Virgil

David Moore – The Hillbilly Stroll

dmoore_small Wild Hare WH09002 [2009]
If you dig rockabilly music (which one can assumes as you read this lines) and especially 50’s sounding rockabilly the name of Dave Moore may be familiar to you. He’s the guy behind the excellent Wild Hare records label and has played on countless recordings (the liner notes say “43 professionnal releases with 29 different artists on 280 tracks!”).
This is, to my knowledge, his first real solo effort, including 12 self-penned songs on which he’s backed by Ryan Cain, Wendy Lebeau and Buck Stevens among others.
Some of this tunes have previously been sung by members of the Wild Hare roster like the Pat Cupp influenced “Blue So Blue” by Ron Berry, “Uptown” by Amber Lee and “You Better Leave” (appearing here in a very demo sounding version) by Buck Stevens.
Musically this is what you can expect – and love – from Wild Hare: a mix of vintage and raw sounding rockabilly with its feet solidly anchored in the hillbilly tradition, going from “Love Eternally” a country weeper in a Hank Williams vein to the frantic rockabilly of “I Do What I Want When I Want” all recording on vintage equipment that makes the Wild Haresignature sound.
A must have.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mr Whiz – I Wanna Go

mrwhiz2_small El Toro
I Wanna Go – High Class Weddin’ – Leave That Junk Alone – Dark Swamp – City Lights – Million Dollar Gang – Otro Corazón – When I Left El Paso – When Love Calls On You – I Wanna Be A Millionaire – All My Life Is Gone
This good surprise comes from Spain as the slight accent of Klaus Villarrel (singer and double bass player) reveals. This trio (guitar, light drums mostly played with brushes and double bass) plays an excellent brand of roots music they call hillbilly swing and it suits them well. They mix influences from Hank Williams (All My Life Is Gone) to Johnny Burnette (Million Dollar Gang is a wild rocker in the vein of Train Kept A Rollin’) and Charlie Feathers. In between you find City Light, a bluegrass influenced number with two parts harmonies and “When I Left El Paso” that reminds of the great Marty Robbins with lyrics (by the way the lyrics are included) like “But at night bad luck came to my life / When a fight started my knife had to shine / the blood in my hand and his body on the flor / the sheriff’s son is dead and my soul went down” . You’ll also find some Johnny Cash with the cover of “Leave that junk alone” and his trademark boom-chica-boom rhythm is featured on “When Love Calls On You“. The name of the band comes from guitar virtuoso Jerry Reed, and guitar player José Casarejos does justice to this name especially on the swingin’ hot number “I Wanna Be A Millionaire“. Another highlight is “Dark Swamp”, a haunting number not that far from neo-rockabilly, with lyrics close to “Endless Sleep“or even “Johnny Remember Me“. With only eleven songs (9 self penned tunes), Mr Whiz offers a tight album with no filler and are another proof of the good heath of the Spanish scene.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mad Sin

Mad Sin - Amphigory
Mad Sin - Break the Rules
Mad Sin – Break the Rules

Mad Sin – Break the Rules

Maybe Crazy Records MYCD009 [1992]
Intro – Deep Black zone – Where Will It Go (Dub version) – No More – Fight Back – Sick World – All Hell Breaks Loose – Run To Live – Dirty Lies – Killer – No Mercy – Born Bad – She’s The One – Time Warp – Steal Machine – Where Will It Go

With Break the Rules, Mad Sin return to Maybe Crazy but instead of returning to the sound of their first albums, they pursue in the way that was announced by Amphigory. A full drummer had been added to the trio and Koefte can now fully concentrates on the vocals. the sound is heavier, punkier (they cover the Ramones She’s the One) and they regularly flirt with bad taste, especially on Dirty Lies, a slow that even Scorpions wouldn’t want on their most obscure b-side.

Mad Sin - Amphigory
Mad Sin – Amphigory

Mad Sin – Amphigory

Fury F 3019 [1991]
Intro ~ Amphigory ~ Eat Yourself ~ Body Snatchers ~ Alien Bug ~ Buried Alive ~ Vampire Slut ~ 1999 ~ Paranoid Brains ~ Your Death Is My Delight ~ Tornado ~ You Better Run ~ Rockin’ Bones ~ Human Fly ~ You Better Run #2 ~ Mind Blow
Third album and last one featuring the original trio with Koefte on drums. They still play their own brand of fast psychobilly, but with a heavier and punkier sound than their first two releases. It could have worked well if the production hadn’t buried everything. One can barely distinguish the instruments from the voice. Too bad, cause some songs like Amphigory or Your Death Is My Delight are as good as anything you can find on Distorded Dimensions. The cd reissue contains bonus tracks that were not on the original vinyl release.
The Radioactive Kid

Mad Sin - Distorted Dimensions
Mad Sin – Distorted Dimensions

Mad Sin – Distorted Dimensions

Maybe Crazy Records MYCD006 [1990]
Wicked Witch – Indestructible man – The Walltown – It Bites – Petrol Lunatic – Hammer beatin’ Boogie – No escape – Moonlight shadows – Watch out – Mad Man rock – Chainsaw cannibals – Fashion train

More or less the same sound than their debut album but a little less percussive due to the songs. If there’s good tunes like Wicked Witch or Moonlight Shadows, none are as good as Straight to Hell, Planet Paradise or Brainstorm. Anyway it remains a good album that can buy with confidence.

