Virgil

T Becker Trio

T Becker Trio – Third Time’s A Charm!

Records Freight – RFCD106 [2024]
Willing To Make A Fool Of Myself – Lily – Bop That Beat – Don’t Leave Me Now – You Can Keep On Hating Me – You Promised Me – The One I Need – Always On My Mind – All Alone – She’s My Girl – Do The Best I Can – I Don’t Wanna – Like A Ghost  

Records Freight – RFLP002 [2024]
I Don’t Wanna – Why Did I Let Her Cross The Line – Please Don’t Cry  – Bam Bam – Like A Ghost – Cry Cry Cry / Make Up Your Mind – The One I Need – All Alone – You Can Keep – Bop That Beat – I Love Her So

T Becker Trio

Nothing seems to stop the T Becker Trio. While we are just catching our breath after listening to Second Round (which obviously knocked us out), the French trio returns to us with an album that once again demonstrates the full extent of their talent.
Traditional Rockabilly, like the one played by the T Becker Trio, is a balancing act that does not allow approximation. Add a touch of modernity, and you veer into Neo-Rockabilly (not that that’s always a bad thing, but that’s not the point); slow the song down, and add a rural touch, and you’re making Hillbilly Bop. In this case, and with such a codified genre, it isn’t easy to renew the genre while also renewing oneself.
But this does not seem to pose a problem for our three rockers, who easily avoid this pitfall. The reasons for this are multiple. First of all, there is this perfect mastery of trio play. Each, in their place, completes, enriches, and highlights the work of the other. Listen to the solid rhythmic work formed by Tof and Axel; it’s like these two share a more powerful bond than music. The two of them create a setting that allows Mister Did to deploy superb solos in complete serenity. His light and virtuoso playing is always inventive without ever being demonstrative. Moreover, it avoids giving us riffs we’ve heard 10,000 times. He always works for the song and never uses it as a springboard for a sterile demonstration.
And let’s not forget to talk about the vocals. Tof has a solid Blues background, which can be heard in his singing and composing. Sometimes it’s just underlying, but it’s definitely there.
But all this talent would be useless if it was not at the service of a repertoire worthy of the name. Especially since, as with the two previous albums, the T Becker Trio strives only to offer compositions. Tof, Mister Did, and Axel manage to compose mini-classics, which demonstrate solid know-how beneath their apparent simplicity. One would have thought that with such a pace (three albums in three years) the group would run out of steam or repeat itself, but quite the contrary. Not content with renewing themselves, they still manage to progress.
The leading quality of the T Becker Trio, which is enormous, is that they can never be compared to any other group. Of course, its formation brings to mind Elvis, Scotty & Bill, or closer to us, High Noon and the Roy Kay Trio. And sometimes, Did slips a Buddy Holly intro here or a Cliff Gallup riff there. But they sound more like quotes, like a wink, than slavish copying.
Ultimately, the music they produce is entirely theirs. This is how they achieve a degree of authenticity that many must envy. It’s very subtle, but let’s say that the T Becker Trio doesn’t just play Rockabilly (it’s not manufactured); they are Rockabilly (it’s almost intrinsic).
As if all this were not enough, the trio offers six new songs on the vinyl that cannot be found on the CD.

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

Connie Francis

connie francis

Connie Francis – On The Dancefloor with…

Bear Family Records – BCD17663 [2024]
If My Pillow Could Talk – Stupid Cupid – Baby Roo – The Tiger And The Mouse – Ol’ Man Mose – Torero – Looking For Love – Send For My Baby – Lipstick On Your Collar – Eighteen – Some Else’s Boy – Swanee – Vacation – My Real Happiness – Plenty Good Lovin’ – Fallin’ – Ain’t That Better Baby? – Hollywood – Gonna Git That Man – Many Tears Ago – Malaguena – Tweedle Dee – Telephone Lover – Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool – Robot Man – Come On, Jerry (Timber) – Mr. Twister – Johnny Darlin’ – He’s Just A Scientist – I Won’t Be Home To You – The Song Is Ended (But The Melody Lingers On) – Goody Goodbye

More than Stupid Cupid, here’s how Bear Family could have subtitled this excellent compilation.
To my great shame, I confess that my knowledge of Connie Francis barely went beyond Stupid Cupid and Fallin’. That’s the reason why I approached this compilation with a mixture of perplexity, apprehension, and curiosity. But with one or two exceptions (the very kitsch Torero, for example), I must admit I was wrong to be suspicious. Connie Francis is an excellent singer capable of covering different genres with disarming ease and communicative energy.
Because behind what seems at first glance to be the ideal soundtrack for a Rockwelian America, the attentive listener will find a musical world much richer and varied than it seems.
Francis is served by a voice that is at the same time flexible, powerful, controlled, and, pitch-perfect, and aided by leading musicians (Hank Garland, Grady Martin, or George Barnes, to name only the guitarists), passes with ease between genres to the other.
Amidst very good teen-pop and smooth rock pieces with which her name is more easily associated, we find real Rock’n’Roll gems like the very Presley-esque Send For My Baby or the excellent The Tiger and the Mouse (written by Doc Pomus and Mort Schuman). What’s more, the repertoire has its share of surprises, such as the very Exotica Swanee. Gonna Git That Man, which could be just another twist, is transformed into a superb Rhythm’n’Blue thanks to Connie’s voice. The Song Is Ended (But The Memory Lingers On) finds her hunting on Frank Sinatra’s land with disconcerting class and Ol’ Man Mouse is more in the Big Band Swing style. These are a few examples. This compilation and Francis’ repertoire are filled with this kind of tunes.
Even in the case of tunes that are certainly a little over-orchestrated (My Real Happiness or Malaguena), we are won over by the singer’s vocal performance. And since we’re talking about vocal performance, what can we say about the sultry and Fever-tinged Come On Jerry (Timber), single-handedly responsible for part of global warming.
In the end, an excellent disc of 32 songs, accompanied by a booklet rich in information (discography and song-by-song analysis) and images.

On the Dancefloor with Connie Francis is available here.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Connie Francis

Horton Brothers (the)

The Horton Brothers – Tempo for Two

Texas Jamboree TexJam 0062 [2005]
Hey Little Momma – My Own Two Eyes – North To Dallas – I Ain`t Got Time For Love – More Than I Cay Say – Locked Out Of Love AgainI Had One Too Many – She Tells Me With Her Eyes – Shadows Of The Old Bayou – Yesterday´s Blues – Just Who

Horton Brothers tempo for two

Even if they were still active on the scene, The Horton Brothers hadn’t released anything on their own since “Heave Ho“ in 2000. But it was worth the wait because this album is simply great. Just have a look at the musicians: playing with Bobby and Billy are Dave Biller, Buck Johnson and T Jarrod Bonta, the same winning team you find on Shaun Young’s Wiggle Walk. Even if this record is still what you can expect from the brothers (sweet harmonies, beautiful melodies…) I should say, comparing to Heave Ho or Roll back The Rug, that this one is less “rural” and sometimes more 60’s-sounding. The opening track, Bobby’s Hey Little Momma, has a very Buddy Holly feel with his beat à la Not Fade Away. The Buddy Holly connection continues with the Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison song “More Than I Can Say“. A beautiful version all in subtlety. Another cover, Ruth Brown’s “She Tells Me With Her Eyes” has a very strong Phil Spector feel in it (with those big drums rolls used in place of the “shoo-bee-dooby-wops”). Another highlight is “I Had One Too Many”, The Wilburn Brothers song. They really rocked up this one with a wild boogie piano part and it works. But as usal, if the covers are great, the real strength is in the songs written by the brothers. “My Own Two Eyes” is by far my favorite with a solid tempo and nice harmonies, and “Yesterday’s Blues” is a beautiful slow tempo with sax (played by Billy).

