HELLMAN'S
REVIEW PAGE
Your guide to retro style music!
All Reviews are graded in a 3 step grade: (B)ad, (O)K, (G)ood .
If you want your music reviewed please mail:
bhellman@ritmail.se
UPDATED: May - 06
ALBUMS:
Marshall and the shooting stars - Air mail special (G)
"Marshall was the bassplayer in
the Comets, bassplayer/singer in Jodimars - ring a bell? So he added up
a band in '94 and did a western swing album. If you do like Jodimars
then you like this one and 'Now dig this' is rerecorded. Nothing beats
the original but this cd is quality. Marshall does not play bass on
this one, but the vioce is kept in fair shape. There is alot of covers
like 'frankie n johnny' 'Hey mr cottonpicker' aso but I play this one
alot. The last song is a 'rattle shakin' daddy' could be the best song
but has a strange keyboard/organ. There is a steelguitar, well played.
No I can't more than great stuff - buy it is you find one - it is on a
japanese label so it can be hard to get. A must for all Jodimars fans.
"
Washboard Wilma & the Unkool Hillbillies - A home in montana (O)
"So
I've decided to make a tribute review to Washboard Wilma - the woman
who had a washbord that included cymbals! This one was the first cd of
two with Wilma, altought Unkool hillies have made 2 more to date on
thier own but this one is still the best album yet! 7 of 10 selfpenned
and recorded in the 50s style at Tail records and some other studio -
greatest sound of the 4 releases also. Hm, it was hard to get a grip of
this band - to try to explain the sound so to speak. I reckon you can
say a motley crue; silly drums of just snare bangin', lightning fast
piano, wilmas rustic voice that often got into falsettos without a
warning and a clumsy simple guitar. The combination was quite unique
and rare and in it's best format a blend of how the rustic style can be
really entertaining. It starts with a rocker called 'Bad Boy Beau' that
is one of the best with wilma. Then it flips with a western style ska
touch cover called 'texas plains' just as good as rustic style can be.
Next song 'Sam Phillips boogie' Anders Umegard did the most song
writing and sang also, nice piano rocker. The only one penned by Wilma
is 'walkin bop' - the refrain is a smash, she overdubbes herself and
the result is very good. I jump to 'I aint done yet' - Wilmas best
voice recording ever - not the most complicated but you can here she
means every word - one of Anders best songs also... a masterpiece
rocker. 'My rainbow trail' is a cover that is falsettos on every second
word, this may be strange to the common listener, very strange I
suppose. Still this and the washboard with cymbals and a colourful
retro outfit was the essence of washboard wilma, and in my mind very
daring and unique. Every other band in the genre was so strict into the
style and striving to be the most 50s of them all, and there comes
Wilma!!! Of course was the acceptance vague but she didn't care - music
is for the soul and not for making you the most trendy person. We
enjoyed it! Wilma likes Patsy Montana and she does 'A home in Montana'
on this one, just as Wilma as it can be. I have to mention 2 of my
favorite piano tunes; 'Ice cream boogie' an instrumental that is so
great and the solo in 'Deep river Blues', fantastic piano!!! I don't
know when we see the rice of Washboard Wilma again but when she does
the fans wants it full scale - the SELFMADE washboard with cymbals and
the retro dress and the fast falsettos!!!!!!"
Little
Aron n the East Side River Boys - We're gonna rock-and-roll! (O)
"This is the second album, thanks Washbord
Wilma for the cd btw. It is a lot of bands in Sweden and it is tricky
too step out of the crowd, so to say. This band has the advantage of
good selfpenned material, all the 15 tracks are selfpenned! Impressive.
