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Charlie Thompson

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Charlie Thompson
Charlie Thompson
Charlie Thompson – The Foothill Sessions

Charlie Thompson – The Foothill Sessions

Fairlane Records FCD001 [2015]
Going Like Wildfire – The Automobile Song – A Blue Million Tears – Boogie Blues – We’re Buggin’ Out – I Don’t Care – Let Me Love You Just A Little – So Long – You Tried to Ruin My Name – Ain’t Never Gonna Get Married Again – (We’ve Reached) The Beginning Of the End – I Miss You Already

Beautiful as a Faron Young ep on Capitol (perfectly designed by Chris Wilkinson of the Bonneville Barons and the Zazou Cowboys), here comes Charlie Thompson’s latest output. I believed this one had been recorded a while ago as I heard of these sessions from years now (which makes me feel less guilty for my belated review). It’s also a proof that Charlie didn’t want to release it until he finds it perfect and boy, IT IS PERFECT.
Helped by what could be best described as a dream team of musicians (Jeremy Wakefield on steel, Wally Hersom on bass, Dave Stuckey on rhythm guitar, drums and harmony, Carl Sonny Leyland on piano, TK Smith on guitar and Bobby Furgo on fiddle) and recorded by Wally Hersom at his Wallyphonic studio this platter not only looks but also sounds as if it came straight from the 50’s, a period when country music and honky tonky tonk still meant something.
To put it frankly, this is the best album of traditional country music I’ve heard in ages. Actually I can’t even remember having heard such a good mid-50’s honky tonk album played by a modern artist before. The songs choice (coming from the catalogues of Luke McDaniel, Carl Peterson, Webb Pierce, Jim Reeves, Moon Mullican, Pee Wee King and so on) is also very good mixing slow numbers with more rollicking and swinging stuff (it must be hard to resist with a band like this). And of course there’s Charlie’s voice, sounding like Faron Young, Dave Rich and Marty Robbins all rolled into one but in the same time sounding like none other than Charlie Thompson.
If by now you are not taken by a compelling need to buy it, we both have a problem: me as a reviewer and you with your musical tastes.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Stardevils Trio

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Stardevils
Stardevils
Stardevils

Stardevils Trio – s/t

Kat Tone Records SD0004 [2008]
Rosalita – Bee Bawlin – You AIn’t Nothin But The Blues – $$ Bag Woman – Kitty Kat Bop – Cynthiana – Raw Deal – Biscuit Eatin Baby – Thought I Knew Blue – Hungry For Your Lovin’ – I Miss Marie – Run My Baby
The Stardevils are a classical authentic rockabilly drummerless trio that hails from Kentucky. Buck Stevens have played with them and it’s a reference good enough for me.
They write most of their material which is also always a plus for me. This is a relatively short album which is another quality  especially for a rockabilly album. The opposite either means that there are too many songs (and it’s hard to keep a level of quality on 20 songs) or the songs are too long (I don’t believe in 6 minute rockabilly tunes). Next to Sun and Meteor inspired songs you can find some latin influenced (Rosalita) and a bit of hillbilly bop too. The musicianship is excellent. Frank Turner provides a solid backbone on the slap bass and perfectly fullfill the bass and percussions duties (think Kevin Smith) and Jim Ohlschmidt plays superb guitar licks (and most of all they don’t sound like you’ve heard them hundreds of tiumes before). Lance Kaufman is an accomplished singer too, knowing when to hiccup (and when not) and adding some yodel to spice things up.
If you like Wayne Hancock and the Starline Rhythm Boys, this guys are sure to pleease you.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Ray Condo

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Ray Condo - frntRay Condo – Sweet Love On My Mind bw/ Big Dog, Little Dog
Ray Condo Records CP007
This is a posthumous single gathered by Ray’s friend. Side one is the classic Johnny Burnette tune given the Hardrock Goners treatment, something like «wild rockabilly meets Hank Williams». B-side «Big Dog, Little Dog» is a song recorded during a rehearsal by Ray and his last musical project, featuring Stephen Nikleva (The Ricochets), Ian Tiles and Tony LaBorie, just a few months before his death. I may be wrong but the only other issued song from this line-up can be found on a tribute album to Alejandro Escovedo. A great piece of wildness (imagine Dee Dee Ramone goes hillbilly).

