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Rockabilly - Page 4

Polecats (the)

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The Polecats – Live’n’Rockin’

Link Records – LINKMLP 069 [1988]
Pink & Black – Blue Jean Bop – Rockabilly boogie – Hip hip baby – We Say Yeah – Runnin Back – Miss Bobby Sox

Polecats - live'n'rockin

It’s a way too short live album from the Polecats. One can wonder why Link didn’t release a whole show, considering the band probably had one in its archive. The sound is good without being overwhelming; the double bass, in particular, lacks a little depth, and the drums are not too present in the mix. That said, it is very well-played and very catchy too. The group overflows with youth’s exuberance, allowing certain vocal approximations to pass (for example, We Say Yeah). The group also knows how to be wild on certain songs, notably their cover of Rock-Billy Boogie by Johnny Burnette. All the songs are covers (Benny Joy, Gene Vincent, Dennis Herrold, Sonny Fisher, Cliff Richard & the Shadows) except for Runnin’ Back, which was composed by Boz Boorer and comes from Polecats Are Go.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Catfish Trio (the)

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catfish trio

The Catfish Trio – Money Makes the World Go Round

Cat Noise 76.13079 [1986]
Money Makes the World Go Round / Nervous Boy

The Catfish Trio - Money Makes the World Go Round

The Catfish Trio formed around 1984 in Augsburg, Germany. Igor Velican (guitar and vocal) teamed with Geza Varga (double bass) and drummer Klaus Miehlich to form a Rockabilly band. Igor Velican previously played in the Rockin’ Rebels and X-Raycats

In March 1985, Miehlich left the band to be replaced by Franz Rieth (drums). The following year, the trio released its debut single. On the A-side, there’s a perfect Neo-rockabilly tune, highly melodic, in the style of Restless, with powerful slap bass and excellent guitar work, but the B-side is even better. Nervous Boy has a jazzy flair (the melody reminds me of Sweet Georgia Brown) that the band has the good idea to mix with a slight hillbilly touch. Excellent!

Fred ”Virgil” Turgis

Catfish trio

Rocco and the Rays

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Rocco and the Rays – Palmdale Sun

RR 69 [1987]
I Get Excited – The Cat Blues / Wild Train – The Rider

Rocco and the Rays

In December 1984, Rocco (ex-Rocco et ses Frères, named after Visconti’s film) joined forces with Johnny Delco and Bruno (ex-Stalin Girl) to form the Jivaros. Playing wild Rockabilly, the group kept that line-up for a while. Finally, in September 1985, the trio was joined by Claudio, the Rocco et ses Frères drummer, and the group became Rocco and the Rays.
In 1986, the group recorded their first album, a four-track under the leadership of Marc Police (Wampas, Pasadenas) and Alain Wampas (Wampas, Los Carayos, Happy Drivers).
The result, although frustrating by its shortness, is no less dazzling. The four songs skillfully mix influences and, in just four tracks, build the band’s legend. The group introduces Morriconian influences into its Rockabilly, bordering on classicism, to better distance itself from it the next minute. From I Get Excited, a snappin’ Rockabilly all in contained savagery, to the hillbilly of the title track, there is absolutely nothing to throw away on this mini-album. The production perfectly highlights Rocco’s superb voice, who knows how to be captivating and, the next moment, switch to the wild or a torrid style akin to Gene Vincent.

Fred “Virgil” Turgis

Son Demon and his Holy Boys

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Son Demon & his Holy Boys – Boptized

Bluelight Records BLR 33236 2 [2023]
Guitar Rock – It Would Be A Doggone Lie – Keepin’ All My Lovin’ – Alabama Jailhouse – Old Moss Back – Darlene – False Hearted Girl – Did You Tell Me (You Don’t Care) – Done Told You – Home In My Hand – Laughin’ and Jokin’ – Ahead On – Don’t Mean Maybe Baby

son demon & his holy boys

After their EP, released in 2022, this drummer-less Finnish trio returns with an entire album of thirteen new recordings. The pleasure I had while listening to this album made me think I had been a little too harsh with their previous release. Sure, like the EP, this album contains only cover versions, but when I usually complain about the Rockabilly albums that are too often too long, here, the length works to the band’s advantage. Throughout the 13 tunes, the trio has more room to develop its sound and personality, and one can hear all the subtleties of the musicianship. And finally, the style of the band takes over the cover. Of course, I like bands who write their own songs and make their contribution to the long story of Rockabilly. But remember bands like Ray Condo or the Planet Rockers. Both were playing only covers, and no one would argue about their lack of personality. This is the same here; you hear the band first and then recognise songs you already know. A superb production and recording job, with a raw, almost primitive sound, contributes to the success of this excellent album.Don’t hesitate, get boptized!

Son Demon and his Holy Boys

Bluelight Records BLR 45176 7
When My Baby Passes By – Blues Stop Knockin’ / Too Hot To Handle – Wait for Me Virginia

Son Demon and his Holy Boys

Son Demon and his Holy Boys is a Finnish group formed in late 2021 by Vellu Lehtonen (Son Demon) on vocals and guitar, Iikku Riepponen on double bass and Viiljami Kujansivu on guitar. Riepponen is also known for playing double bass with Mike Bell & the Belltones.

It’s a traditional Rockabilly trio with an authentic, almost primitive sound. The band is good, the singer has a good voice and sings well, the guitarist does a good job and the rhythm is solid. All the ingredients are there to make this record a good Rockabilly record. It just lacks a hint of originality. The group does not have, for the moment hopefully, that little extra that can differentiate it from the others. Moreover, the fact that this EP only includes covers (Glen Bland, Al Ferrier, Vince Anthony and Ben Wasson) does not really allow us to judge the band at its fair value. A group to follow, hoping to find them over a longer distance with their own songs.

Also available on CD.

Fred ”Virgil” Turgis

Rockhouse Strutters

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Rockhouse Strutters – S/T

Moodog Music MOONLP2303
My Baby Don’t Rock – Look So Deep – Her Love Rubbed Off – Cruising – Mexicali Baby – Go, Boy Go / Poor Lucky Daddy-O – Little Bit More – Plantation Boogie – Sure To Fall – Mean Little Mama – Rock House

Rockhouse Strutters

The Rockhouse Strutters are a Finnish band formed by Maku Tuominen (Willie and the Wolves) on vocals, Jukka Kuitunen on guitar, Iikku Riepponen (Mike Bell and the Belltones) on double bass and Jouni Häyrinen on drums. The band has an excellent overall sound. One can feel that the quartet has worked hard to develop a personal sound and a style of its own somewhere between classic Rockabilly and a little more modern Rock’n’Roll.
What strikes you at first when you have the record in hand is the fairly high number of covers appearing on the track listing, no less than 10 out of twelve songs. One could fear that so many covers, some of which are very well known, could work against the group. And even if the Rockhouse Strutters miss their version of Her Love Rubbed Off (but it is impossible to go after Carl Perkins and the Cramps reunited), the group has enough style and personality to succeed in establishing itself and keep things interesting. As proof, listen to their excellent rock versions of Go, Boy Go and Sure To Fall, which offer a complete rereading of the original. In addition, they have the intelligence also to cover more obscure numbers and contemporary tunes (The Jive Romeros’ Look So Deep).
Added to this are their two compositions (Cruisin’ and Poor Luck Daddy-O), which give an overview of their talent for writing tunes. The band should have more confidence in themselves because these are two excellent songs, and the fact that there are only two of them is pretty frustrating for the listener (or is it a particularly crooked commercial manoeuvre to set the stage for their next album?)
Cruisin has Neo-Rockabilly accents, which suits their sound very well, and Poor Luck Daddy-O is more in a boogie-blues vein. So, in the end, it’s a good record that will give you an excellent time of Rock’n’Roll and we hope that the next Rockhouse Strutters album will be at least half composed of original songs.

Available here.

Various artists – Fury records

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Various – I Love My Car

Fury Records – F3002 [1987]
Way Out West – I Love My Car / Rusti Steel & The Tin Tax – Howlin’ / The Nitro’s – Destruction Road / The Sticks Trio – Get Up And Shake It / Rockin’ Rocket 88 – Put ’em In The Oven / The Hilltop Boys – Take A Chance Baby / Niteshift Trio – Don’t Need No Body / Rover Boy Combo – Baby Let Me Show You The Door / The Baskervilles – Inside Power / The Bootleggers – Hey Poor Billy / Oakville Tune Wranglers – Roamin’ Around / The Midniters – Where’s Derek / The Playboys – Desperate Dan

various - i love my car fury records

Fury records released I Love My Car in 1987. It is a more homogeneous compilation than many others released during the same period.
The compilation opens with the title song, played by Way Out West, a superb Rockabilly.
Rusti Steel and The Tin Tax is one of those bands that lean more towards Hillbilly and rural bop, like the Oakville Tune Wranglers, Rockin’ Rocket 88, the latter with fiddle, or the Bootleggers who play with a harmonica and also mix skiffle to their music.
Some groups stand out. Thus, the young Nitros, in one of their first (if not the first) discographic appearances, are already excellent. The sound is raw, but all the elements that will make Nighshades, their first mini-album, a masterpiece, are present.
Many of the groups on this compilation will only make occasional appearances and never release an album (nor a single for some), and that’s a shame. I am thinking of the excellent Sticks Trio. Their song Get Up And Shake is with She’s Just Rockin’, the only musical testimony of the group. It’s too bad because their Rockabilly-Jive, influenced by the Jets and the Keytones, was very pleasant.
The Baskervilles, featuring Pete Turland and Darrel Higham, and their Neo-rockabilly tinged with Psychobilly will make another appearance on a compilation and then disappear.
Another band that is difficult to find information on is the Hiltone Boys. Besides their four-track demo, this is, as far as I know, their only release. Their contribution, Take A Chance Baby, is traditional rockabilly with slight modern accents à la early Restless. Likewise, the Niteshift Trio brings a little neo-rockabilly touch to the ensemble.
The Midniters stand out from the rest of the selection. This is one of the earliest incarnations of the band, featuring a saxophone. Their rock instrumental seems to come straight out of a Hot Rod compilation from the early sixties. Very different from the neo-rockabilly/psychobilly of Easy Money, their debut album.
Finally, the Playboys (with Rob Glazebrook ex Rochee & the Sarnos) conclude the album with desperate Rock’n’roll.

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