 

Mad Sin - Chills and Thrills in a Drama of Mad Sin and Mystery
Mad Sin – Chills and Thrills in a Drama of Mad Sin and Mystery

Mad Sin – Chills and Thrills in a Drama of Mad Sin and Mystery

Maybe Crazy Records MYCD004 [1988]
Acid Train – Brainstorm – Buddy’s Riot – Straight to Hell – Planet Paradise – Mad Rumble – 2,3,4 – Shake the thing – Day of the Merge Souls – Gonna get her – Sell your soul – Whirl girl – Blind spot* (*cd only)

Essential debut album from this German trio (the singer sings and plays drums). They kept the rockabilly and early psychobilly influences (from the Sharks, the Deltas and the early Meteors) but bring something new to the mix with Koefte’s crazy and manic voice and original songs. This album is definitely one to have in any decent psychobilly collection.

 

 

Mars Attacks – Recaptured!

mars-attacks-recaptured-cdPart Records PART-CD 696.001 [2011]
Man From Mars – Snatch It ‘N’ Grab It – All Nite Boogie – I’m Gonna Buy Me A Ticket – Doggin’ My Steps – Please Can You Say – Pepperhot Baby – The Way I Bop – That’s The Way I Feel – Four Tired Car – Lies – Why, Jimmy Bill – You’ll Never Break Me – Honey – Dirty Tricks – I Guess It’s Meant That Way – Rocket In My Sky – Shotgun Wedding – A Gal Of My Kind – Ninety Nine Ways – You Talk Too Much – Sputnik (The Satellite Girl) – Tattoo Bop – Mars Attacks – High School Ceasar – Leavin’ It All Behind
Mars Attacks are one of the best ambassadors of Rockabilly music in Europe. For this album they have re-recorded some of their favourite songs (including the covers!) from their earliest releases. Though surprising at first, it turns out to be a good idea, most of their old material being is only available on vinyl or out-of-print. So why not reissuing it with today’s sound? The result is 26 killer tracks. It’s no use to write a song-by-song review, you just have to know that these guys are top musicians.
If you already know Mars Attacks, you know what I mean, if you don’t, this is the perfect album to begin witht.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mars Attacks – Follow Me

Blue Lake Records  [2008]
Mars Attacks returns with a brand new album featuring 14 tracks to celebrate their 10th anniversary. It comes in a nicely designed digipack (as usual with Blue Lake Records) with a booklet containing the lyrics and a poster.
As you can guess it’s full of very good rockabilly. The set opens with two hot numbers, reminding the style of Rip Carson on My Simple Life. After another good rockabilly with a title reminding the late Ronnie Dawson (Awful Bad At Being Good) the band switches to Sonny Burgess mode with trumpet. They should do more like that. «Next Time» is a country bopper with fine finger pickin’ and brushed snare. They do justice to Billy Lee Riley’s Got the Water Boiling (wild vocal here!) and mellow with «Not Only In Dreams» under the double influence of Roy Orbison / Elvis Presley. It wouldn’t be out of place on a Paul Ansell’s Number Nine album. It’s time to get wild again with the Johnny Burnette influenced (think Train kept A Rollin) «You Only Like The Fast Songs» that features great lyrics like «Speed It Up, don’t Get Too Slow / We don’t wanna sound like Mr Mannilow». «Full Moon Rock» adds a touch of blues to the set followed by a ballad with a country edge and a heavy rocker with loud guitar and drums. Nice! The instrumental «Jazz Attacks» (with quotes from Chinatown My Chinatown / Take 5 / Big Noise From Winnetka) closes the set. Though it’s not bad, I don’t find it essential and ending the album with «Nice Mr Heavyweight» would have been more efficient.
Warmly recommended!

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Mars Attacks – Circle of Love

marsattacks Blue Lake Records BLR-CD 07
I’m Gonna Get Ya – Rome Wasn’t Build In A Day – In My Dreams – I Care – Lush – Leavin’ It All Behind – If I Could Be True – Misunderstood – Nothing To Write Home About – Rebound – She’s Gone – King Of Fools – I Just Feel So Sad. Circle Of Love – I’m Gonna Get Ya – Rome Wasn’t Build In A Day – In My Dreams – I Care – Lush – Leavin’ It All Behind – If I Could Be True – Misunderstood – Nothing To Write Home About – Rebound – She’s Gone – King Of Fools – I Just Feel So Sad.
Circle of Love is a kind of thematic-concept album made of love (as the title suggests) songs (10 originals and 4 covers). The lyrics are exploring every steps of a relationship from the desire (I’m Gonna Get Ya) to the rupture (I Just Feel So Sad) via the happiness (In My Dreams) and every feelings in between. In term of authentic recording JCR recording service is one of the 2 best place in Europe (with Berlin Lightning Recording Service). Combine a good studio, the knowledge to use it and most of all a killer band with good songs of their own and the result is explosive. Mostly a pure rockabilly album (“She’s Gone” one of the best here had a hell of rhythm section on it) you find some “traditional” rock’n’roll too like “Rome Wasn’t Build In A Day”, “Misunderstood” in a very Presley-esque style, a bit of country ala Johnny Cash (the cover of “King Of Fool”) and “Leavin’ It All Behind” shows the influence of Sonny Burgess with its trumpet part played by singer Roland Riedberger. Charlie Rich’s “Rebound” is just perfect. As an extra bonus you have a short movie of Mars Attacks in the studio or to be honest a movie of the band drinkin’ in the studio .
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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