Virgil

Frank Virtue & the Virtues

Frank Virtue & the Virtues – Rock

Bear Family BCD 17533
Esquire Boys – Guitar Boogie Shuffle / Esquire Boys – Rock-A-Beatin’ Boogie / Frank Virtuoso & The Virtues – Rollin’ And A Rockin’ / Frank Virtuoso & The Virtues – Toodle-Oo Kangaroo / Frank Virtuoso & The Virtues – Good Bye Mambo / The Rhythm Rockets – Stranded In The Jungle / Tom Friday & The Rhythm Rockets – Hallelujah, I Love Her So / Frank Virtuoso – Corinne, Corinna / Frank Virtuoso – Fever / Joe Fortunato & The Rhythm Rockets – Roll Over Beethoven / Frank Virtuoso – Rattle My Bones / The Rhythm Rockets – Boppin’ The Blues / Frank Virtuoso – Mambo Rock / The Rhythm Rockets – Rip It Up / Frank Virtuoso Quintet – Go Joe Go / Frank Virtuoso & The Virtues – Hop, Skip, Jump and Mambo / Frank Virtuoso – Straighten Up And Fly Right / Frank Virtuoso – Let’s Have a Party / Frank Virtuoso & His Men of Virtue – My Constant Love / Frank Virtuoso & His Men of Virtue – I’m Going Home / The Virtues – Guitar In Orbit / The Virtues – Guitar Boogie Shuffle / The Virtues – Flippin’ In / The Virtues – Shufflin’ Along / The Virtues – Virtue’s Boogie Woogie / The Virtues – Pickin’ The Stroll / Frank Virtue & The Virtues – Highland Guitar / Frank Virtue & The Virtues – Marching Guitars / The Virtues – Guitar Boogie Twist / The Virtues – Guitar Shimmy / The Frank Virtue Combo – Manhunt / The Twangy Rebels – Rebel Rouser “65”

Frank Virtue & the Virtues

This compilation sheds light on a relatively obscure (at least for me) figure. Frank Virtue was a bass player from Philadelphia who recorded many sides under his own name or with various bands.
The first two songs find Virtue playing bass with the Esquire Boys, featuring none other than the great Danny Cedrone, the genius behind the hot guitar solo of Rock Around the Clock.
When Virtue formed his own combo (Frank Virtuoso and the Virtues), the Haley craze was at its peak. The influence of the man with the kiss curl can be heard on all these numbers, featuring sparkling guitar, hot sax and infectious beat. The sides recorded under the Rhythm Rocket moniker are less interesting. Being produced for budget labels, they lack originality and try too hard to sound like the original versions.
Then Virtue switched back to Frank Virtue (without a band name) and put on wax a batch of great tunes from Little Willie John’s Fever to King Cole’s Straighten Up and Fly Right. The sound falls halfway between the Jodimars and Haley’s stuff sung by Billy Williamson. Virtue is not the greatest singer, but he compensates with enthusiasm and energy.
Another incarnation was Frank Virtuoso and his Men of Virtue. The songs are less rocking and more pop-oriented and mellow. Yet the quality of the musicianship remains, as proven by the guitar on I’m Going Home.
Go Joe Go, recorded under the Frank Virtue Quintet name, is one the best track of this compilation: a fantastic jazzy yet rocking instrumental. More instrumentals were cut under various monikers, mixing Arthur Smith and Duane Eddy (and for some with a touch of Twist) or the atmospheric and reverb-laden Manhunt.

Rusty Robots (the)

Rusty Robots (the) – A Forest

Rob-O-Tone – ROBOT-001
A Forest / Carnage In Dark Streets – Twilight Love – At Night

Rusty Robots

The German Psychobilly scene is particularly healthy nowadays. Earlier this year, we were graced with the release of the excellent compilation album The Young And the Wild Ones featuring Rango Meißner, who replaced Paddy on slap bass in the Rusty Robots along with Norman’ Salmi’ Denks on vocals and guitar and Chris Harbart on drums.
This is their first release with this line-up and drum roll: this is a killer.
The band previously recorded The Cure’s A Forest for their debut album and placed it at the end of the CD as a hidden track. That was an already excellent version, but this new one is even better. It perfectly captures the angst of the original song, but Salmi’s voice and guitar add a manic and frantic dimension to the tune. Next to him, Chris keeps the beat, and Rango propels the song with a powerful slap bass.
But there’s more! When you think things couldn’t get any better and the song might end traditionally, the trio slides into something completely different and darker with added lyrics. In fact, this extended version takes its inspiration from the excellent live performance played by the Cure in Werchter in 1981, when the band was asked to leave the stage resulting in an epic nine-minute version of A Forest (go watch it on youtube, you won’t regret it!). How clever of the Rusty Robots to take a live ‘accident’ and incorporate it to propose a new version of the song. And you wonder why this trio is my favourite contemporary Psychobilly band? There’s another reason, to tell you the truth, more obvious: the Rusty Robots play Psychobilly in its purest form (yes, even a bastardized music like Psychobilly can have a purest form); I mean this is not sped-up Rockabilly or Punk with a double-bass or else. The band’s influences may come from various sources, but the final result is that every groove of that record screams ‘Psychobilly’. The three songs featured on side B, all penned by the band, perfectly illustrate what I am trying to say. Carnage In Dark Street is threatening but with a steady pace (like Wreckin’ Crew was), and Twilight Love showcases the excellence of the rhythm section. At Night closes the set with some syncopated/tribal drums and equals the Batmobile’s best moments.

So grab a copy of this perfect slice of Psychobilly, but be fast since it’s a limited edition to 500 copies.

Buy it here: https://therustyrobots.bigcartel.com/

Rusty Robots (the) – Sweethearts, Kisses, Bloody Knives

Killjoy Records KILL 029 [2018]

Sweethearts, Kisses, Bloody Knives – The Last Man On Earth – Dust to Dust

Rusty Robots

To my great shame I didn’t know the Rusty Robots until very recently. I must admit being some kind of a traditionalist. I like my vampires to look like Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee rather than Robert Pattinson and when it comes to Psychobilly I prefer a good old fast rockabilly slap bass, spare drums, light guitar and a mean singer rather than a punk-metal band with a double bass. And the Rusty Robots sound exactly as if they came straight from the 8O’s. Had they appear on the scene 35 years earlier they would top the bill at the legendary Klub Foot .

Their latest release for Killjoy records makes no exception. First, look at that cover! Have you seen something cooler since the front cover of the Scannerz or the back of Batmobile‘s debut album? Talking about Batmobile, the title track is a superb fast psychobilly number that would make Johnny Zuidhof and the Haamers brothers red with envy. Instant classic.

On B-side you’ll find the last man on earth, another classic old school psychobilly tune with nice changes of pace. It’s followed by Dust a Dust a demo recording. The sound is raw, but far from being a problem, this stripped down sound shows the qualities of the Rusty Robots in term of musicianship and melody.

Limited to 500 copies, 450 in black and 50 in yellow, though I’m afraid that the yellow ones are already out of print.

Available at Killjoy records or Razmataz records.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Jerrells (the)

The Jerrells – Wanted Man

El Toro ETCD7038 [2022]
Wanted Man – True Love – Half May Fault – Hot Sauce Mama – All Outta Kisses Now – The Woman I Love – Ice Water – Frazer River Valley Blues – Powder Room Mama – Don’t Stall Out – Hot Rod Baby – Armadillo Blues

the jerrells

Led by Jeremy Slemenda, the Jerrells feature a cast of stellar musicians, including Masimo Gerosa (Starliters, Rockin’ Bonnie, Shaun Young) on piano, Todd Wulfmeyer (Marti Brom, Shaun Young, Modern Don Juan) on bass, James Gwyn on drums on most of the tracks. Other musicians include Josef Pelletier and Josh Williams (Bellfuries) on bass, Katie Rose Cox (fiddle) and Jennifer Shaw (shout). Slemenda sings and plays lead guitar (and what guitar) as well as drums on two songs and bass on one. He also penned eight out of the twelve tracks that stand proudly near the covers of Lloyd McCollough (Half My Fault), Luke Simmons (Frazer River Valley Blues), Gene Terry (The Woman I Love) and Glenn Barber (Ice Cold Water).
The styles range from country bop to rockabilly with crazy with wild and crazy hillbilly in the manner of the great late Ray Condo and his Hardrock Goners. It’s excellent through and through with no drop in quality or intensity, and if you dig your music with a rural flair but with some energy, too, this one is for you.
Also available on vinyl.

Various Artists – The Young and Wild Ones

Various Artists – The Young and Wild Ones

Keil Records C.12-22-013 [2022]
Rango – We Are Rockers / Jerry – Undead / Marv – Stranger In The House / Jones – The Package / Paddy – A Life of Vanity / Jerry – Hot Rod Man / Jones – Treasure / Rango – Metro / Paddy – 666c Machine / Marv – Too Old To Live, Too Young Too Die
(+ CD with ten bonus tracks)

Various Artists - The Young and Wild Ones

You always feel like a kid at Christmas when you receive a new release from Keil records. You open your package, and you’re rewarded with tons of little extras. This compilation makes no exception to the rule: you’ll find a patch, stickers, pictures, two booklets (one with information and one with lyrics and illustrations), a poster, and a cd with extras, all in a beautiful gatefold sleeve wrapping a magnificent green vinyl.
But don’t let these pretty things distract you from the main thing: the music. As I said, it’s a compilation album. I’m old enough to have bought classic Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly compilations when they came out in the 80s. It was an excellent way to discover new artists.
There don’t seem to be many these days, so it’s a good reason to rejoice, especially when the artists are of that level.
The Young and Wild Ones gathers five young and very creative German artists with two songs each. The styles range from clean Neo-Rockabilly to wild Psychobilly, with many good things in between.
Jones (aka Jonas Heider)is the more traditional of the five. He delivers two excellent, highly melodic tracks co-written with Moritz Kruit (also on drums). Both songs are jumping and rocking with nice picking (in which one can hear some Setzer influences) and good use of the piano.
At 26, Paddy is the veteran of the five. His credits include, among others, the Rusty Robots, Sandy & the Wild Wombatz and the Minestompers. His two songs feature Mark Twang (Dave Phillips, Sandy and the Wild Wombatz) on guitar and Raphael Landauer on drums. Those tunes are on the thin line between Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly. They wouldn’t be out of place on a Batmobile album from the early 90s.
Jerry mixes Teddy Boy Rock’n’roll with Psychobilly to create a brand new genre, highly personal yet addictive.
Rango is the youngest. He was only 16 when he recorded his tracks. As if it wasn’t enough, he played all the instruments too. His music is a very original brand of Psychobilly with a propulsive slap bass in which elements of New-wave and post-punk subtly creep in. He’s something like the music link between the most recent albums of the Quakes and the Rusty Robots (whom he joined on double bass). Without a doubt, Rango is a force to be reckoned with.
Marv (who also plays drums on Jerry’s tunes) is the most extreme sounding of the five. His two songs clearly show the influence of the early Quakes and bands like Skitzo and all this kind of heavy Psychobilly stuff.
As you can see, this compilation’s quality resides not only in the artist’s talent but also in the fact that you have five different musicians with strong personalities. Each made me want to listen to a whole album from them.
The CD features ten bonus songs with alternate tracks, different versions and mixes, and unissued songs. It’s almost as if you’d had volume two on the CD.
Talking about that, I hope that the fine folks at Keil records with think about a volume two in the near future, and who knows, this time maybe with wild and young Psychobilly and Rockabilly girls.

Find it here.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang - Wild Youth
Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang – Wild Youth

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang – Wild Youth

Rockhouse [1982]
Wild Youth – She Will Come Back – 56 Boys –  Tainted Love – Love Me – My Turn – On The Move – One And Only – Flea Brain – Should I Ever Love Again – Summertime – Baby Blue – Just Can’t Believe – Wow

Having left the Blue Cats in 1980, Dave Phillips took some time off before forming his own band. Still with Gene Vincent in mind he named his new band the Hot Rod Gang after the 1958 movie featuring the screaming kid. The first line-up consisted of John Day and Ray Thompson on guitars, Rob Tyler on drums and of course Dave Phillips on double bass and lead vocals. But it’s the second line-up with Mark Harman from Restless on guitar replacing both Day and Thompson that entered the history of modern rockabilly. Harman was the perfect choice, his fast Gallup influenced licks being the perfect complement to Phillips. The trio recorded Wild Youth in late 1981 and contrary to what the cover reads it’s Tyler on drums and not Andrew Wrightson who was the band’s driver (even on the cd reissue features the mistake).
One can suppose that the label (Rockhouse for both) acted with Phillips the same way he did with the Blue Cats’ second album (with Clint Bradley) hence the presence of many familiar cover in a more traditional style (Flea Brain, Summertime, Baby Blue and the Phantom’s Love Me sung by Harman). But there’s enough modern stuff to make of Wild Youth a benchmark in Neo-Rockabilly history, the best known being their cover of Tainted Love. It’s an instant classic that will have a lasting influence on many young bands.
Essential to any decent collection.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Dave Phillips – Rockhouse Mini L.P. Collection

Rockhouse Records – MLP 8420 [1985]

Brand New Beat – The Fun Of It – In My Dreams – So Now You’ve Lost her – You Don’t Want to Know – The Trip

Dave Phillips

I said it before and I’ll say it again, mini lp are often the best support for Rockabilly. It’s short, every number counts and there’s no place for fillers.
Dave Phillips’ mini lp for Rockhouse is the perfect exemple of that statement.It’s almost perfect and dare I say, even better than his debut solo album.
Once again one can hear the influence of Gene Vincent, with the covers of Brand New beat (imagine Vincent revisited by Restless of vanish Without A Trace period) and In My Dreams which is probably the weakest song of the album (but to his discharge it’s hard to compete with Vincent on that type of song.)
The four remaining tracks are originals. You Don’t Want to Know features Mark Harman of Restless (and former hot Rod Gang member) on guitar and is a rockin’ ballad with once again the shadow of Gene Vincent over it.
So You’ve Lost Her is a medium rocker while the Fun of it is a fast neo-rockabilly with breaks later covered by French band the Happy Drivers on their debut album and the Trip is Worth th eprice of the album alone. This fast modern rockabilly number (with a dash of psychobilly) is a modern masterpiece.

Dave Phillips – The Best Of

Rockhouse records ROCKCD8603
Tainted love -’56 Boys – Wild youth – She will come back – Love me – On the move – It was free – The trip – Every walk of life – I saw her standing there – Sunshine girl – So now you lost her – The fun of it – Brand new beat – I’m gonna die – I’m driving home – Boogie up roar – Pink thunderbird – Cat man

If you don’t have any of the solo albums of Dave Phillips or the Blue Cats (which is, in my opinion, a shame), you should definitely acquire this best-of album.
It covers the “Rockhouse years” of the fame double-bassist, with songs from the first Blue Cats album, the studio recordings (including the hit Tainted Love) and two live songs lifted from the Live at the Rockhouse compilation album.
It also shows that Phillips always had the best musicians to back him, Rob Tyler on drums and aces like Mark Harman, Paul Gaskin and Mick Malone on guitar.

Dave Phillips – Understatements

Kix 4 U Records ‎– 4U 3334
Rescue – Desert Town – Every Walk Of Life – Next Stop – Night Life – Paradise For The Children – The Trip – Room At The Top – Sunshine Girl – I Saw Her Standing There – Dancing Shoes – The Fun Of It!

Following the success of Tainted Love, Bert Rockhuizen of Rockhouse/Kix4U pushed Dave Phillips to add even more modern elements on Understatements.
Hence, despite having good melodies, most of the album is made of pop/new wave-influenced music with a modern production that has little if nothing in common with Rockabilly.
Nevertheless, a bunch of great self-penned Neo-Rockabilly numbers (The Trip, The Fun of it, and the Beatles influenced Next Stop) and two good rocking covers of the Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There and Buzz & the Flyers’Every Walk of Life, save half of the platter.

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang – Look Out!

Bank Of Troy Recordings ‎– AR-92-1-33, My Way Records ‎– WAY LP 1223 [1992]
New Job – Git It – Goin’ Up The Country – It Was Free – She’s A Woman – No Comeback – Joy Ride – Ain’t That Good News – Handsome Johnny – Linda Lou – A Soft Growl – It’s Murder On The Streets

After going too deep into the musical experimentation with “Understatements” his previous album, Dave Phillips wisely chose to return to what he does best: ROCK! And what a better band than the original Hot Rod Gang (the faithful Rob Tyler on drums and Mark Harman as well as Paul Gaskin on guitars) to help him?
The result is a superb twelve track album. Some tracks a pure neo-rockabilly (almost Psychobilly for “It’s Murders On the Streets”); others are more traditional sounding. As usual with Phillips, there’s special care to write melodic songs (or cover songs with strong melodies), and he’s attached to add a variety of instruments (piano, harmonica, flute) to explore styles and moods. There’s even a slow, which is always a good point!
The only low point being the drawing on the cover.

Available here.

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang – Good Thing

Fury Records F3035 [1995]
Good Thing – I’ve Just Seen A Face – Rollin’ Danny – Teenage Partner – Here Comes The Night – Linda Lu (Live Recording)

Recorded in 1995, Good Thing features Rob Tyler on drums and Darrel Higham on guitar. This mini-album features six covers. Next to the now mandatory Beatles cover, there are songs from Fine Young Cannibals, Gene Vincent, Hank Noble, and Ray Sharpe.
Good Thing, the song, captures the same vibe as Tainted Love. Phillips is as usual extremely at ease when it comes to singing Gene Vincent his idol, and both Here Comes the Night and Linda Lu rock (the latter being recorded live.) Surprisingly, they do not convince with their cover of the Beatles, which is usually one of their strong points.
The whole atmosphere is very laid back, and it benefits to the final result.

Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang – I Lost My Beer

KEiL-Records – V.07-21-009 [2021]
I Lost My Beer! / I’m Gonna Toss My Cookies

Dave Phillips

After a break of a quarter of a century, Dave Phillips returns with a brand new single (but a little bird told me there’s more in the pipeline). Some bands grow older, and often not for the best, but Dave Phillips has matured. I try as much as possible to avoid the overused comparison with the wine, but if you allow me just one exception, let it be for this single.

Backed by the excellent Mark Twang on lead guitar and Pete Deville on drums and superbly recorded, Dave Phillips proposes two original songs, thematically centred around beer (before and after). This man knows about essential things in life. This kind of lyrics evokes the likes of Slim Gaillard or Louis Jordan. Actually, the music is also a variation around their music, a brand of swingin’ Rock’n’roll or a brand of Jump/Rhythm’n’Blues without horns. The trio is very impressive by its cohesion and how they complement each other. Philips and Deville infectious groove allows Twang to jump and gallop (and sometimes he “gallups” too) over the fretboard. The final result is delightful, though having only two songs create a lot of frustration. It’s a strictly limited release (only 444 copies), so grab a copy when you can.
https://www.facebook.com/keilrecordsgermany

Dave Phillips & the Hot Rod Gang – The Big Wheel Of Life

The Big Wheel Of Life – Raining In My Heart – Bad Boy – Shut The Truck Up – Rain – I’m Gonna Catch Me A Rat – My Oh My – I Lost My Beer – Cat Man – No Moon At All – I’m Gonna Toos My Cookies – All You Need Is Me – Man Of Constant Sorrow

Dave Phillips & the Hot Rod Gang - The Big Wheel Of Life

The fact that a man like Dave Phillips, who plays this music for more than 40 years, still manages to surprise me gives me incommensurable joy. And boy, did he surprise me with his latest album (pleasantly, that goes without saying).
His latest collection of songs recorded with Mark Twang and Chris Bergström on guitars, Pete Deville and Patrik Staffansson on drums and a pianist (whose name escapes me right now, sorry) would show many newcomers how to play that music.
The album opens with Dave’s The Big Wheel Of Life: first track, first classic. The early 60s country feel fits the lyrics perfectly, and Dave’s voice which has gained in depth and maturity and, dare I say, now shows some vulnerability is perfect for this style. No wonder the song gave its title to the album. Phillips penned three other tracks for the album: Shut The Truck Up, a mid-tempo Rockabilly with piano and backing vocals, I Lost My Beer, and I’m Gonna Toss My Cookies. Both were released as a single on Keil Records. I Lost My Beer sounds as if Louis Jordan or Slim Gaillard had played Rockabilly, and by listening to Toss My Cookies, it seems that Phillips finally found his beer and had one too many, and the result gives a hilarious song.
There are also a few covers. It wouldn’t be a Dave Phillips and the Hot Rod Gang album without a Gene Vincent song. Rejoice, my friends; this one contains two: I’m Gonna Catch Me Rat and Catman. There are just some subtle changes if you compare their version of Catch Me A Rat to the original: the piano part, some jazz chords here and there, and a little difference in the groove, but that’s enough to transform it into something really new. Regarding Catman, the result is equally impressive. The rhythm section and the guitar rock as hell, while the piano forays into jazz territories and brings a whole different colour to the song. Buddy Holly’s Raining In My Heart is superbly served by Phillips’ melancholic voice, whereas Larry Williams’ Bad Boy changes the mood. The song is turned into a desperate bluesy tune with a Diddley beat and two superb twangy/burlisonian guitar solos to boot.
There are also tunes that you wouldn’t usually find on a Rockabilly album. But that’s where Phillips is clever and is more attached to the quality of the song and the melody rather than sticking to a specific genre. My, Oh My comes from one of Leonard Cohen’s latest albums and, once again, fits Phillips’ voice perfectly. King Cole’s No Moon At All falls halfway between jazz (the piano) and Gene Vincent (the guitar). The same goes for Morrissey’s All You Need Is Me, one of the album’s highlights. Rain was initially done by Jose Feliciano. Phillips keeps the beautiful melody but muscles the song, and Twang adds an outstanding solo. Superb!
Contrary to some (don’t insist I won’t give names), ageing doesn’t seem to be a problem for Phillips. With a newfound voice, solid originals and still that open-minded approach, his latest album could possibly be his best. But please, Mr Phillips, don’t make us wait too long for the next one.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Read our in depth interview with Dave Phillips here.

Dolly Cooper

Dolly Cooper – Tell Me, Tell Me

El Toro ET15039
My Man – Ay La Bah / Tell Me, Tell Me – Big Rock Inn

Dolly Cooper first recorded for Savoy, then moved to Modern and Dot. The songs from the side A were recorded for Modern and those from the side B for Dot.
My Man is a superb proto Rock’n’Roll that could have been a Bill Haley tune (or vice-versa). Her backing band is Maxwell Davis and Orchestra who also accompanied Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Etta James or Young Jessie. Ay La Bah is more anecdotical, but it features some fine doo-wop backing vocals and a brief but stunning guitar solo.
Tell Me, Tell Me is wild tune with another super guitar part. Same goes for Big Rock Inn which is even wilder, on which the singer gives it all.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

1 … 18 19 20 21 22 … 123