Raucous Records RAUC 003 [1987]
Last Breath / Nightmares
Spellbound, a psychobilly band from Ireland, released their debut single in 1987 for Raucous. Five hundred copies were pressed. If not flawless, especially in terms of singing, this single is quite enjoyable. Paradoxically, this is their singer’s voice that gives the band its personality. Their drummer is a bit chaotic, but the songs are good and originals.
The Radioactive Kid
Raucous Records RAUCLP 014 [1995]
The Crawdads – Girl Is Late / Al Holden – Tomorrow Night / The Ricardos – Whiplash / Deuces Wild – Teresa / The Riverside Trio – Love Me, Hold Me, Squeeze Me / Billy Adams – You’re The Girl / Mean Cat Daddies – Sign Of The Times / The Crawdads – Evil Thinkin’ Woman / Al Holden – Red Hot / The Roadrunners – Jailhouse Bound
This excellent compilation, recorded and produced by Chris Cummings of the Riverside Trio, features some of the very best British bands of the mid-80s/ early 90s.
Formed in the eighties, The Crawdads gained a new life at the turn of the 90s with a brand new album on Raucous. Their songs on this 10″ compilation are two superb Rockabilly. This excellent band deserved to be rediscovered.
Al Holden proposes one cover and one self-penned song. His version of Tomorrow Night is more inspired by Elvis than Lonnie Johnson. Red Hot is an excellent Carl Perkins inspired Rockabilly with Cummings on double-bass.
Whiplash is a stripped-down Rockabilly interpreted by the Ricardos with a Sun feel. The Deuces Wild gives a faithful rendition of Cochran‘s Teresa, helped by Lorraine and Shirley, on backing vocals.
Side A closes with the ever-excellent Riverside Trio and their brand of hillbilly bop.
Billy Adams’ You’re the Girl leans more toward Rock’n’roll while the Mean Cat Daddies, with a slight neo feel, are the more modern band on the platter. This version of Sign of the Times is different than the one that you can find on their Nervous album.
The Roadrunners depart from their usual rocking’ blues style to record an uptempo hillbilly.
Raucous Records RAUCLP 022 [1996]
The Crawdads – Whiskey And Gin / Jesse James & The Outlaws – Raging Sea / The Slingshots – The Pain Has Gone / Al Holden – Baby Let’s Play House / The Riverside Trio – Peach Pickin’Time In Georgia / The Slingshots – Blue Eyed Country Girl / The Rhythmaires – Wildcat Tamer / The Ricardos – Don’t Bug Me No More / Walt Mitchinson – Sugar In My Coffee / Jesse James & The Outlaws – Who Do You Love
The second volume of this series is as good as the first.
The slap-bass propelled Rockabilly of the Crawdads, similar to Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee opens the ball. Next is the cover of Gene Maltais’s Raging Sea by Jesse James and the Outlaws (a very appropriate name for a wild band.) They also deliver a wild cover of Who Do You Love on side B.
The excellent Slingshots play a superb bluesy ballad (the Pain has Gone) and a Carl Perkins-tinged number (Blue Eyed Country Girl.)
Al Holden, whose version of Tomorrow Night was terrific on the first volume, returns with a hillbilly bop version of Baby Let’s Play House. This guy also released one album on Vampirette that I warmly recommend.
You can expect the best in terms of Hillbilly with The Riverside Trio, and Jimmie Rodgers’ Peach Pickin’ Time in Georgia makes no exception.
The Rhythmaires are on the blues side with Tarheel Slim’s Wildcat Tamer while the Ricardos deliver a desperate Rockabilly with Don’t Bug Me No More.
The last artist to be featured on this compilation is Walt Mitchinson, whom I don’t know much about. Sugar In My Coffee shows a strong Mystery Train influence and is just plain great.
Raucous Records – RAUCD054
The Crawdads – Girl Is Late / Al Holden – Tommorow Night / The Ricardos – Whiplash / Deuces Wild – Teresa / The Riverside Trio – Love Me, Hold Me, Squeeze Me / Billy Adams – Sugar In My Coffee / The Ricardos – Eight Wheel Driver / Lorraine & Shirley – Baby / Riverside Trio – Freeborn Man (Alt. Take) / Russ Be-Bop’s Roadrunners – Bottle Up & Go / Billy Adams – You’re The Girl / Mean Cat Daddies – Sign Of The Times / The Crawdads – Evil Thinkin’ Woman / Al Holden – Red Hot / The Roadrunners – Jailhouse Bound / Deuces Wild – Pretty Girl / Lorraine & Shirley – It’s Too Late / The Crawdads – Lover’s Rock / Mean Cat Daddies – Ghost Of Your Love / Riverside Trio – San Francisco Bay Blues
This compilation is more than just the cd version of the two 10″ records (Riverside Rockabillies and More Riverside Rockabillies.) Though you find some songs that appeared on both albums, there’s plenty of unissued stuff from the same artists (including a different version of the Mean Cat Daddies’ Ghost Of Your Love than the one featured on their album.)
Icing on the cake, there are two songs by Lorraine and Shirley. These two sisters, who previously sang backing vocals on the Deuces Wild’ Teresa, finally have their own release. Both songs are great, in the purest hillbilly sibling tradition with superb harmonies. Baby is a fast tempo while It’s Too Late is a slow version of the Riverside Trio song.
These two songs are worth the price of this compilation alone. But the rest is fantastic too, you’d be warned.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
Sureshots
ID Records – NOSE 16 [1987] / Reissue Raucous Records RAUCD 212 [2007]
Four To The Bar – I’m On Fire – Right Behind You Baby – Am I Blue? – I’m Uneasy – No Show Dole Cheque Blues – What I Got For You – China Town – Little Pig – Broken Heart – Wanna Know – True Love
Four to the Bar is one of those album that changes the face of Rockabilly back in the mid 80’s. The Sureshots were at the time of this recording Gary Allen on vocals, Joe Guillan on guitar, Colin Mee on drums and Pete Hardy on double bass. They recorded this album in 1987. Produced by Pete Gage who also worked with Restless, Fractured, Frenzy and later Rusti Steel, and the Rattlers, it became an instant classic.
It opens witht Four to the Bar, the title track, penned by Allen, a highly melodic tune with a strong jazz feel, courtesy of Guillan’s amazing guitar solo.
I’m On Fire, not the Springsteen tune but another original by drummer Colin Mee, is a hot blues bopper in the same vein than Sure Like the Look in your Eyes by Red Hot’n’Blue.
Their cover of Right Behing You Baby, made popular by Ray Smith is pure Rockabilly gold. It also shows Guillan’s versatility, this time you can hear him in fiull Cliff Gallup mode.
Their version of Am I Blue is modeled around Cochran’s version though slighlty (too much?) faster. They calm down with the jazzy ballad I’m Uneasy co-written by Allen and Guillan. Allen is equally at ease with cool stuff than he is with mean number or hot boppin’ rockabilly like What I got for you. Truly a great singer.
Chinatown, the old jazz standard is another guitar tour de force. After a short intro and one verse that sounds as a launch pad, Guillan jumps into three amazing and inventive solos. The production serves the song well with a solid work on the rhythm section and the acoustic guitar.
Back to solid Rockabilly with Little Pig (Dale hawkins and later Buzz and the Flyers and the Polecats) and the Moonlighters’ Broken Heart. After all these years and to my ears, the Sureshots still hold the title of best cover of this song, despite many attemps by other bands. Mee’s Wanna Know brings a bit of Diddley beat and Perkins’ Your True Love concludes the album in beauty.
The cd reissue by Raucous records features No Show Dole Cheque Blues as a bonus, a Rockabilly / blues number recorded for the compilation album the James Dean of the Dole Queue.