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The Jets (British Rock'n'roll band)

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Jets (the) – The Isolation Sessions #2

the jets isolation sessions

Krypton Records KRYP CD215 [2021]
Crazy Baby – Open Up Your Heart – Steppin’ Out Tonight – Would You – Love Bug – Jitterbop Baby – Somebody To Love – Bop Machine – Midnight Dynamos – Sleep Rock’n’Roll – Lovers Once Again – Mountain of Love – Lonely Hearts – Baby Take Me Back

As you can guess from the title, the Jets recorded this album during the third lockdown, with each musician playing from their home. They decided to invite Darrel Higham as a guest singer/musician. The result is a killer combination that takes no prisoners. I don’t have much to say about this excellent record. The Cotton brothers and Higham are such consummate professionals so that you can expect mean rock’n’roll, wild guitars, smooth vocals, sweet harmonies and more. The performance is solid, and you’d never believe they didn’t record it in the same room. The set mixes covers and originals, most of the songs having been recorded by the band before. So this is more like a live album (albeit without an audience) than a studio one.
They even managed to make me appreciate Matchbox’s Midnight Dynamos far more than than the original one.

www.thejets.co.uk/

Jets (the) – Stare-Stare-Stare

Jets

Krypton Records – KRYPCD 205 [1996]
(You Just Don’t Know How To) Treat Your Man – Oh Baby Please – 1,2,3 – Stare-Stare-Stare – When The Cats Away – Pussy Cat – Hearts On Fire – What A Fool – Lovers Once Again – Kiss Me – Little Orphan Girl – One Heaven – Saturday Night – Put My Lips All Over This Town – Can’t Live With ‘Em – Lookin’ Pretty Good – Nashville Blue

The Jets recorded and released this album in 1996. There’s no big surprise nor significant departure in terms of sound, but that’s another Jets classic.
The first track is a mean Rock’n’Roll with a haunting riff, and the result is not that far from Restless’ Madhouse years. Oh, Baby Please is a superb Doo Wop. Back to Rock’n’Roll with 1,2,3, which sounds like a modern version of Elvis’ All Shook Up. The title track is a Doo-Wop ballad with a dash of Rock’n’Roll, but the result is a bit marred by the synthetic production. Much better is When the Cats Away, a modern Rockabilly in the Dave Edmunds style. Pussy Cat brings a touch of blues with a Johnny Kidd and the Pirates feel. Hearts on Fire is a solid stroller, and it just needs a piano to turn into a great Little Richard tune. What A Fool is a wild Rockabilly with powerful slap bass. After that, you need to calm down, and Lovers Once Again, a lovely and gentle ballad is perfect. But the rest doesn’t last long when Kiss Me, a Johnny Burnette-tinged song, blasts through your speakers. Next are two slow tunes: a doo-wop (Little Orphan Girl) and a tender ballad with steel (One Heaven). Saturday Night is a Rockabilly with a hillbilly beat. It contrasts with Put My Lips All Over This Town and its modern production. Can’t Live Em is a stripped-down Rockabilly, and Looking Pretty Good evokes the sound of Elvis circa 1956. The album closes with a superb instrumental with dobro and fingerpicking.
Even if the production is sometimes a bit synthetic on some tunes, Stare, Stare, Stare remains a highly enjoyable album despite an ugly cover.

Jets (the) – Cotton Pickin

Cotton Pickin

Krypton Records KRYP200 [1988]
Nervous – Be-El-Zebub Boogie – Penny Loafers And Bobby Sox – Would You – Heartbreaker – Bones – Razor Alley – Can’t Keep A Good Man Down – Primadonna – I Didn’t Like It The First Time – Oh Judy – The Hunter

Cotton Pickin, the Jets’ fourth lp, is more or less made of the same wood as its predecessor. You’ll find Neo-Rockabilly (Nervous, Razor Alley) and even a song bordering on Psychobilly (the Hunter.) Still, in the Rockabilly idiom, there’s plenty of Rockabilly tunes with Doo-Wop embellishments (Would You, the Sparkletones’ Penny Loafers And Bobby Sox, I Didn’t Like It The First Time.) Talking about Doo-Wop, it wouldn’t be a Jets album without a couple of pure Doo-Wop tunes. Here you have Dion’s Prima Donna, Heartbreaker (that sounds a bit like Runaround Sue), and Judy performed acapella by the three brothers.
A mean Rock’n’Roll (Can’t Keep A Good Man Down), a boogie with jazzy echoes (Be-El-Zebub Boogie), and Bones, an instrumental in the vein of Steel Guitar Rag complete the set.

Jets (the) – Session Out

jets session out

Nervous Records NERD 021 [1986]
Jitterbuggin’ Baby – Dan O’ Dell – Drunk Again – Charlene – Moonshine – Bye Bye Baby – Open Your Heart – Forget The Love – Did Anyone Tell You – Millionaire Hobo – Cry The Blues – Slippin’ In

After beginning their career with Roy Williams as a manager, the Jets (Bob, Ray and Tony Cotton, respectively on double-bass, guitar, and drums) went on to international fame with EMI scoring hits and TV appearances.
For their third album, they returned to Williams and Nervous records. And the result is one hell of a rocking album produced by the band. All songs are originals, either written by Ray or Bob, except for Millionaire Hobo and Slippin’ In.
The opening number sets the moods for what will follow: top-notch production, tight arrangement (excellent twin guitar part), and superb musicianship.
Next, you find Dan O Dell. It’s a Rock’n’roll number yet with a Jazz mood and a nod to Tennessee Ernie Ford’s 16 Tons. It also sees the Jets’ secret weapon’s introduction: their vocals harmonies. Drunk Again follows. Jet-propelled by Bob’s fantastic slap-bass, I can easily imagine it recorded by Eddie Cochran.
Charlene is a pure Doo-wop candy that seems to come straight from the fifties. Maybe these three brothers have a special connection or something, but their voices sure blend magnifically.
How about an instrumental after that? With a title like Moonshine, don’t be surprised to find a strong Hillbilly touch.
Bye Bye Baby is a soft Neo-Rockabilly with, once again, a great guitar part that mixes rockabilly with jazz.
The B-side begins with Open Up Your Heart, a Rockaballad with the brothers’ harmonies. More rockin’ is Forget the Love. Imagine Right Behind You baby with a Neo-Rockabilly feel. Sounds great? The result is even better. Still rockin’ but more classical, the stripped-down sound of Did Anyone Tell You evokes the legendary recordings made by Sam Phillips.
Next are two Doo-wop tunes: a storming rendition of the Fantastics’ Millionaire Hobo and the more classical Cry the Blues.
To confirm the Neo-Rockabilly orientation of this album, a breathless rendition of Slippin’ In concludes the set.

Jets (the) ‎– Love Makes The World Go Round

Love Makes the World Go Round

EMI ‎– EMI 5262 [1982]
Love Makes the World Go Round – I’m Just A Score

Back in the early 80s, the Jets achieved the delicate task of reaching commercial success without selling themselves out.
This single is a perfect example of that. The sound is undoubtedly more radio-friendly than the most hardcore Rockabilly bands, but the Cotton brothers remain faithful to the genre. Suffice to compare their cover of Love Makes the World Go Round with the original by Perry Como. They bring everything to turn it into a Rockabilly tune, soft Rockabilly maybe, but Rockabilly nonetheless. The same goes for the flip-side, with its powerful slap bass, subtle harmonies, and delicate guitar.

Jets (the) ‎– Who’s That Knocking

the Jets

EMI ‎– EMI 5134 [1981]
Who’s That Knocking – I Seen Ya

Excellent single by the Cotton brothers. The A-side is a fast-paced doo-wop on which the band sees its line-up augmented by Mickey Gallagher on piano and Davey Payne on saxophone, both from Ian Dury and the Blockheads. The B-side is another superb example of their brand of soft Rockabilly with a terrific guitar.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Official website: http://www.thejets.co.uk/

the Jets

Catmen (the)

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catmen

Catmen - Cutting through the red tape
Catmen – Cutting through the red tape

The Catmen  – Cutting Through The Red Tape

Nervous Nerdcd060 [1990]

She’s The World ~ It’s Too Late ~ I Keep Thinkin’ Of You ~ Why Would I Lie ~ Gone Ridin’ ~ I Still Can’t Get Away ~ I’ve Lost The Race ~ I Need You Tonight ~ I’m Gonna Make Her Mine ~ Loving You ~ You Turn Me On ~ I Think She Will ~ Little Devil ~ I Can’t Go On ~ I Can’t Live Without You ~ I’m Still In Love With You.

The Catmen, were a neo-rockabilly trio from Holland that played a very smooth kind of melodic neo-rockabilly. Cuttin’ Through the Red Tape was their second album. Their music could be best described as Restless meets Chris Isaak even if their singer isn’t as good as the Californian boy, but their rendition of Gone Ridin’ is quite good. They worked hard on the melodies and vocal arrangements too helped by Pete Gage in the producer’s seat. Mark Harman of Restless plays guitar on two tracks. Not bad but like many album, they should have reduced the number of songs to concentrate on the superior material and avoid repetition (16 songs of lost love are way too much).

The Catmen – Catmen

catmenNervous Nerdcd044 [1989]
Tell Me – There’s A Girl In My Heart – Who Was She? – Be Good To Me (Hold Your Love) – Glad To See You Baby – Will You Stay – The Running Man – Lost Without You – She’s Drivin’ Me Mad – My Little Girl – Tonight – Trivialities

The Catmen were a neo-rockabilly trio from the Netherland with Bernard Verheij on guitar and lead vocals, Robert Woudman on double-bass, and Paul Dookernamp on drums.
They play a very original brand of neo-rockabilly with a pop side axed on the melodies. One could relate them to the Vanish Without A Trace/After Midnight era of Restless. The songs are good; the musicianship is solid; it’s just too bad that the vocal is a bit approximative and sometimes slightly out of tune.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Freddy Frogs

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freddy frogs

Freddy Frogs ‎– At My Front Door

Freddy Frogs

Nervous Records ‎– NERD 013 [1984]
Cheap Thrills – Boppin ‘N’ Jivin – Roxy – Desperate – Livin’ In The Dark – She’s So Mean – Crazy Little Mama – Ain’t Got No Home – Don’t Make Me Wait – All The Girls (Do The Bop) – Pledging My Love – Feelin’ No Pain – I Don’t Care Any More – No Frills

When asked who was his favorite musician, Brian Setzer once answered ‘Freddy Frogs’. This lp, first released in 1982 by Off the Wall records, then licensed to Nervous records in 1984, gathered the sides recorded by Frogs (real name Ferdinando Toscano) with his two bands: the BMT’s and No Frill. The BMT’s featured Tommy Byrnes, who briefly joined the Stray Cats in 1984 as the second guitarist.
The lp opens with Cheap Thrills, a classic Rock’n’Roll in the style of Bill Haley with sax and appropriate backing vocals and handclaps. The program of Boppin and Jivin’ lays in its title. It bops, it jives, and it features fine doo-wop backing vocals too. The next track, Roxy, is an excellent soft Rockabilly. It’s followed by a slow in the best tradition of the Fifties. Freddy Frogs delivers a superb vocal performance, perfectly backed by the band. Livin In The Dark is a good rocking song. Maybe not the most original but quite effective. She’s So Mean is a superb Rockabilly with a blasting saxophone solo. Crazy Little Mama, a cover of El Dorados & Magnificents, is a fantastic doo-wop with a solid dose of Rock’n’Roll in it.
The B-side opens with the logical choice of Clarence Frogman Henry’s Ain’t Got No Home. Don’t Make Me Wait has echoes of Buddy Holly while Do the Bop is in Danny and the Juniors’ style.
You must be one hell of a singer to sing Pledging My Love and compete with Johnny Ace and Elvis Presley. Frogs totally makes this song his own, and his version has nothing to envy to anyone. Feelin’ No Pain is more modern, showing some New-Wave influences, especially in the bass line. Back to boppin’ Rockabilly with I Don’t Care Anymore. No Frills that concludes the album is an instrumental track that answers the LP’s first song, showcasing the piano and the saxophone.
A genuinely great Rock’n’Roll album.
Sadly Freddy Frogs passed away in 2009 at age 66.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Buzz and the Flyers

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Buzz and the Flyers – Little Pig

Buzz and the flyers

Sing Sing Records ‎– S1002 [1980]
Little Pig – You Crazy Gal You – Let’s Bop

Buzz and the Flyers were one of the leading bands of the Rockabilly revival of the late seventies. Like the Rockats and Robert Gordon, they helped to pave the way for the Stray Cats‘ international success.
This EP features the group’s early line-up with the fantastic Dig Wayne on vocals, Michael Gene on guitar, Pete Morgan on bass, and Rock Roll (if you have to choose a nickname to play this music, you might as well pick this one) on drums.
Syl Sylvain, of the New York Dolls, produced it and released it on his own Sing Sing label. It’s interesting to see that at the same time, Jerry Nolan, drummer of the New York Dolls, played with the Rockats.
The A-side is a cover of Dale Hawkins’ Little Pig. Its bare-bone and sparse sound captures the Rockabilly spirit like very few managed to do since the fifties.
Even better is You Crazy Gal You. This one has a strong Charlie Feathers feel without sounding like a carbon copy. Listening to this today, you realize that the fantastic Michael Gene is one of the Rockabilly scene’s unsung heroes. His style incorporates the best of Cliff Gallup and Scotty Moore to mix it with more moderns elements.
This essential EP end with a frantic cover of Jack Earl’s Let’s Bop.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8

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Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 – Ridin’ In A Rocket

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 - Ridin’ In A Rocket

Nervous Records NERD 024 [1985]
Bluest Of Blue – County Jail – Money Talks – Blame It On The Moon – Hey, Baby – Gal O’ Mine – Rock Candy – So What – Oh, My Little Claudie – Ridin’ In A Rocket – Baby, I Know – I’m A Rebel – Big Ol’ Sun – You Can’t Come Out Tonight – I Don’t Know – Teacher, Teacher – Get Off My Train – Movin’ To Memphis – Bop, Man, Bop – Gonna Rock

Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 were a traditional Rockabilly trio consisting of Kevin Fayte on vocals and guitar, Buster Fayte on vocals and bass, and Joe Snare on drums. They seem to be forgotten today, which is rather unfair. Maybe they came too early. When most of the bands were trying to follow the Stray Cats paths, Kevin Fayte and Rocket 8 choose to remain faithful to the Rockabilly of the origins.
The band formed in 1983 and disbanded around 1986. In between, the trio managed to release this album consisting of twenty original songs, penned by the band members, but their producer, Gary Rebholz, also contributed to the songwriting. One could fear that twenty tracks are a tad too much for a rockabilly album, but the songs are short, and since both Kevin and Buster share the lead vocals, they manage to keep variety all along the lp. Most of all, they really knew how to write songs, focusing on the melodic aspect.
This excellent album deserves to be rediscovered today.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Sharks (the)

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sharks space race

The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers
The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers

 The Sharks ‎– Phantom Rockers

Nervous records ‎– NERD 008 [1983]

Moonstomp – Skeleton Rock – It’s All Over Now – Crazy Maybe – Take A Razor To Your Head – Death Row -Love Bites – Short Shark Shock – Ruff Stuff – Phantom Rockers – Charlie! – Slipped Disc – I Can’t Stop – Electrifyin’ – Ghost Train* – We Say Yeah* (* cd only)

There’s a thin line between Neo-Rockabilly and Psychobilly. “Phantom Rockers” the Sharks’ debut album falls exactly somewhere between those two categories.
Their sound is closer to Restless than the wildness of the Meteors or the garage sound of the Ricochets. But the comparison ends here. While Rockabilly bands are happy to sing about girls and boppin’ all night, the Sharks embrace the Psychobilly idiom with a delectable pleasure. Their songs are about vampires, skeletons, ghosts (trains and rockers), and Charlie, a schoolboy who cuts the head of his classmates and family with a chainsaw.
The music is punchy and aggressive yet melodic and clean. Both Wilson and Whitehouse, who share the vocal duties, show a solid mastering of their instruments and a knack for writing songs that stay in your head.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if you call it Psychobilly or Rockabilly or whatever, you must own this album, that’s all you need to know.

The Sharks - First and Last Live
The Sharks – First and Last Live

The Sharks – First and Last Live

Nervous /Crazy Love [1988 – reissue 2002]
Rock The Joint ~ Pink & Black ~ Tired ‘n’ Sleepy ~ Teenage Boogie ~ Tear It Up ~ Wildcat Rock ~ Sugar Doll ~ We Say Yeah ~ Deathrow ~ Moonstomp ~ Ghost Train ~ Crazy Maybe ~ Buddy Can You Spare A Dime ~ It’s All Over Now ~ Phantom Rockers ~ Chainsaw Charlie ~ I Can’t Stop.

This album captures two shows. The first one has been recorded by the trio at the beginning of their career and the second is the last they played just before they split in 1983, hence the title. It’s mostly made for fans and it’s surely not the best album to discover this great and highly influential band. But it remains very interesting. You can hear a band of teenagers evolving from a good rockabilly cover band (the first show: well played but nothing too exceptional) into a tight psychobilly unit, this time with self penned material and a sound truly of their own.

The Sharks - Live In Japan
The Sharks – Live In Japan

The Sharks – Live In Japan

Crazy Love CLCD 64143
Deathrow – Bye Bye Girl – Cold Heart – Crazy Maybe – Dealer – Schitzoid Man – Love Bites – Morphine Daze – Side Show Freak – Between Two Worlds – Moonstomp – Surf Caster – Phantom Rockers – Charlie – Time Bomb – Ghost Train – Skeleton Rock.
The psychobilly scene counts very few solid live recordings. The reason can be found in the fact that the majority has been released in the mediocre Live’n’Rockin’ serie on Link records. But one can find some exception like The Meteors Live I, The Quakes’ Live In Tokyo, Long Tall Texans’ Five beans In The Wheel (though it’s half fake), Live’n’Undead by the Nekromantix and on top of the list : “Live In Japan” by the Sharks.
 This live recording has been captured on tape in September 1998 in Nagoya and Tokyo, during a successful tour of Japan with the pair Wilson and Whitehouse (both on top form) and Carl Parry (guitar player for Frenzy at the time) on drums who replaces Hodge the original drummer. 
The set spans the entire career of the band with “Phantom Rockers” taking the lion’s share. The trio gives a breath of fresh air – and even surpasses the studio recordings – to their classics like Love Bites, Charlie, Moonstomp and breathtaking versions of Skeleton Rock and Ghost Train. The songs from “Colour My Flesh” and “Recreationnal Killer” are well represented too here and the live gives a grittier sound than the well produced studio versions.
There’s a spirit of sheer joy (even with songs about vampires, psycho killer, electric chairs…) all along this hour plus of tight musicianship (remember we’re talking about Alan Wilson and Steve Whitehouse) that is highly communicative. In the end it’s more than a great psychobilly album, it’s a great rock’n’roll album (that deals with kids with chainsaw, girls from Transylvannia and so on, okay I know).

The Sharks - Songs from the Sarcophagus
The Sharks – Songs from the Sarcophagus

The Sharks – Songs from the Sarcophagus

Western Star [2011]
She’s Fallen In Love With A Monster Man – Draculas Daughter – Jack The Ripper – Monster In Black Tights

We’ve waited for years for it. Here it is, at last, a brand new release from those neo-rockabilly/psychobilly masters.
This 4 songs vinyl ep is a tribute to the late Screaming Lord Sutch and who was more designed to do it than the Sharks and Joe Meek specialist Alan Wilson? They manage to give their own rendition of these classics while staying true to Meek and Sutch versions.
A total, definite and absolute must have.

The Sharks - Infamy
The Sharks – Infamy

The Sharks – Infamy

Western Star WSRC 057 {2012}
House of Wax – A Tornado Called Smith – Holloway Road – The King Of London – First Men On the Moon – Control – Ship To Shore – Hell Riders – I Can’t Believe You’re Back – Breakin’ Bones – Luck O’ The Irish – Desert Diamond – She’s Fallen In Love With The Monster Man

The Sharks are back! After a 15 year hiatus Alan Wilson (guitar, vocals), Steve Whitehouse (super sonic slap bass, vocals) and Hodge finally got together again to record a new album. I must say that I was a little apprehensive when I put the cd in the player. Could the band match my high expectations, after all they had released some of the best neo/psychobilly album made in the 80’s (Phantom Rockers) and the 90’s (Recreationnal Killer and Color My Flesh). Recently released material on compilation albums and an ep showed they were still in good shape, but could they make it on long distance? It took just one song to see all my doubts vanish. Not only the Sharks were good but they sounded better than ever, benefiting of 30 years of experience in term of producing, playing and writing songs. Most of all they managed to keep what make their identity and reinvent themselves in the same time. You don’t have a band of fifty year old men (or so) who run after their youth, trying to sound like they did in thirty years ago. They don’t come back by pure nostalgia but because they have solid songs to defend (mostly penned by Wilson with the exception of the First Men On the Moon co-written with Whitehouse and Lord Sutch’s She’s Fallen In Love With the Monster Man). Of course there are hot psychobilly numbers like House Of Wax (perfect opener with superb vocals from Whitehouse), A Tornado Called Smith (listen to this guitar solo, it kills!), Men On the Moon and Breakin Bones (already a classic alternating slow and fast parts). Next to this psychobilly gems you’ll find an instrumental mixing Surf guitar with Mariachi music (Hell Riders),  60’s country music with a Bakersfield feel (Desert Diamond), and a great tribute to Joe Meek in the form of a pop song (Holloway Road) featuring female backing vocals and Merv Pepler (Frenzy) playing some strange noises that would have pleased the producer of Telstar. Other real life character also have their own song like the notorious bare knuckle boxer Pretty Boy Shaw (The King Of london with plunking piano) and Ronald Biggs. That’s what I call a casting!  More surprising is Luck’o the Irish sung by Doyley (Klingonz) with accordion and penny whistle for a full Pogues ambiance.
It was worth a wait of 15 years..
Comes in a nice digipack with lyrics included.

Sharks (the) – Space Race

sharks space raceWestern Star Recording Company ‎– WSRC EP006 [2014]
Mercury Mission – Cosmonaut – Rockabilly Moonquake – First Men On The Moon (Queen Victoria Mix)
The Sharks recorded and released this space-themed 10″ mini-album in 2014.
Sung by Whitehouse, Mercury Mission is the most Psychobilly sounding of all four tracks. Knowing Wilson’s admiration for the work of Joe Meek, it’s no surprise to find a Telstar vibe in the following instrumental titled Cosmonaut.
On the b-side, there’s an excellent neo-rockabilly tune that you could easily imagine sung by the Polecats, whereas the Queen Victoria Mix of First Men On The Moon doesn’t add much to an already great song.
It’s a limited white vinyl edition.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

The Sharks
The Sharks

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