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2014 - Page 2

Out of Luck (psychobilly)

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Out of Luck – Killer Coupe

Part Records Part-coutofluckkillercoupecdd-6100.002 [2014]

The Change Of  the Plymouth – Killer Coupe – I Pack My Bags – Gangster – I’m So Lonely – My Baby Is A Centerfold – Heart Of A Fool – Your Best Buddy – My buckets got a Hole In It – I go For A Walk With My dog – Drop Dead – Demons In the Tank – Kickin’ Up A Row
Out of Luck returns with a brand new kick ass album featuring eleven originals and two covers (Heart of Fool and My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It). Led by the strong voice and the powerful slap bass of Karl Rascal with Rocky on guitar and Beppo May on drums, they perfectly mix their varied influences with classic Rockabilly, neo-rockabilly (one can hear shades of Brian Setzer in the guitar of I’m So Lonely), old school psychobilly kinda like the early Nekromantix or even the Scum Rats with, which is more unusual for this type of band, a heavy dose of country music which makes them sound at places like European cousins of the Reverend Horton Heat. A very good album.

outofluck-greetingsfromoutbackvilleOut of Luck – Greetings From Outbackville

Part Records Part-CD 6100.001 [2012]
Greetings From Outbackville – 49′ Plymouth – Ain’t Got No Job – Rockabilly Rocker – Black Kat – Midnight Drive – Johnny Ultracool – Out Of Cash – Josephine – Into The Valley – I Wanna Kill – Psycho Fantasies – Sunrise At The Foggy River – Cruisin’ – Rainy Day – Love Is An Expensive Affair – Several Ways To Die

Out of Luck is a terribly good and powerful trio who plays revved-up rockabilly that often borders on old-school psychobilly. This album is a subtle balance between the early recordings of the Meteors, Guana Batz and even Mad Sin and more traditional rockabilly stuff with some Reverend Horton Heat in between. The original songs (all but one) are very well written. The sound is also particularly good with a very natural and warm recording of the double bass (not that horrible sewing machine sound one can too often hear in that style of music). As a bonus they included six live tracks to convince you to see them on stage. It’s good to see bands like Batmobile or Skitzo (to name but two) reform, but this music needs new blood, and with band like Out Of Luck the future seems assured.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Lew Phillips

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Lew Phillips - s/t
Lew Phillips – s/t

Lew Phillips – s/t

Rhythm Bomb – RBR 5782
Fallin’ In Love Is Easy – Marie-Lou -Laurie-Anne -Be My Baby – Tell Me Why – In The Night -Your Love -Hey Baby -My Little Woman -You’re The One -On My Way -Love Makes Me Feel Blue -What Have You Done -Rock With Me Baby -Mister Colter

Lew Phillips is a young rocker from Canada. After one ep and one single on Wild Records, Rhythm Bomb presents his debut album with 15 self-penned songs. Beside singing lead, Phillips also plays lead and acoustic guitar. The other musicians are Dominic Simard and Eddy Blake Eaton on bass and Michel Dagenais (Howlin’ Hound Dogs) who plays drums, bass, piano, organ. He is also credited for producing, recording and mixing the record.
Phillips has a good voice and obviously Buddy Holly had a major influence on his musical development (and probably still have). One can find and hear the same inflections and hiccups in his voice. The songs are in adequation with the voice and often sound like some Holly’s long lost recordings. Other influences that can be heard are Ritchie Valens, notably on the ballad Laurie Anne and a bit of Little Richard on Rock With Me Baby. Dagenais’s production is perfect and give to the LP a true and real 50’s sound.
Despite the fact that some of the orginals sounds VERY much like Buddy Holly  (Tell Me Why that is quite close to Tell Me How and In The Night being just a mix between Take Your Time and Well All Right) it’s a very good album. Good to hear new artists like Phillips or his label mate Ricky Fabian, who concentrate on the melodies.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Ricky Fabian

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Ricky Fabian - Big Bang Boogie
Ricky Fabian – Big Bang Boogie

Ricky Fabian – Big Bang Boogie

Rhythm Bomb {2014}
When You Break A Heart – Big Bang Boogie – Never Trust A Girl (Persch) – Rockin’ With My Baby – Man With The Blues – I Got A Woman (And Gonna Last Long) – They Know Better – Cry Over You – The Color Of Your Eyes – I’ve Got You In My Heart – Searchin’ – Showdown.

To be honest, I must admit that, at first sight, the name Ricky Fabian sounded a bit too “teen idol” for me. Had I stay on that first impression I would have missed one of the best Rock’n’roll record I’ve heard in ages. Once I put the cd in my player my doubts quickly vanished. It was an instant revelation!
I have very few infos about this young guy, I believe that he comes from Switzerland and it looks like “Big Bang Boogie” is his first LP. But there’s one thing that I know: this guy can sing. And with ten songs from his pen out of twelve (the other two are a cover of Willie Nelson’s Man With The Blues and a song written by Axel Praefcke).
Backed with class and talent by a band formed with members of Cherry Casino and Ike and the Capers, Ricky Fabian offers a brand of Rock’n’roll that manages to sound fresh and classic in the same time. The album alternates rockers with ballads and some mid-tempos in between with a slight country feel.
Besides the voice and the song, the other element that makes the difference with some similar albums is the tastefull use of Jordanaires type of backing vocals. How many artists dare to do that nowadays? The superb production of Axel Praefcke and Ike Stoye at the great Lightnin Recording studios sounds as if Elvis RCA stuff had been recorded at Sun, and it’is just the icing on an already delicious cake.
Buy it NOW!

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Rhythm River Trio (the)

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the Rhythm River Trio - Honky Tonkin Around
the Rhythm River Trio – Honky Tonkin Around

The Rhythm River Trio – Just Honky Tonkin’ Around

Rhythm Bomb Records RBR 5774 {2014}
Honky Tonkin’ Around – Teardrops From Your Eyes – Honky Tonk Blues – Monday Mornin’ – Wild Side Of Life – Love Come Back To Me – Bear Cat – Rhythm On The River – Rockin’ and Flyin’ – So Did I – Gone and Left Me Blues – I’ll Go My Way.

The other good surprise to come from Great-Britain in the recent months are the Rhythm River Trio. Actually, this drummerless trio formed by David Short (vocals, rhtythm guitar), Morgan Willis (lead guitar) and Bruno Pannone (double bass) is not that recent, they got together in 2009, but I just discovered them with this album called Just Honky Tonkin’ Around, their second lp.
It was recorded at Sugar Rays, a brand new recording studio that seems to come straight from the fifties and ran, among others, by Pat Rayford. The result is an album with a superb warm and mono sound.
But a vintage studio wont turn lead into gold! For that it is better to have great musicians… and the Rhthm River Trio certainly are. They are a tight little ensemble with a superb singer who sings with heart and class. And both he and Willis can write solid originals that stand well next to Hank Williams and Eddie & Hank Cochran. Nothing less.
So what about the music they play? It’s a highly enjoyable mix between the honky tonk of Hank Williams and the early rockabilly sides of Charlie Feathers with some Sun influences and a bit of blues (they cover Ruth Brown’s Teardrop From My Eyes and Rufus Thomas’ Bear Cat). They have a guest steel guitar (Jeff Mead who played with Sonny George) on a couple of tracks, Pedro Duarte plays harp on Bear Cat and Pat Rayford sang backing vocals on Jimmy patton’s Love Come Back to Me.
Available here.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis

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