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Starline Rhythm Boys

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starlinerhythmboys_liveThe Starline Rhythm Boys – Live At Charlie-O’s

Cow Island CIM011 [2008]
Yellow Jacket / A Dime At A Time / Heartbreak Tennessee / Charlie-O’s / On The Back Row / Life Begins At 4 O’Clock / Wine Me Up / Lonesome On’ry And Mean / Pipeliner Blues / You’re Still On My Mind / One Foot In The Honky Tonk / She Don’t Live Here No More / Dark Hollow / Live And Let Live / Get A Little Goner / Drunk Tank / Playboy / You Can’t Catch Me / That’s Where I Went Wrong / I’m A Lonesome Fugitive / Gotta Travel On / Too Much Fun / Drink Up And Go Home.

The Starline Rhythm Boys – Masquerade For A Heartache

starlienrhythm boys masqueradeCow Island CIM014 [2009]
Masquerade For Heartache / Jive After Five / Trucker From Tennessee / Workin’ Man Blues / Honky Tonk Gal / Red’s Place / A Mess Of Blues / Goodbye Train / I’m Fed Up Drinking Here / Ubangi Stomp

Here’s the cure to the stress of your everyday life and your summertime blues: the hot rockin’ honky tonk swing style of a Starline Rhythm Boys show in your living room! Recorded live at their homebase of Charlie-O’s bar, it features a typical set of the trio mixing classics from Johnny Paycheck, Wayne Walker, Conway Twitty, Faron Young, Chuck Berry, Bill Kirchen… with a couple of band’s own (She Don’t Live Here, Drunk Tank, That’s Where I Went Wrong). Add the presence of Sean Mencher (High Noon) to produce an play second guitar on one track as well as Kevin Maul on steel (both lap and pedal) and you just have to put the cd in the player and let the fun begins.

Masquerade For A Heartache is the perfect companion to Charlie-O’s with 10 more tracks recorded during the same show. Once again it’s very well balanced between originals (Masquerade…, Red’s Place, I’m Fed Up Drinking Here) and covers of Carl Perkins, Merle Haggard, Elvis. This mini album goes from straight Honky Tonk to Rock’n’roll with a good dose of Rockabilly including one of the best version of Ubangi Stomp I’ve ever had the chance to listen to!

You can buy them separately but do yourself a favor and buy both.

the Starline Rhythm Boys - Red's Place
the Starline Rhythm Boys – Red’s Place

The Starline Rhythm Boys – Red’s Place

Cow Island Music CIM05
A Fighting Chance – No Gal Cooks Like Mine – Red’s Place – It’s Anyone’s Guess – (They’re) Cutting Back the Work Force – That’s Just A Thought – The Joke’s On You – Who – The Family Farm – Drunk Tank – Sin & Salvation – Burning A Hole In My Mind – The Old Filling Station – That’s Where I Went Wrong – I’m Fed Up Drinking Here – A Memory of Fred

The Starline Rhythm Boys are a drummerless trio (Danny Coane, acoustic guitar; “Big Al” Lemery, electric guitar; and Billy Bratcher, doghouse bass) that plays in the same league as High Noon (no wonder to find Sean Mencher on the production seat) and Wayne “The Train” Hancock (Billy Bratcher toured with him by the way). But they don’t stick to the trio format and bring a couple of guests to keep things varied and surprising, and most of all highly enjoyable.
Most of the songs are originals written by Bratcher.”A Fighting Chance” is a powerfull slap bass led hillbilly/proto rockabilly (what a guitar too) with harmony vocals. “No Gal Cooks Like Mine” features a fiddle in addition to the steel and praises the simple domestic joys. The title track has more of a late 50’s honky tonk feel with a bit of Buck Owens in it, still with great harmonies, and a superb piano part. Big Al Lemery is not only a wizard on the telecaster, he’s also a poignant singer and proves it on “It’s Anyone’s Guess” a slow number in the vein of “Before The Next Teardrop Falls” with mandolin, fiddle, light snare and pedal steel. “They’re Cutting Back The Work Force” shows once again what a good songwriter Billy Bratcher is, able to write about booze or social issues ( I Got Kids to feed, but there’s no remorse, once they start cutting the work force“) with equal success. “That’s Just A Thought” is a beautiful little hillbilly bop ditty that looks toward the western swing side of things with each members of the horn section taking solos. They turn Jimmy martin’s bluegrass number “The Joke’s On You” into a uptempo rockabilly. Another cover is Little Walter’s “Who“, which becomes a “hillbilly-blues” (and reminds what High Noon did with “Crazy Mixed Up World” on their Texas Style 10″). “Family Farm” is a sad and beautiful waltz with bluegrass accents. Al Lemery wrote and sings “Drunk Tank” a nice hillbilly bop. The honky Tonk “Sin & Salvation“, on a well known theme, is another proof they never falls into facility. They bring modulation and unusual chords. Man that’s good ! Connie Smith’s “Burning A Hole InMy Mind” adds a welcome touch of 60’s country music.On “The Old Filling Station” with simple words (and a beautiful melody) Bratcher paints a melancholic picture (Do you remember when you never pumped your gas/And the man with the Star was a symbol of class). I really enjoyed “I’m Fed Up Drinking Here“, the best song George Jones never recorded. How can’t you love a band that plays right and sings “The Old Juke box that I leaned on/Was a rock for life’s hard knock but now it’s gone/When a man’s mind ain’t clear/ a lack of George Jones is severe“. The set ends with a sincere hommage to a friend of them, Fred, and you can feel both the love they have for him and the personnality of the man, even if you never met him.
Authenticity is not only a matter of music, it’s above all a state of mind. And this guys play genuine country music that speaks to your heart and your feet.
Thank you for that Boys !

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns – Rockabilly Deluxe

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The Reach Around Rodeo Clown - Rockabilly Deluxe
The Reach Around Rodeo Clown - Rockabilly Deluxe
The Reach Around Rodeo Clown – Rockabilly Deluxe

The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns – Rockabilly Deluxe [2013]
Lanark Records
King of the Slot Car Track – Long Gone Daddy – Bowling Alley Baby – Wild Crazy and Out of Control – Paranoid Boy – I Used to Be the One – I got the Shakes – I’m Obsessed – It’s Rock & Roll – The Light So Bright
The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns approach their brand of modern rockabilly with a punkish attitude. Their motto here seems to be “Grab them by the balls, don’t let them go and keep it short!“. With ten songs all written or co-written by guitarist, label owner, producer, arranger Quentin Jones, it’s “misson completed” for the quartet. It’s a mix of powerful rock’n’roll, some with horns, classic rockabilly, a bit of 80’s neo-rockabilly and even some mariachi stuff with a bit of surf thrown in for good measure. The two highlights are “Wild Crazy and Out of Control” that sounds like an anthem and “I’m obsessed” a superb melodic rocker that could be a potential hit if the radio had enough “you know what” to play real rock’n’roll.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Bob Luman

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Bob Luman Red Hot
Bob Luman Red Hot
Bob Luman – Red Hot

Bob Luman – Red Hot 1956-1957

CD+DVD
ETCDVD 10011
All Night Long (Imperial 8311) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 8311 – undubbed) – Amarillo Blues (Imperial unissued) – Wild-Eyed Woman (Imperial unissued) – Blue Days, Black Nights (Imperial unissued) – Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache (Imperial 5705 – overdubbed) – Red Hot (Imperial 8313) – Whenever You’re Ready (Let’s Fall In Love) (Imperial 8313) – Your Love (Imperial 8315 – overdubbed) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (unissued first take) – Your Love (unissued first take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – cool version) – Your Love (undubbed take) – Make Up Your Mind, Baby (Imperial 8315 – wild version) – Stranger Than Fiction (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – You’re The Cause Of It All (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock 45-028) – That’s Allright (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Hello Baby (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – In The Deep Dark Jungle (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let ‘Er Go (Texas demo – Rollin’ Rock EP 034) – Let It Happen (unissued Texas demo) – No Use In Lying (California demo)- That’s Alright (California demo) – Hello Baby (California demo) – The Shadows – The Creep (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Shadow Rock (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – The Shadows – Jumping With The Shadows (Bob Luman’s band – California demo) – This Is The Night (Carnival Rock soundtrack)- All Night Long (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – The Creep (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – One And Only (Carnival Rock soundtrack) – David Houston with The Shadows – The Teenage Frankie And Johnnie (Carnival Rock soundtrack)
Slowly but surely and with an impeccable taste, El Toro makes its place in the world of reissues and is now a label you have to count with. After Buddy Holly, Pat Cupp and Johnny Burnette, the new legend to receive the El Toro treatment is Bob Luman. Well what can I say about Luman? If you’re on this website and read this lines I can, without making a big mistake, assume that you are a rockabilly fan. An wether you know Luman or not, this cd is a must have for you. You have the complete recordings made by Luman in 1956-57 with some of the finest rock’n’roll musicians like earl Palmer, James Burton and James Kirkland. From early demos, with one of the best rock’n’roll song of all times “Deep Dark Jungle“, to his Imperial classics (Red Hot, Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache, All Night Long), with alternate takes, dubbed and undubbed version and unissued stuff, this is the most comprehensive set about Luman available on the market if you except expensive boxsets but this one has the advantage to concentrate on his rock’n’roll/rockabilly years. And if you still hesitate (which seems impossible but…) El Toro has included the DVD of Carnival Rock, a rock’n’roll movie, starring Luman, The Platters, The Blockbusters and David Houston.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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