The Raiders – S/T
Lost Moment Records – LM12 038 [1986]
Two Cold Potatoes And A Bottle Of Wine / Coffee Colored Cadillac – Barking Up The Wrong Tree
The Raiders were a British Rockabilly quartet. Despite my research, I couldn’t find detailed information but I guess the lineup was Eugene Norris, Kevin Lovatt, Martin Fagg, and Martin O’Hanlon (according to the song credits). Their musical legacy is relatively small, with only one EP in 1986 and one song on a compilation album (Please Don’t Leave Me on “Rockin’ It Up! vol. 2”). Surprisingly, their EP was produced by Andy Partridge (XTC), which is not a name that you would commonly associate with Rockabilly.
Despite that, or thanks to Partridge’s experience, the result is a solid Rockabilly EP, halfway between traditional and Neo-Rockabilly. There is nothing earth-shattering or revolutionary, but the Raiders know how to play and compose, and their singer is more than competent. Between the lively and bouncy Rockabilly of Two Cold Potatoes And A Bottle Of Wine, the excellent stroller Coffee Colored Cadillac and their good cover of Don Woody’s Barking Up the Wrong Tree, this record is highly recommendable.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis