Lonesome Dave Fisher – Rockabilly Ramblers and Texas Travellers
Plan 9 Trash Records P9C181 [2018]
Oh Baby, I’m Sorry – Let It Ride – Second And San Antone – Let’s Rock Tonight – Wild Boy – Travelin’ On – Yes I Do – Hello Josephine – The Last Time – I Can’t Hardly Stand It – All The Time – Poison
Don’t believe what you read! Lonesome Dave Fisher, from Austin Texas, is not that lonesome. Just take a look at the impressive cast of musicians who play on his album: Kevin Smith (High Noon, Willie Nelson), Mike Buck, Don Leady (both from the Leroi Brothers), Roger Wallace, Earl Poole Ball (Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, The Byrds and too many to mention), Jack Montesinos (the Tailgators)… Well, you get the picture, we’re in good company here. And most of all, we have Dave Fisher. He has a loud and deep voice, plays guitar, and wrote five out of the twelve tracks.
The album kicks off with a cover of Ricky Nelson, which is, in my book, always a plus. “Let it Ride.” is a rocker that has the fervor of a gospel. Add a mean harmonica to the mix, and you have a killer. “Second to San Antone” was arranged on the spot by Earl Poole Ball, who originally sang it. You can hear that the band had a lot of fun playing and recording this song. Introduced by Kevin Smith’s slap bass, Jimmy Grubbs’ Let’s Rock Tonight seems to come straight from Sun records. “Wild Boy” has the same mean and menacing drive one can find on the early Robert Gordon albums. “Travellin’ On” is a straight-ahead rocker with saxophone and a superb solo by Don Leady. One could almost hear the motor roar. It’s a challenge to compete with the Planet Rockers, but Fisher’s cover of Yes I Do has nothing to envy to Sonny George and his gang. Talking about deep voice, his version of “Hello Josephine” owes more to Sleepy Labeef than Fats Domino, and it suits him very well. You’ll find more of Sleepy Labeef with the cover of “All the Time”, featuring once again a brilliant demonstration of slap bass by Kevin Smith. “The Last Time,” an original not the Rolling Stones song, is an excellent boppin’ rockabilly, with superb guitar picking and, icing on the cake, a baritone guitar solo. If there is, for me, a tune impossible to cover, “I Can’t Hardly Stand It” is that one. Charlie Feathers almost defined what Rockabilly is with this song, and the Cramps gave an insane version of it. Fisher had a good idea to approach it with a blues drive with harmonica, and it works remarkably well. Even more rooted in the blues is “Poison,” the closing number.
Get it at https://lonesomedavefisher.com/ or https://www.schnitzelbilly.at