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Restless

Restless – Ready To Go!

Restless ready to goBluelight Records BLR 33205 2 [2020]
Love Like A Bullet – Ready To Go – Crime Don’t Pay – 18 Wheels – One Way – Hellbound – Knee Deep In The Beat – Shake Your Body – Open Road – Bid For Freedom – All Night Long – If I Can Ever Let Her Go

After forty years of service to the cause of Rock’n’Roll, Mark Harman has decided to bring down the curtain on Restless. That’s a shock. It’s hard for me to imagine a world without Restless. Theband has always been part of my musical landscape. I can tell you when and where I bought Why Don’t You Just Rock?
However, this sad news was counterbalanced by the announcement of a new studio album recorded by the four-piece line up of the band, which put on wax Vanish Without A Trace, one of the very best Neo-Rockabilly of all time.
The wait is finally over and here’s Restless’ final studio album the well-named Ready To Go! (I’m optimistic and hope that the band will maybe release a live album or a rarities compilation featuring all line-ups of Restless, one can dream.)
Ready to Go! is a vibrant album with songs penned by each member of Restless. It’s also perfectly recorded, with the band making full use of the studio and trying things with their producer Mika Railo. The sound is crystal clear, and the listener can hear every subtlety from the superb slap bass sound (you hear both the slap and the notes) to the different layers of guitars.
Love Like A Bullet, a rip-roaring boogie-blues with a modern edge, is the perfect opener. The title track is a wild Rockabilly with a Johnny Kidd feel. After a classic opening, Crime Don’t Pay develops into something completely different and very catchy. Restless songs have that quality to evolve into unexpected directions.
Jeff Bayly’s writing contribution is small in terms of quantity but not in terms of quality. His 18 Wheels is a superb Rockabilly tune with a country twang.
As a Buddy Holly fan, I was totally under the charm of One Way, a highly melodic tune with superb guitar arrangement between Harman and Malone. Hellbound is a country tune with a dark ambiance, featuring no less than six guitars and none played by mister Harman. This is the opportunity to mention his superb vocal performance, not only on this song but on the whole album. His talents as a guitarist are often praised, for good reasons, but we tend to forget just how fantastic a singer he is.
Knee Deep (In the Beat) changes the mood and is more on the jazz side. Nice piano playing too.
Shake Your Body is one of the most modern songs of the album. It mixes a threatening feel with a touch of what I would describe as Glamabilly. Surprising at first, but very addictive.
Next is Open Road, a beautiful country tune with a ’60s vibe. Bid For Freedom is more traditional, sounding like a cross between Sun Rockabillies and Marty Robbins. After that moment of calm, All Night Long, a fantastic Rocker with powerful slap bass and slide guitar, takes no prisoners. And here we are, the last tune of the final Restless album. If I Can Ever Let Her Go is a jazz-tinged number with piano and brushed snare. One could easily imagine the band playing it in a small club, in the wee hours of the morning, with the chairs on the tables.
What else can I say? It’s sad to see them go (though I’m sure they have plenty of solo projects) but it’s a good thing to see them leave the scene at the top of their game releasing what is probably one of their best albums.
The LP version has two different songs (Gotta Get Out, and Here She Comes.)
Available at Goofin Records and Raucous.


Restless ‎– Love Like A Bullet

restlessBluelight Records ‎– BLR 45143 7 [2019]
Love Like A Bullet – Get Up And Get Out

In the recent years, Restless went back to their mid 80’s quartet line-up consisting of Mick Malone on guitar, Jeff Bayly on bass, and, of course, Ben Cooper and Mark Harman, respectively on drums and guitar and vocals. This line-up gave us the best (the Vanish Without a Trace ep that I hold as one of the best neo-rockabilly records ever made) and After Midnight an album that needs to be reconsidered (see review below).
Penned by Cooper, Love Like A Bullet starts with the band shouting “Gotta Give me your love” that reminded me of the opening of What Can You Say? then the tune evolves into a rip-roaring boogie blues with a modern edge. The result is both a classic and a contemporary song.
The b-side, penned by Malone, is exclusive to this single and won’t be available on the forthcoming album, which is a reason good enough to buy it, but the quality of the song is another good reason.
These two songs augur the best for the album that will be released in 2020. And since the band has decided to call it quit, it will probably be their last which is very sad. But if all the songs are from the same wood, Restless will leave the scene on a very high note.