The sound is quite similar to the prior, but more studio than live. The
vocal sounds much like coming thru an amp and the bass sounds quite
amplified. So this is a three piece eq. more effort to stand out, the
first song is so much standard I don't get it, it's named like the
album title, why this one first? Full throttle, lyrics not to mention,
simplest standard guitar solo, no dynamics from the backbeat... skip
this first one and listen to the very good variety of the rest of the
album! No 2 'Sweet Caroline' ah... Thats a good song, good riff, nice
refrain, simple and smart! The next one called 'You' has a lot of nice
chords twained together nicely, and a good melodie, very good. The next
song that glues in my mind is 'vs doggy dog' well a basic song about a
dog with a gluish refrain; 'doggy doggy doggy doggy', I like it. The
sound is similar through the whole album, hm gets kinda boring after a
while. Also I start to wonder what happens if an another instrument, a
fourth one, could enhance the sound. Then song 14... a Piano is added,
and the sound rockets to the sky basically! Yep, I knew there was
a need for a fouth instrument! The song is called 'I've got a girl',
yep a rockin masterpiece with at least 4 chords. Hm, then you start to
wish you had extra instruments on almost every song... I hear a nice
overdubbing on a song called 'A night of sorrow', yep nice song, also
confirmes the last sentense... The Album has many types of songs so
everybody should find something that attracts them basically, well good
written selfpenned in general. Sep-05"
The
Slaptones - Simplify! (O)
"This one have I neglected for so long. Why?
The promo cd before this sucked in sound, mostly the bass was bad (just
in sound), but
not the last song that
was a unamplified country song and the girls sing nice if I remember
right. So when lookin
at the playlist it of
this one called 'Simplify' it only got 2 selfpenned ones. Bad feelings
from the start, and the cover songs felt like covered a million times
before. Now, this is a 3 girl group and their papa on drums. The
girls focus on country n rockabilly and the papa on blues... Well you
guessed it; the girls sings great and do intresting songs but not the
dad who seem to just focus on cover blues songs, doing it the white man
way. I am not a blues man anyway... The first
song are 'don't you touch me baby', last time I heard it it was covered
by Motorhead BUT the girls does it quite good and the sound, especially
the guitars, are great. The bass could have been better in sound but
ok. I felt reliefed. But the next one really stunk
"Tobacco road", oh no save me from this... But then
the 3rd one, the self penned
oh this was the best song I ever heard this summer WOW!!! 'Love comes
easy' it is so great, a twang and a tone lover - twang again -
twang and the simplest drums but very fitting and the best singing
effort on the album -
and it really hits you so hard. The album has 50% dads bad blues, a
pity when the girls are so great, a couple of songs would be
enough. So does the girls have to do rockabilly authenticly? No, a fair
effort and their voices backs it all up... The fact that it is
performed by girls really is most intresting about it. Silly? The other
selfpenned is quite good 'To remind you' with good sounding guitars n
some string dubbings, a soft gentle kind of ballad. 'When my baby left
me' is done instrumentally fair, lacks a bit of sound, but the voices
backs it all up... They do 'Cut across shorty' in a nice voice n
acustic feeling, nice. And the album finishes with a beautiful version
of 'are you tired of me Darling' with the acoustic guitar n the voices.
Well a couple of gems n some bad blues... Sep-05"
The Caravans - Return To Zero (G)
"Bought this one after
listening to Eltons Rockabilly Twister at MP3.com, he sure played
a lot from this stunning album so I had to buy it. Acoustic n unhinged
is the semi-title and that is what it is, very acoustic. It has got
11 selfpenned ones and 4 covers, some selfpenned is re-recorded at
this session, and that's good 'cause it's a good session. I saw a
extremesporting-show on telly this night and I heard a cover of the
song 'Nice guys finish last' by some skater-band, yes the album is so
great it got covers already (done in 2000). The guitar sounds a bit
stiff sometimes and I would
have choosed another one for the session but it is ok. The bassplayer
Paul Lambourne is an ace, he really chops away, awesome! Mark
Penington, who writes the music, sings very naturally and you hear
instantly that
this is a brittish band. The song builds a feeling to every song, not
everyone does that! I used to call them a psychobilly band but this
is a step in another way. The song 'Easy money' has one off the the
best
startriffs I've ever heard and then the awesome bass enters, nice work.
This is a smash hit! Nov-03"
Bones Maki & the Sun Dodgers (O)
"Their first album with 12 self penned ones and 2 covers. This album,
referring to the back cover, is stipped down rockabilly i.e. no drums
or echo. This is good stuff instrumentally, the voice is fair but could
sound better with an echo. They make good songs, my favorite is 'Joy
that you bring'. The albums get a bit boring after a while since it is
so stripped down. The lead guitar player knows his pickings! Also the
bassplayer does it very well. This is actually what I'd like to record
myself in my dreams - clean n good, but with a
bit percussion n a bit echo. Nov-03"
Black Knights - Lost Knights Return (O)
"This is a record with 7 self penned ones and 3 covers. This one is not
the latest from these guys but the third in my
collection. These guys have played together for some time now,
some sort of 20+ anniversary is probably ahead. They are actually
making good songs and my favorite on this album is 'Blue Blue
(K)night'.
They are known for their own style of rockabilly; a bit mellow and
straight
sound. They are doing 'It doesn't matter anymore' on this one, the
Holly
song, in their own style - well it's not better than the original but
a intresting version actually. Well the prior ones have better sound
I think but it is a good album with many good selfpenned songs. Nov-03"
Paladins - Palvoline no 7 (G)
"A very nice cover on this one, awesome. On this one their old
bassplayer is back, and that is a bit sad 'cause they have had a better
one before. I think he plays too floppy. I count to 7 selfpenned out of
12 pieces. There is one selfpenned 'Powershake' that sound much like
The Roadrunners - Roadrunner??? I good thing is that the band have gone
more country than blues like the early days, they do country songs very
well instead of bad blues covers. A song called 'Gone' is very good
country with a nice pedalsteel solo, that c-pedal is in great action.
Another hit is 'Hot-Rod-Rockin', it is just as good as the title. Also
the song 'Then I found you' is a hit. Now, they do a very good cover of
'She tears me up' but it is so close to the
original so I prefer the original - they could have added the original
song instead and the album would have been better. Guild-guitars are
sounding and that is a pleasure, awesome. The voice is good as
always... Nice work. Nov-03"
Litte Aron & The East Side River Boys - Rock 'n' Roll Trio
(O)
"This album has a live sound, it is recorded in the rehearsal studio.
Even the song comes through a PA-system. So listening to this album you
get a the actual live sound of this band. It has 8 self penned songs
and 4 covers. One song is in Swedish 'Opel Kapitan', I reconized the
second time I listened to it i.e. the song get kind of
blurry through a PA-system. More Swedish ones, the more the merrier!
Their
own songs are great - 'Choo Choo train' and 'Jennie Lane' is 2 great
ones. One the other hand are the covers so bad I see them just as
a fill-out to get up to 12 songs. Now, this is the first album of this
trio so it is a very good start - keep doing your own stuff and you are
headin' for the stars! Nov-03"
Sonny Rogers & The King Pins - Honky Tonkin' (O)
"This one has 6 selfpenned and 8 covers. A bit to much covers and they
try to get 'em but misses. Hard but true. On the other hand are the
selfpenned song good, the startup song 'Honky
Tonkin' and 'Fireball Sally' are awesome. Also a song called 'Not
Today Not Tomorrow' really shines. This is a bit country style record,
and sometimes a lapsteel appear. It is very good on all musical levels,
the sound is retro. I notice a shiny Washburn guitar on the hands of
the
singer, a good sign in a very retro outfit. Back to the covers again
-'Fool
about you' 'Snatch it & Grab It' 'Standing in Your Window' - I do
not
get this, the songs are covered alot through the times and this
versions
miss the target. Put in the originals instead and you get a terrific
album.
Keep doing selfpenned instead, you have the power to musically shine!
Nov -03"
The Barnshakers - 5 Minutes To Live (O)
" Wow, this album has flip-fronts so you can unfold it to 3 times wide.
They are 5 on this one, a piano is added. They
still have the big bass sound, a lot of low freqs, but it is great.
The sound is not modern and not vintage, somewhere in between, a clean
good one. Instrumentally awesone, the voice is better than before. Some
singers from Finland has trouble with the English language by accent,
and we can still hear it a bit but much better than I ever heard
before. 8 of 14 are selfpenned, stunning own songs actually. It
climates in the third one called 'Boppin in Roswell' - I played it all
day long when I first heard it. Somehow the piano is not gettin thru in
the solos, crank it up the next time! There are alot of covers and they
often are not as good as the original. One example is 'Trouble Bound' -
the Billy Riley one - if you do not add anything or do it completely
different what is the meaning of distributing it? More selfpenned, you
are awesome! Nov -03"
The Big 6 - Ready To Rock... (G)
"I think this is an all cover album and it contains the
soundtrack for the movie 'Truman Show'. In the dance scene Jim Carrie
really shakes it to the song '20'th century boy' - yes it's the Bolan
song. This is how you do a good cover, do it different or enhance it.
Well, believe it or not it is in the Johnny Burnette-style. And another
good thing is that they crank it up in the solo. The rest of the album
is a mess of good and bad covers but the stunning thing is the band
setup
and the sound. And what sound it is! It is so dynamic and powerful! It
is
a 6 piece band (with a baritone sax, piano and a blastering bass). It
sounds right - the drums has the right sound of the snare, the bass is
slapping hard, the saxes are dynamic, it got it all. Some good covers;
'Mama weer all craazee now' 'Tiger feet' 'Out tonight' 'All night long'
- they are really
tearing my stereo appart. Some bad ones; 'Happy Baby' 'Long Tall Sally'
'All of me'. The Album got 20 songs so it is plenty of good and bad
stuff.
But the good ones are so great and the sound is so dynamic n good so
therefore
I really dig this! Nov -03 "
Wild Wax Combo - Hot Rod Doll (O)
"This one has a nice cover (nice girl and great fonts) and turning it
to the backside I read 12 selfpenned out of 15. After inserting it into
my almost vintage ('72) music amplifier and pushed play on the not
vintage cd-player I thought the amp was broken... But it wasn't - it
was just a crappy guitarsound. Yeah, it works on some tunes but overall
bad guitar sound. But the rest is wild and good, the bass really really
really rocks n the drums are awesome and the voice is hot n frantic.
The
songs then; 2 songs really stands out - 'Weird dreams' and 'Alcoholic
baby'
- they really rock and have funny lyrics, even the guitar is right for
those two. Weird dreams of formaldehyde, hehe, funny. I kind of could
predict the guitar solos on the most songs, pretty similar I guess, but
it might be hard to do 15 songs not playing similar licks... They do a
cover of Sid King's song 'It's true, I'm blue', but the album would be
better without
it. Now, this album has alot of awesome selfpenned material, very very
good
material indeed. It seems like they recorded it in a hurry, all songs
sounds
alike. A little more effort in the recording studio this album might
have
been an earthquake! Dec -03"
Chrome Daddies - Gear Up Daddy (G)
"After a close look at the cover containing lots of photos of
the band and a nice car in a some sort of colour orgy, I took it for
a spin... Wow, this sounds great! Man, this is an awsome recording,
it is so clean and mean. The stereo mix is fantastic. They sure know
how
to do it in Australia... Well, the bass has the best sound I have heard
on a record for a long while. The guitars is clean and powerful. The
voice
is so honest and good. Ok, the only setback is the snaredrum - it
doesn't
sound like a snaredrum, more like a bigger drum... Good thing it is
mixed
back... Otherwise, this is the best I heard for a new record for so
long
a can't remember. The songs then; 10 out of 16 are self penned, and
they
really rock! It is a mixed material, from rock n roll to western swing,
all styles are done very well. What hits you at first is the great rock
n roll tunes like; 'Gear up Daddie' - 'Four Broken Hearts' - 'The Beer
Tastes Better'. Also the Western swing ones comes to mind -'Kid
Cadillac'
- 'Ramblin on' a.s.o. Master pieces actually! The covers then, they do
2 Hank Williams for instance! I don't know, I personally like the
originals
better. Even a Junior Brown cover here 'I hung it up'!? