the instrumentation. The take-off guitar is clear, precise and inventive, the double bass propels everything up, and the drums remain discreet: there’s no doubt it’s a Rockabilly album.
The addition of steel is a great idea. It not only refers to the early years of the genre – think of the beginnings of Carl Perkins or Charlie Feathers – it also adds a second solo instrument and echoes the vocals in a subtle call-and-answer arrangement. Let’s talk about this voice, an authentic Rockabilly voice with hiccups and tremolo. Sometimes it sounds a bit like a hillbilly version of Levi Dexter.
So it is not by attacking the deep form of the songs, which would be too easy, that Buddy Lee appropriates them, but rather by his personality (his voice, his guitar playing), his talent and his respect. As the veteran that he is (I hope he won’t blame me for the term), Buddy seems to know these tunes so well and understand them that he knows where to place subtle variations and how to play with them so that, eventually, they become Buddy Lee/Buddy Dughi tracks.
If you add to that an excellent band, you get a more than recommendable album!

https://www.instagram.com/buddyrockabilly/

https://www.facebook.com/thehotrodtrio

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

T Becker Trio

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T Becker Trio – Second Round

Crazy Times Records CTR-CD-125 [2023]
Gone She’s Gone – I Wanna Bop – Baby Look At Me – Bop Bop Bop – Cloud 9 – Tell Me – You Can’t Deny – Little Queen – Luckiest Guy – Me And My Baby – Do The Boogie – I’m Not Going Down – Why Does She Never Look At Me?

t becker trio

Can you believe it? One year after their debut album, the T Becker Trio returns with a second one that is even better than the first. These three guys are in a tiny circle of top authentic-sounding Rockabilly bands. Tof (vox and rhythm guitar), Did (lead guitar), and Axel (double bass) did a superb job with these 13 new and self-penned songs,
The album opens with Gone, She’s Gone, a superb mid-tempo with hillbilly echoes, think Lefty Frizzell, though it remains 100% Rockabilly. It has to be said Tof is an excellent vocalist: he never falls into mannerisms that plague too many singers of the genre but embellishes his singing with a hiccup here, a blue tone there, and always feels relaxed and in total control. I Wanna Bop changes the pace. Let’s say that if Gone She’s Gone took you back to 1954, this one is more 1956. Great frantic vocals and Did jumps in the song with incisive riffs. One of the most challenging things when you play as a trio, is the balance between the instruments; T Becker Trio mastered this art. Did knows when to play, and most importantly, when not to play, making the songs breathe.
Baby Look At Me reconnects with the Hillbilly roots of the genre and shows how the band is attached to melodies and variations. Now that’s songwriting! The bopping fever grips Tof once again with Bop Bop Bop. Behind, ably supported by Axel’s hot and melodic slap bass and Did Burlisonian guitar, which later erupts into a sparkling solo that briefly quotes Cliff Gallup. Cloud 9 has a country-noir feel, with Indian echoes in the melody. This is the perfect example of what I said when I told you that the trio never was happy to give you your run-of-the-mill Rockabilly. I particularly enjoy this one as it tells you a story, not only the singer but the guitar solo too.
Do you want some wild Rockabilly? Don’t look any further, Tell Me is the song for you, hot breaks, frantic vocals and guitar while Axel propels the whole thing. In terms of sound and atmosphere, Both You Can’t Deny and Little Queen are pure Sun Rockabilly, but once again, the songwriting brings slight variations and takes you to unusual places while remaining true to the idiom. I’m a sucker for 50’s ballads and was happy to find Luckiest Guy. Ideally placed on the album just before the home stretch, this lovely song brings a welcome respiration. Me And My Baby is darker and features harmony vocals in the chorus. Do The Boogie is a simple invitation to dance, nothing fancy (except for the twin slap bass/guitar part), but so damn compelling. Back to Sun, but more a Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two mood. But again, they keep Cash’s steady beat and bring the song elsewhere. The album ends on a high note, at least for the listener, because for the poor singer, that girl still doesn’t want to look at him. Seriously, it’s another demonstration of first-rate Rockabilly.
Tof, Did, and Axel prove that you can take a 70-year-old genre and still manage to create something new, original and highly (I mean HIGHLY) entertaining.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Dry Tortugas

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The Dry Tortugas

Up & down – Unbothered – Slidin’

The Dry Tortugas

The Dry Tortugas are a relatively young band formed during the pandemic. But if the band is young, the musicians are seasoned veterans. Tom the singer used to sing in the Roughnecks, and Felix (drums) and Marc (guitar) were in Lota Red. The younger element is Robin, Tom’s son, on bass.
The band plays Neo-rockabilly with heavy inspiration from the 80s and the early 90s though more modern ingredients crept in here and there.
Up and Down is an up-tempo number, very danceable. Unbothered is quite melodic and has a slight western feel to it. Sliding is heavier and leans toward Psychobilly (and by Psychobilly, I mean that distorted and mean offspring of Rockabilly, not the heavy-metal-influenced stuff). As you can see, these guys cover a wide range of genres. Tom’s voice is perfect and brings a touch of softness even on the wildest stuff, while the rest of the band does a solid job backing him. I hope to hear them on long-distance soon.

