V/A – Something To Remember
Fury Records – F3009 [1989]
Something To Remember – Something Shocking / Big Green Car – The Polecats / Lonesome Cowboy – Hot Rod Gang / Rhythm Riot – Jeff Potter / Lonely Town – Draggin’/ Johnny Rides – Lota Red / My Old Man – The Crestlers / She’s Too Way Out – Tony Dangerfield / Lost Souls – Lost Souls / Flat Top – Rockabilly 88 / Little Pretty Baby – Alphabets / Bust Head Gin – The Frantix / You’re The One – The Little Rock Combo / City Bound – Deuces Wild
A good compilation that gives an interesting overview of the Rockin’ scene at the end of the eighties.
Something Shocking wrote and played the song that gives the name to this compilation. It’s a very good and efficient Neo-Rockabilly. Likewise, as you can expect, the Polecats deliver an excellent Neo-Rockabilly tune with Big Green Car, an unissued track from the Won’t Die sessions.
Hot Rod Gang brings a touch of Wild West feel with Lonesome Cowboys, whose melody reminds of Funnel Of Love. Rhythm Riot by Jeff Potter is a drum-led instrumental. Lonely Town by Draggin’ is not a bad tune, but it doesn’t offer much to remember (pardon the pun). Lota Red is another German band. Their song is excellent and perfectly recorded. It’s a mid-tempo Rockabilly with a superb double bass sound and a strong Western flair. It’s one of the best tracks of this compilation.The Crestlers deliver an excellent modern Rockabilly track. Tony Dangerfield’s recording dates from 1964 and was produced by Joe Meek. Not surprisingly, it’s another highlight of the album with a mean guitar and a pumpin’ rock’n’roll piano. Lost Souls brings a welcome touch of wild Psychobilly to this compilation. Rockabilly 88, famous for having slap bass maestro Mark Winchester (later bass player for Brian Setzer) within their ranks, play a classic and mighty enjoyable Rockabilly. The Alphabets play Jive and Doo-wop-abilly in the style of the Keytones and the Jets. The Frantix deliver a mean and raunchy Blues song. If you dig the Deltas, this one is for you. Back to traditional Rockabilly with the Little Rock Combo while the Deuces Wild adds a touch of Skiffle and Bluegrass (one can hear hints of Foggy Mountain Breakdown) to their brand of Rockabilly.
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
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.