The Horton Brothers – Jack in the Boogie Box

Ecco-Fonic EF-1010 [1997]
Jack in the Boogie Box – Just a Pickin’ and a Slappin’ – Roll, Hot Rod, Roll

Horton Brothers Jack In The Boogie Box

After a half-convincing first album on which the two brothers still seemed to be searching for their sound, Bobby (guitar) and Billy Horton (upright bass) moved to Austin. Then, the Horton Brothers began to develop their own style, thanks to Shaun Young (High Noon), who notably advised them to focus more on vocal harmonies.
The first result of this evolution materialized as an EP recorded at Fort Horton Studios and released on Ecco-Fonic Records, Deke Dickerson’s label. The two brothers were backed by Shaun Young on drums and Derek Peterson (Kidd Pharaoh, Jive Bombers) on rhythm guitar.
On side A, we find Jack In the Boogie Box, a mid-tempo hillbilly-boogie penned by Billy, on which the voices of the Horton brothers are reminiscent of the Belew Twins. The duo later re-recorded this song for Heave Ho, their third album.
Side B contains two tunes. The first is an excellent instrumental composed by Bobby, whose program is contained in its title “Just A Pickin’ and A Slappin’” (and also a little drummin’). The second track is a boisterous cover of Oscar McLollie’s Roll Hot Rod Roll.


1200 copies, pressed on black vinyl.

The Horton Brothers – Hey! It’s Bobby and Billy

Crazy Love Records CLLP 6418 [1996]
Hillbilly Hepcat – Smoochin` With My Baby/Please – Hello, Hello – Let`s Go Boppin` Tonight – Talk To You By Hand – The Other Side Of The Moon – The Beaumont Boogie – I Can`t Sit Still – Insomnia – Are You In Love? – Look My Way – Scary Cat – I`m Out

The Horton Brothers – Hey It’s Bobby and Billy

“Hey It’s Bobby & Billy” is the debut album from the Horton brothers on which they are backed by top musicians including Shaun Young, Chris Miller, Tjarko, Lisa Pankratz. It contains good moment but to be honest, it’s far from the Horton sound they developped with their following albums. On this platter they are still in the process of learning their chops and finding their style and the album seems to suffer from a lack of direction. Some songs are good and announce “Roll Back The Rug…” but the sound remains a bit modern. It’s even more evident on some rockabilly material like « Look My Way » or « I Can’t Sit Still » that is closer to the Stray Cats than, say, Rusty and Doug. 
Not as essential as the rest of their discography but worth a spin nonetheless.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Horton Brothers (Billy and Bobby)
Horton Brothers

Juvenile Delinquents – The San Records Story

V/A – Juvenile Delinquents – The San Records Story

Bear Family BAF 14036
Gone, Gone, Gone – Don Wade / Juvenile Delinquent – Ronnie Allen / Loving On My Mind – David Barnes and The Hearts / River Of Love – Ronnie Allen / Forever Yours – Don Wade / The Best Of Me – Ronnie Alen / Oh Love – Don Wade / High School Love – Ronnie Allen / I Can’t Stand It Anymore – David Barnes and The Hearts / Gonna Get My Baby – Ronnie Allen / Bust Head Gin – Don Wade / This Love Of Ours – Ronnie Allen

V/A - Juvenile Delinquents - The San Records Story

Harold Tidwell and Curly Sanders founded the small label San records in the second half of the 1950s. The label’s record legacy is relatively small, with six known singles and perhaps a seventh missing, but it is interesting enough that Bear Family took care to reissue all the sides on this 10″ disc. And what a good idea did they have!
1959 saw the release of the label’s first two singles: Gone Gone Gone/Bust Head Gin (San 206) and Forever Yours/Oh Love (San 207). They are credited to Don Wade, which is a pseudonym for Tidwell. Gone Gone Gone is raw and wild Rockabilly with a sparkling and dazzling guitar solo. On the flip side, Bust Head Gin is a superb dragging blues. The San 207 is just as successful with a perfect cover of Carl Perkins’ Forever Young, to which Wade gives some Presleyesque accents, and an excellent Rockabilly (Oh Love).
The label’s next three singles were dedicated to Ronnie Allen. The first (San 208) uses the same formula by combining a rocker (Juvenile Delinquent) with a ballad (River of Love, written by Allen’s mother). The emphasis is on percussion, with an omnipresent cymbal and a bongo player who completes the line-up, giving the whole a certain originality. By Allen’s own admission, the titles that formed the following two singles were more polished. The group is augmented by the addition of backing vocals (two women and a man). The San 209 sounds like a transition with High School Love, a more than correct rocker, and This Love Of Ours, a mid-paced jiver. Allen’s third and final single for the Gonna label Get My Baby/The Best Of Me (San 300), released in 1961, shows an even more marked orientation towards rock’n’roll tinged with teen-pop, notably due to the omnipresence of vocal backings. The Best Of Me, the more interesting of the two titles, is a ballad that allows Allen to express himself vocally with more subtlety.
The label then went on hiatus, partly because of the tragic news story that affected Tidwell (detailed at length in the rich booklet that accompanies the disc). Finally, in 1967, San 302 (San 301 seems missing or was not released) was released by David Barnes and the Hearts (probably another pseudonym of Tidwell). Loving On My Mind is an excellent country rock with twangy guitar coupled with I Cant Stand It Anymore, a plaintive hillbilly which is reminiscent of Charlie Feathers.
As we have said, the disc is supplemented by a detailed booklet, including rare photos and interviews with Ronnie Allen and Glen Hamilton, a close friend of Tidwell.
Lovers of rarity and beautiful objects will not hesitate to grab this disc, limited to 500 copies.

Buy it here.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Various artists – Fury records

V/A – Something To Remember

Fury Records – F3009 [1989]
Something To Remember – Something Shocking / Big Green Car – The Polecats / Lonesome Cowboy – Hot Rod Gang / Rhythm Riot – Jeff Potter / Lonely Town – Draggin’/ Johnny Rides – Lota Red / My Old Man – The Crestlers / She’s Too Way Out – Tony Dangerfield / Lost Souls – Lost Souls / Flat Top – Rockabilly 88 / Little Pretty Baby – Alphabets / Bust Head Gin – The Frantix / You’re The One – The Little Rock Combo / City Bound – Deuces Wild

something to remember fury records

A good compilation that gives an interesting overview of the Rockin’ scene at the end of the eighties.
Something Shocking wrote and played the song that gives the name to this compilation. It’s a very good and efficient Neo-Rockabilly. Likewise, as you can expect, the Polecats deliver an excellent Neo-Rockabilly tune with Big Green Car, an unissued track from the Won’t Die sessions.
Hot Rod Gang brings a touch of Wild West feel with Lonesome Cowboys, whose melody reminds of Funnel Of Love. Rhythm Riot by Jeff Potter is a drum-led instrumental. Lonely Town by Draggin’ is not a bad tune, but it doesn’t offer much to remember (pardon the pun). Lota Red is another German band. Their song is excellent and perfectly recorded. It’s a mid-tempo Rockabilly with a superb double bass sound and a strong Western flair. It’s one of the best tracks of this compilation.The Crestlers deliver an excellent modern Rockabilly track. Tony Dangerfield’s recording dates from 1964 and was produced by Joe Meek. Not surprisingly, it’s another highlight of the album with a mean guitar and a pumpin’ rock’n’roll piano. Lost Souls brings a welcome touch of wild Psychobilly to this compilation. Rockabilly 88, famous for having slap bass maestro Mark Winchester (later bass player for Brian Setzer) within their ranks, play a classic and mighty enjoyable Rockabilly. The Alphabets play Jive and Doo-wop-abilly in the style of the Keytones and the Jets. The Frantix deliver a mean and raunchy Blues song. If you dig the Deltas, this one is for you. Back to traditional Rockabilly with the Little Rock Combo while the Deuces Wild adds a touch of Skiffle and Bluegrass (one can hear hints of Foggy Mountain Breakdown) to their brand of Rockabilly.

Various – I Love My Car

Fury Records – F3002 [1987]
Way Out West – I Love My Car / Rusti Steel & The Tin Tax – Howlin’ / The Nitro’s – Destruction Road / The Sticks Trio – Get Up And Shake It / Rockin’ Rocket 88 – Put ’em In The Oven / The Hilltop Boys – Take A Chance Baby / Niteshift Trio – Don’t Need No Body / Rover Boy Combo – Baby Let Me Show You The Door / The Baskervilles – Inside Power / The Bootleggers – Hey Poor Billy / Oakville Tune Wranglers – Roamin’ Around / The Midniters – Where’s Derek / The Playboys – Desperate Dan

various - i love my car fury records

Fury records released I Love My Car in 1987. It is a more homogeneous compilation than many others released during the same period.
The compilation opens with the title song, played by Way Out West, a superb Rockabilly.
Rusti Steel and The Tin Tax is one of those bands that lean more towards Hillbilly and rural bop, like the Oakville Tune Wranglers, Rockin’ Rocket 88, the latter with fiddle, or the Bootleggers who play with a harmonica and also mix skiffle to their music.
Some groups stand out. Thus, the young Nitros, in one of their first (if not the first) discographic appearances, are already excellent. The sound is raw, but all the elements that will make Nighshades, their first mini-album, a masterpiece, are present.
Many of the groups on this compilation will only make occasional appearances and never release an album (nor a single for some), and that’s a shame. I am thinking of the excellent Sticks Trio. Their song Get Up And Shake is with She’s Just Rockin’, the only musical testimony of the group. It’s too bad because their Rockabilly-Jive, influenced by the Jets and the Keytones, was very pleasant.
The Baskervilles, featuring Pete Turland and Darrel Higham, and their Neo-rockabilly tinged with Psychobilly will make another appearance on a compilation and then disappear.
Another band that is difficult to find information on is the Hiltone Boys. Besides their four-track demo, this is, as far as I know, their only release. Their contribution, Take A Chance Baby, is traditional rockabilly with slight modern accents à la early Restless. Likewise, the Niteshift Trio brings a little neo-rockabilly touch to the ensemble.
The Midniters stand out from the rest of the selection. This is one of the earliest incarnations of the band, featuring a saxophone. Their rock instrumental seems to come straight out of a Hot Rod compilation from the early sixties. Very different from the neo-rockabilly/psychobilly of Easy Money, their debut album.
Finally, the Playboys (with Rob Glazebrook ex Rochee & the Sarnos) conclude the album with desperate Rock’n’roll.

Billy Bratcher

Billy Bratcher – In the lobby

Cow Island Music – CIM 021
Big Time Woman – Who’s Sorry Now – TB BLues – My Walking Stick – The Sweeper and the debutante – Why – He calls That Religion – Sweet Sue, Just You – Any Old Time – My Melancholy Baby – Maybe It’s the Blues – Someday Sweetheart – Champagne Charlie – Diamonds Don’t Mean A Thing – This Hotel Room – Going Back To Tampa – She Ain’t Rose – If We Should Never Meet Again (This Side of Heaven)

Billy Bratcher

Billy Bratcher is well known for being the slappin’ drivin’ rhythmic force behind the rockabilly/honky tonk band the Starline Rhythm Boys. He also toured with Wayne “The Train” Hancock.

His debut solo album is a joyful collection of music from the 20s and the 30s (or at least played in that style for three of them), drawing upon the same source as Leon Redbone. Redbone’s influence can be heard throughout the album, and Billy Bratcher acknowledges it, but this collection of songs is very much his own. His arrangements are perfect, and the band, featuring saxophones, clarinet, trombone, cornet, piano, dobro, jug, bones, and a Venuti-esque violin, is simply perfect. Bratcher is a solid ragtime guitar player, but his voice wins the game most of all. If we had heard him sing harmonies and backing vocals with the Starline Rhythm Boys, little would we have known that he had such a beautiful and warm voice.

With In the Lobby, you have the perfect album to relax and chill. So sit in your favorite armchair, pour yourself a drink, close your eyes, and enjoy. Hey, look! There’s Dorothy Parker passing by. Won’t you buy her one, too?

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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