Victor Leed – Thanks Rock’n’Roll
Big Beat Records – BB805 [1980]
But In Your Eyes – I Forgot To Love – Blue River – To Change My Life – Jenny – Don’t Be Looking For Trouble – She Don’t Care – Shy – Too Much To Be Right – Thanks Rock And Roll
Thanks Rock’n’Roll is one of the best, if not the best, Rockabilly albums ever produced in France. It can compete with everything recorded in Europe at the same time.
Victor Leed started his musical career as an Elvis Presley imitator, but soon, under the guidance of French collector Ding Dong, he found his way and oriented his style toward a more traditional and Fifties sounding style. In 1980, he recorded Thanks Rock’n’Roll with Patrick Lozac’h on lead guitar, Donald Rieubon on drums, Jean Jacques Astruc on rhythm guitar and Freddie Legendre on double bass. This album is nearly perfect. The band perfectly nails the Rockabilly sound and manages to capture the excitement of the Sun sessions without sounding like an imitation or a reconstitution. In other words, the music is lively and doesn’t sound like a museum piece. It’s also mainly due to the songs (all self-penned chiefly by the team Leed/Astruc) that capture the genre’s spirit and essence.
And, of course, there’s Victor’s voice. It’s a clear and beautiful voice, able to mix the young Elvis Presley’s energy and Ricky Nelson’s softness while remaining 100% Victor Leed. The repertoire mixes Rockabilly, country-tinged tunes, and beautiful ballads (Jenny, Shy) that are the perfect vehicle for this unique voice.
More than four decades later, this mini-album remains a timeless jewel. I can only hope that today’s young rockers will rediscover it and that Victor’s name will find the place it deserves in the contemporary Rockabilly story.
Sadly, Victor left us way too soon, dying at age 44 in 1994.
Fred ’Virgil’ Turgis