Restless – Figure It Out

Nervous Records NERCD072
Road To Paradise  Guitar Man  Nowhere To Go  Just An Echo  Empty Hands  Better than nothing  Still waiting  I go wild  Shopping Around  Going Back  His Latest Flame  Memoir’ Blue

Restless figure it outIn 1993, Restless, still with Steve Whitehouse on double bass and Rob Tyler on drums, returned to Nervous Records. But this return to the record company that released their first and classic album does not mark a return to the roots for the trio. Fans of Restless’ supercharged neo-rockabilly will have difficulty recognizing their favourite group.

Let’s start with what’s missed (and really missed): Road to Paradise and its sound straight out of the 80s, and Juste An Echo, a ballad that could be catchy if the production and its guitar solo worthy of Queen didn’t spoil it.

 There are still a handful of more nervous pieces, which sound typically Restless. The group seemingly had fun covering Elvis (His Latest Flame and Guitar Man), on which Mark Harman is very comfortable. Added to these two songs are Nowhere To Go, which is close to what the group recorded on Beat My Drum, Going Back, and I Go Wild. The latter, although not great, is compelling. For the rest, Figure It Out is mainly composed of ballads. We go from the Presleyian Shopin Around and its Jordanaires-style choirs to Still Waiting, which leans towards the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, even if it is not entirely successful. Likewise, Empty Hands and Better Than Nothing are undeniable successes. The album ends with the excellent Memoir Blues with its jazz-for-the-wee-wee-hours atmosphere.

So if you’re expecting another version of Why Don’t You Rock, you’re likely to be disappointed, but you’d be missing out on some excellent ballads, and when you think about it, there are so few bands doing them ( and who do it well), you would be wrong to deprive yourself.


Restless live in TokyoRestless – Live in Tokyo 1989

Foot Tapping Records
Intro-Ghost Town / People Love A Show / Radar Love / All By Myself / Roll Your Monkey Maker / Vanish Without A Trace / That’s Alright / Neutron Dance / Ice Cold / 16 Tons / Baby Please Don’t Go / Edge On You / Money Honey / Little Pig / Long Black Shiny Car / Mr. Blues

This album, with the Sharks‘ Live in Japan and Frenzy‘s Live in Japan tends to make me believe that the best live albums are recorded in Japan with Steve Whitehouse slapping the double bass. If the Meteors Hell in the Pacific could easily prove me wrong on the first point, the Blue Cats’ On A Live Mission certainly confirms the second.
In 1989 Jeff baily left Restless and the band considered calling it quit. But with a tour of Japan scheduled, Ben Cooper and Mark Harman decided to hire a temporary bassist, namely Steve Whitehouse, to honor the booking. As Mark said in an interview to Deathrow “If Steve had said no, then if would have almost certainly been the end of Restless. Thankfully he said yes and after five minutes of rehearsing we went to Japan.
The result as I said is an excellent live album with a surprinsigly tight band – considering the condition this line-up embarked to the tour – that plays all the classics (you can check, they’re all here) with carefully choosen covers and more unusual stuff like People Love A Show, a song that previously appeared on the b-side of Ice Cold.
Recorded by Pete Gage and mastered with the help of Alan Wilson you can’t go wrong in term of sound. Most of all this recording perfectly completes the other live albums released by Restless.
The choice of Whitehouse proved to me a pretty good one since the band recorded three studio albums, including the excellent Movin’ On, with him.