The Dry Tortugas on facebook.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Billy and the Sideburnzz

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Billy and the Sideburnzz – Rockabilly Man

Keil Records [2022]
Rockabilly Man – Big Blue Eyes / Give Me A Call – Tease Me (A LIttle) – Bonus track (cd only): Rock Me Mama

Billy and the Sideburnzz

Here’s another excellent release from Keil records. Billy & the Sideburnzz are a Rockabilly band from North Germany. This is their debut output, and it comes in a super fine and limited package, including a 4 -track vinyl EP and a mini-cd with a bonus song.
The set opens with Rockabilly Man, a mighty fine piece of hard-hitting modern Rockabilly that echoes the Polecats’ Rockabilly Guy. It’s the kind of stuff that makes you stomp the ground while firmly holding your beer. The second song, Big Blue Eyes, leans more on the traditional side of the Rockabilly idiom with a slight country flair. It features a light brushed snare and nice picking too. But for me, the best track of the selection is Tease Me. It’s a slow number that takes time to build tension that perfectly suits the song’s theme. It’s always on the edge, with two superb and exploding guitar solos. Give Me A Call is a mid-paced tune with a powerful (and I mean POWERFUL) slap bass. The song also features one hot Burlisonian guitar part but with a modern approach.
The fifth track, Rock Me Mama, is only available on the cd. It’s an excellent Mystery Train/My Baby Left Me type of tune.
Great job, guys. I hope to hear more from Billy and the Sideburnzz in the future.

Available here.

Chech the band’s website.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Jackals (the)

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Jackals (the) – Prowlin’

Nervous Records NERD038 [1988]
Ice Cold Blues – Makes You Scream – Too Crucial – She’s The One – Some Body’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight – I’ll Go Crazy – No Brain – Party Train – My Baby Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll – The Fly – Ghetto Ride – What’s Wrong

Jackals Prowlin'

The Jackals were an American band from Portland, Oregon active between 1983 and 1992. The quartet was formed by David Corboy (guitar), Louis Samora (guitar), Rob Parker (drums), and Steve Casmano (bass). The band first released an album on Anubis records in 1984 before recording this one at Falcon Studios in 1988 for Nervous Records.
The strength and particularity of the Jackals is that three of the members (all except Parker) sing. This gives a rich and varied repertoire. Ice Cold Blues is heavy blues-rock quite similar to what George Thorogood does with tracks like If You Don’t Start Drinkin’. The tension does not fall, far from it, with Makes You Scream, a hard-hittin’ Rock’n’Roll which rushes at full speed and does not seem to want to stop.
Lighter, More Crucial is an excellent boppin’ Neo-Rockabilly. The following track is in the same spirit and evokes the style of the Rockats.
The group changes register with their cover of Somedy’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked Tonight by Earl Vince and the Valiants (aka Fleetwood Mac). The sound is raw and wild, almost Punk. The next track is also a cover, an excellent version of James Brown’s I’ll Go Crazy.
No Train is solid Modern Rock. Still on the “train” theme, Party Train has the power of a Blasters track. My Baby Loves Rock’n’Roll is a boppin’ Rock’n’roll, and even if it is not very original, the tune is devilishly effective, especially with two fantastic guitar solos.
The Fly is a Chubby Checker cover, resulting in a high-octane and energic version of Twist. The group continues with a powerful instrumental close to Webb Wilder’s style (Cactus Planet, Rough Rider). The album ends with What’s Wrong. It’s not the most original track on the album, but it’s still very effective.
Released between the first album of the Quakes and the second album of Skitzo, Prowlin contrasts a little with the label’s production, which at the time was very Psychobilly-oriented. However, it deserves to be rediscovered, and the classic Rock’nRoll lover will find plenty to enjoy with this album.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Shakin’ Snakes (the)

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Shakin’ Snakes (the) – Showdown

Mystic Records – M745135 [1984]
Showdown / Billy Club

Shakin’ Snakes (the) - Showdown

The Shakin’ Snakes were Scott Sheperd on Drums, John Jorgensen on vocals and bass, and Jeff Ross on vocals and guitars.
Ross is known for his stint with Rank & File and Candye Kayne, and he also appears on Levi Dexter’s Pomp. This single was the debut of Jorgensen on record, but his credits now include, on guitar, Levi Dexter, The Hellecasters, The Desert Rose Band, Marty Stuart, and many more.
In 1983, the band appeared on the (Art Fein Presents) The Best Of LA Rockabilly with the track Surrender. Then they recorded this single.
Side one is credited to Ross, and side two to Jorgensen. I guess each sings the song he wrote.
Showdown is rockin’, yet with a very strong pop edge and a modern production, more along the lines of the Rockats’ Make That Move. The flip is a no-nonsense rocker.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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