Long John Thomas and the Duffs – Presenting
Wormtone Records – WT-508 [2006]
Ain’t She Sweet – Shake, Shake Little Gwendolyn – Buckle Shoe Stomp – Be Cool – Excuse Me Baby -. So What – 9 Times Out Of 10 – Move It Baby – Dynamite – Girl With The Pretty Face – Fish & Chips – Uh Huh, Oh Yeah – Having A Wild Weekend – Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor (On The Bedpost Overnight)
In a world where you can find a Western swing band in Helsinki, a jump blues band in Madrid, and a rockabilly combo in Zagreb, I shouldn’t be surprised to stumble upon a Merseybeat-influenced trio in Missouri. Long John Thomas and the Duffs (Tim Hopmeier on bass, Scott Lasser on drums, and Ray James on vocals and guitar) are more English than the Queen Mum herself. They have the accent, the car, the hat, and they even have a song they wrote called Fish’n’Chips (I thought only Englishmen were proud of their food!).
Musically, they are heavily influenced by Johnny Kidd (look at the pic on the cover; doesn’t he remind you of someone?), Cliff Richard (they cover Dynamite) and the early Beatles from the Hamburg days (the album opens on Ain’t She Sweet based upon the Tony Sheridan/Fab Four arrangement). But they are not a revival or a nostalgic act. They write good songs that find their place ideally in the set and bring a bit of modernity to their music with some garage incursions sometimes close to Thee Milkshakes. Besides, John’s voice bears certain resemblances with Mickey Hampshire’s. The album ends on a solid cover of Lonnie Donegan’s “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor.”
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