Restless – Beat My Drum

The Madhouse Recording Co. ‎– NUTA LP 001
Radar Love – Neutron Dance – Beat My Drum – Do What I Do – London Boy – New Orleans – Dance With The Devil – Get It While You Can – Tumblin’ Down – Big Wheel – Crossed Line – Ain’t Got You – Just Can’t Take It

In late 1987, Mick Malone left Restless, and the band was back to a trio again. It didn’t weaken the group, and the following year, Harman, Cooper, and Baily were back with a vengeance with Beat My Drum.
Maybe they thought that after the heavy produced After Midnight they had something to prove, but it found Restless in fine form.
Beat My Drum sounds like a perfect mix of the band’s first three albums. You can find the neo-rockabilly of Why Don’t You Just Rock? on Do What I Do, the modernity of Do You Feel… on Get It While You Can and the pop edge of After Midnight in their covers of Radar Love and Neutron Dance. But most of the time, helped by the clean production of Pete Gage, all these influences merge to create a unique style that will be Restless sound in the forthcoming albums.


Restless - Live at the Klub Foot
Restless – Live at the Klub Foot

Restless – Live at the Klub Foot

Trophy Records TR002
Roll Your Money Maker – Fools Gold – Last Chance Baby – Baby Please Don’t Go – Bottle On The Beach – Long Black Shiny Car – Girl On Death Row – Live A Lie – Ghost Town – Ice Cold – Edge On You – Love Me – Mr Blues

Recently Alan Wilson (of Western Star and the Sharks fame) found a box full of tapes recorded at the Klub Foot, the mecca of Psychobilly and Neo-rockabilly in the mid-80’s. These tapes needed to be restored and cleaned, a very costly process and two of these shows (Batmobile and Sting Rays) were released on Anagram/Cherry Red Records. Sadly the sales weren’t enough for the label and they called it quit. Knowing he had history in his hands, Wilson created a sub-label to his own Western Star to keep on releasing this stuff.
The second release in the serie concerns another well established name on the scene: Restless. I don’t think it’s possible to find someone who doesn’t like Why Don’t You Just Rock? or Do You Feel Restless? They made a name on both rockabilly and psychobilly scenes. When this gig was recorded in September 1984 they were at their finest, the line-up being original members Mark Harman on guitar and Ben Cooper on drums plus bassist Jeff Baily and, freshly recruited, Mick Malone on second guitar. The quartet plays killer tunes one after another (with the exception of the Phantom’s Love Me which doesn’t fit them well – sorry Mark you’re not a wildman). This set even features an original that never appeared on a studio album and written by Malone.
Buy it at Western Star


Restless – Ice Cold

Restless Ice ColdABC – ABCS 013T [1987]
Ice Cold (The 1987 Remake) – The Hunt Goes On / Stranger – People Love A Show

In March 1987, the four-piece line-up of Restless recorded a new version of Ice Cold. It’s a very different than the one you can find on their debut album. This new version has little to no connection with Rockabilly except for powerful slap bass. It’s almost a brand new song. The tempo is slower, the drum production is more massive, and there’s a slight variation on the melody. The result is surprising at first, but quite addictive.
The Hunt Goes On is an excellent modern-Rockabilly with once again a superb double bass part by Jeff Baily. The weak point is maybe the drums sound that betrays the date of recording.
Let’s put it frankly, Stranger has nothing to do with Rockabilly. It’s in the straight line of the material recorded by the band for After Midnight, but, on the other hand, this is probably one of Restless unsung gem.
Back to modern Rockabilly in the pure Restless style with People Love A Show. This one, with Ice Cold, was also released as a single.
Despite what have been said about this period of Restless, it was one of the band’s most creative peak; this 12” EP, featuring songs that weren’t available elsewhere, proves it.


Restless – Just A Friend

Restless just a friendABC – ABCS 012 [1986]
Just A Friend – The Girl Invisible

Just A Friend, the A-side comes from After Midnight. It has a 80’s pop meets jazz sound that one could find find in some bands of that era. It’s clean and features as usual a superb solo by Mister Harman. The Girl Invisible first appeared on the B-side of the Vanish Without A Trace ep. It’s one of the band’s best modern rockabilly effort.


Restless - After Midnight
Restless – After Midnight

Restless – After Midnight

ABC [1986]
What Can You Say – Somebody Told Me – Do You Really Need To know? – Trouble rides A Fast Horse – Bye B B By By Bye – How Can I Find You? – You Lose – After Midnight – Dark Blue Sea – The Face – Just A Friend

Back in college, thanks to a friend, I discovered Restless chronologically. I was blown away by Why don’t you just Rock? and amazed by Do You Feel… After that, Paul Harman left the band, which was joined by Jeff Baily on double bass and Mick Malone on second guitar. This line-up released Vanish without a Trace, one of my all-time favorite modern Rockabilly recordings.
Then, the quartet released After Midnight. I was young and dedicated to Rockabilly body and soul. I didn’t understand it and, you know how you are when you’re a teenager, I felt betrayed. Did Restless sell out? Nevertheless, I kept on buying Restless records, and the following albums were, to my relief, more to my tastes.
Now years have passed, I’m older – my quiff is far long gone – and, I hope, wiser. I decided to revisit After Midnight. And I was pleasantly surprised. More than that, it’s actually an excellent album. Sure, if you expect Why Don’t You Just Rock part. 2 you’ll be disappointed, but if you approach it with an open mind you’ll be rewarded with solid melodies and some of Mark Harman’s best guitar parts (listen to the way he jumps on the solo of the title track for example.)
The band also had the ambition to go beyond the Rockabilly label. After Midnight featured more adventurous songs in terms of melody and arrangements, hence the presence of horns, accordion, synths, and keyboards of all sorts. So, yes, maybe they pushed it too far at places, and the production, especially now, seems dated, but you can’t blame an artist for having the will to create.
In 1990, Madhouse reissued the album under the title Kickin’ Into Midnight. It is a remixed version without the horns and most of the arrangements. It’s quite good, maybe more rockin’, but to be honest, I wonder if I don’t prefer the original mix. Anyway, it’s good to have both.
So if you think that anything that Elvis recorded after the Army was crap, you can live without that album, but if you’re curious, open to new melodies, and not too allergic to the production sound of the ’80s, you’ll find plenty of good things.


Do You Feel RestlessRestless – Do You Feel Restless?

Nervous Records NERD015 [1984]
Bottle On The Beach – Here I Am – Fool’s Gold – Down At The Swamp – Alabama Jailhouse – Prisoner Of Love – Sob Story – Crack Up ‘n’ Fall To Pieces – 16 Tons – Baby Please Don’t Go – Here I Am (dub version) – Sweet Surprise

Released in 1984 on Nervous records, Do You Feel Restless is the second full-length album from the British trio. It sounds like the modern counterpart of their debut album, with songs that Nervous could have judged too adventurous to be included on their debut album. Ben Cooper, the drummer, takes the lion’s share in terms of songwriting with seven songs out of twelve (the cd reissue features fifteen songs.) The other tunes are covers (Alabama Jailhouse, Baby Please Don’t Go, Sixteen Tons), and one song penned by Mark Harman (Bottle on the Beach) and another by the whole band (Crack Up And Fall to Pieces.)
While Why Don’t You Just Rock remained in the boundaries of Rockabilly with very few modern elements, Do You Feel Restless explore new territories. It flirts with Psychobilly at places, adds a touch of Reggae (Here I Am), and thus creates a new brand of modern Rockabilly that will be their trademark in the following years.


Restless - Why Don't You… Just rock!
Restless – Why Don’t You… Just rock!

Restless – Why Don’t You Just Rock

Nervous records Ner004 [1982]
It’s A Scam – Ice Cold – Why Don’t You Just Rock! – High Time – Last Chance Baby – Tag Man Tag – Long Black Shiny Car – Face In My Gin – Yellow Cab To Midnight – Morning Comes Slowly – Black Cat – Travellin’ – High Time 2* – Later* – That’s Alright* (*cd only)

Restless debut album, Why Don’t You Just Rock, was like a lightning in a bottle. The band had it all: the songs (mostly penned by singer and guitar player Mark Harman), the talent (with Harman’s guitar everywhere but also a tight rhythm section made of his brother Paul and Ben Cooper on drums)  but also the freshness and some form of carefree attitude that you have when you’re a teenager and you play that kind of music. Thus, they brought something new to the genre, making a lively album that rocks, bops, swings and rolls. A 80’s equivalent to Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (a huge influence on the band).
There’s no need to do a song by song review, each number here is almost a classic: the title track, Ice Cold, Yellow Cab to Midnight, High Time (with its crazy jazzy guitar), Long Black Shiny Car. Unlike many they’re not afraid to play a ballad (Morning Comes Slowly) seriously.
And if you still need to be convinced, just count the numerous band this particular album influenced. They are legions. Restless, with Why Don’t You Just Rock, almost define, with the Blue Cats and a couple more bands, what neo-rockabilly is.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Restless
Resless (Mark Harman, Paul Harman, Ben Cooper)
Resless (Mark Harman, Paul Harman, Ben Cooper)
Resless (Mark Harman, Paul Harman, Ben Cooper)

The Gazmen

The Gazmen - Rigormortis Rock
The Gazmen – Rigormortis Rock

The Gazmen – Rigormortis Rock

Vinyl Japan JRT9 [1996]
Western Star [2020]
Rigormortis Rock – Teenage Operation – Kid From Mars – Ace Of Heart

This ep initially came out in 1996. The Gazmen formed around the charismatic personality of Gary “Gaz” Day. Day is known for his collaboration with many influential bands, notably The Frantic Flintstones, The Sharks, The Nitros, The Caravans without forgetting his stint with popstar (and rockabilly aficionado) Morrissey, whose influence can be heard on the last track of this ep. The rest of the band was basically The Sharks with the addition of ex Born Bad and Morrissey’s guitarist, Alain Whyte. They played a traditional brand of psychobilly close to the Sharks (not very surprising) and the early Meteors, Day’s voice reminding the great Nigel Lewis, but with a fuller sound. The song Rigormortis Rock was first released by Alan Wilson (who wrote it ) under the moniker of The Space Cadets (not to be confused with Mouse’s band) around 1984 on the Nervous compilation Hell’s Bent on Rocking. Some of these songs were also part of the set when Gary was in the Sharks. One can hear early versions of Teenage Operation and Kid From Mars on the excellent compilation Rare Psychobilly from the Vaults.
In 2000, the American label Rock-It re-released it on cd.
The vinyl version became an object of collection with both Psychobillies and Morrissey’s fans looking for it.
Western Star has now reissued it on 10” colored vinyl, but don’t wait to buy one it’s a limited edition
Available here.

Delta 88

Delta 88 – Firefly

Delta 88

Western Star [2019]

Cherry Pie Until I Die – I Fell In Love On The Wall Of Death – Damsel In Distress – She Does Me Good – High Heeled Boots – She’s Hot To Handle – Massachusetts Firefly – Rockin’ On A Sunny Afternoon – Patient Man – Panther In The Night – Return Of The Girl With A Ray Gun – Gonna Get Me A Motorcycle – Satisfaction Guaranteed – Please Don’t Send Me Home

Delta 88 are a British Rockabilly trio consisting of Simon Clews on guitar and vocals, Nikki Clews on stand-up drums and vocals and Julian Wood on upright bass. Both Simon and Nikki sing with Simon taking the lion’s share.

Like their previous albul, Firefly is produced by the expert hands and ears of Alan Wilson (the Sharks.) And let me tell you that if you dig your Rockabilly with a good dose of neo in it, this is definitely a “look-no-further” album for you.

Their sound is anchored by a solid rhythm section with Wood providing a strong backbone on doublebass (and thanks to the production you can hear both the notes and the slap) and miss Clews’ simple yet effective drumming. When I say “simple” please don’t read “poor”. Rockabilly drumming doesn’t have to be played on a gigantic drumkit drowned behind drum rolls and a dozen of cymbals. On the front you find and hear the crisp sound of the guitar with solos that are both traditionnal and original (the song She’s Hot to Handle illustrates this perfectly.)

The songs (all penned by the Delta 88 by the way) are varied and the two singers ad even more diversity.
Panther in the Night is almost psychobilly (well 80’s psychobilly that is…), Return of the Girl with a Ray Gun is pure 80’s neo bliss while Massachusetts Firefly ads a welcome touch of hillbilly. The core of the albul is good old Rockabilly played with a very fresh and natural approach. I mean they play the music they like the way they like without thinking “Can we do that? Did they play it like this in the 50’s.” Instead they take that music and its code to play them their way.

Available at Western Star and on the Delta 88’s website.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Jack Rabbit Slim

Jack rabbit Slim - Jet Lag, Junk Food and JD
Jack rabbit Slim – Jet Lag, Junk Food and JD

Jack Rabbit Slim – Jet Lag, Junk Food and JD [2011]

Western Star WSRC DVD 001
Good to see that Western Star is now releasing DVD’s. JRS makes quite a noise on the rockin’ scene. For good reasons I think. Their first albums are great and the latest one (Hairdos and Heartaches) is nothing less than a killer and they all sell well. This DVD could be called “In Bed with Jack Rabbit Slim” if Madonna hadn’t steal the idea. You’re invited to follow the band on the road, on stage, in the studio and much more. Bob Butfoy and the rest of the gang (Paul Saunders, Darren Lince and Landon Filler) talk about the band, their influences and heroes, their previous bands, memories of gigts and so on… External points of view are given by Mouse Zinn (Red Hot’n’Blue, Space Cadets), Alan Wilson (owner of Western Star, the Sharks), Jerry Chattabox (promoter of the Rockabilly Rave) and even the legendary Rockin’ Ronnie Weiser (wilder than ever) makes a short apparition at the beginning of the film. The interviews are peppered with live footage from different gigs and various degrees of quality. One can only regret that no entire songs are shown or even better that a complete live show is not featured at the end, but, what do you want?, the name of this DVD is Jet Lag Junk Food and JD not JRS in concert!


Jack Rabbit Slim - Hairdo's & Heartaches
Jack Rabbit Slim – Hairdo’s & Heartaches

Jack Rabbit Slim – Hairdo’s & Heartaches

Western Star WSRC038
Hairdos & Heartaches – Shake Rag – The Gift – Skin – Sentimentally Yours – I Need You – Everydays Gonna Be Like Yesterday – Typhoon – The Prisoner – 21st Century Bettie Page – High N Mighty – Time Is A Wastin

This is what I call a great rock’n’roll album. With their fourth album they propose a wide diversity of styles. It kicks off with “Hairdos and Heartaches” a pop song in the vein of “Needles and Pins” that seems to come straight from the sixties. “Shake Rag” follows and is radically different, but you’ll have to get used to this changes of pace. Each song is different to the one that follows. This time it’s a mean blues bopper with a terrific harp. “The Gift” comes closer to a rockabilly number and has a strong “Jungle Rock” beat. It’s a very powerful song with a blistering guitar solo.
“Skin” is what rock’n’roll should always be : wild. Not that it’s super fast or anything, it’s just full of tension and dare I say “sexual energy”. It features an electric bass for a fuller and garagy sound. And the lyrics are not your usual “I kiss you in the back of my Pink Cadillac”, far from that but don’t forget they define themselves as “sleaze-a-billy”.
But Bob and his pals know how to be sweet and smooth like they demonstrate on “Sentimentally Yours”. They perfectly nailed the sound of Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and I can easily imagine that the band and Alan Wilson had a lot of fun doing that.
But the calm was just for a short period, they’re back with the garage sound of the Kinks’I Need You, full of sex frustration. “Everyday Gonna Be Like Yesterday” remains in the sixties but this time more in the country/rockabilly style of Rick Nelson. Twang meets blues on “Typhoon” with guitars and bass providing a solid wall of sound. Even blusier is “The Prisoner” with a fine slide guitar in the background. One of my favorite is “21st Century Bettie Page”, a rockin’ tune that wouldn’t be out of place on a Cramps album like “Stay Sick” or “Flame Job”. Then back to the pop sound with “High’n’Mighty” that sounds like an outtake of Morrissey’s Your Arsenal. Bob’s voice can be smooth or mean with equal success. The authentic rockabilly sound of “Time is a Waistin” a duet with Sue Moreno (Jack Rabbit Slim have backed her on a full album that we also strongly recommend) closes perfectly this killer platter.
As you can see it’s a very varied album and it could surprise some narrow minded listeners. But it’s always done with taste and most of all it rocks, so why should you hesitate.
As usual with Western Star the production work is perfect both clean and lively, vintage and contemporary (you’ll have to listen to understand that), in one word flawless.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Various Artists – Western Star Rockabillies 4

various_western_star_rockabillies_vol4Western Star Records – WSRC 035
Sanity – Rockin’ Rocket 88 / Rain – Bill Fadden and The Silvertone Flyers / Forget Me – Bonneville Barons / Shake Rag – Jack Rabbit Slim / Three Months To Kill – Graham Fenton / Rocket Ship Mama – Warren Scott and The Memphis Playboys / Got A Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul – Miss Jean Vincent / Bluer Than Blue – Rudy La Crioux and The All-Stars / Record Hop – Sue Moreno and Jack Rabbit Slim / Thinkin’ ‘Bout You – Rockin’ Rocket 88 / Lone She Wolf – Lil’ Red and The Doghouse Trio / Rockin’ Rollin’ Stone – Bill Fadden and The Silvertone Flyers / Teenage Bug – Rudy La Crioux and The All-Stars / The Fire Is A-Burnin’ – Sue Moreno and Jack Rabbit Slim / Roly Poly – Graham Fenton / Back No More – TJ and The Bellevue Bombers / Fool For You – Bonneville Barons / The Storm – Rockin’ Rocket 88 / Dirty Billy – Kansas City Cryers / Rock It – Warren Scott and The Memphis Playboys

Volume Four of the Western Star Rockabillies serie is another good occasion to see the good health of this music in UK and the impeccable taste of label owner/producer Alan Wilson.
It also show that the term rockabilly encompass a wide range of music and as they say there’s a little bit for everyone here (and a lot for everybody if you ask me).
Matchbox’s Graham Fenton backed by the Western All Stars (the house band) offers a solid rendition of Roly Poly (with steel guitar) and Huelyn Duval’s Three Months to Kill. If Fenton’s album on Western Star is entirely like this I’m gonna get me a copy for… tomorrow!
Label’s biggest seller, Jack Rabbit Slim are present here under many forms. “Shake Rag” is taken from their latest excellent album. A part of the band is also featured on the Warren Scott tunes, in a 50’s sounding style (I try to avoid as possible the term authentic). Also playing in this style are Bill Fadden (who’d make Charlie Feathers proud with his rendition of rain) and Rudy La Crioux.
Women are not forgotten with Miss Jean Vincent, Sue Moreno (backed by Jack Rabbit Slim) with a mean rocker and a self penned country rocker and Lil’ red and the Doghouse Trio (featuring Rusti Steel).
One highlight of the album is Rockin’ Rocket 88’s the Storm that sounds like an unissued Blue Cats track from the Fight Back period with a fiddle. I know it sounds weird, but you have to listen to it! There’s plenty of good stuff in that excellent album (including my favorite artist of Western Star the Bonneville Barons) and it’s the perfect occasion to discover the label and that sure will lead you to buy the albums.

Available at Western Star.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Slick 49 – Go Wild With Me

Slick 49 - Go Wild With Me
Slick 49 – Go Wild With Me
Western Star WSRC045
Go Wild with Me / Got Rockin’ On My Mind / Cattin’ Baby /The Stars Don’t Look So Bright / Jumpin’ Round / Prove You Wrong and Do You Right / ’41 Dodge / Riverside Jump / Shake ’em Up Rock / Sweet Rockin’ Baby / Still I’m Gonna Love You / Don’t Shoot Me Baby / All That’s On My Mind / Tear This World Apart / Hot Headed Mama.

Slick 49 are a classic drummer less rockabilly trio with a sound as authentic as you can dream. The pair made by the acoustic guitar and the slap bass lays down a strong rhythmic giving lead guitarist Nigel Mc Corkell plenty of room to express. It’s obvious that these guys have listened to Charlie Feathers (notably on the hiccupy Still I’m Gonna Love You) and most generally to the Meteor label (Bill Bowen’s Don’t Shoot Me Baby).
Slightly different is “Tear This World Apart” that sounds more modern, even neo-rockabilly at places. But different doesn’t mean bad though maybe a question / answer backing vocals would have added something to the tune.
Globally, I wouldn’t use the word “wild” to describe them but tense, always menacing to explode. All in all with eleven original songs and only four covers, Go Wild With Me makes an excellent debut album and as usual you have the Western Star quality in term of production and sound.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis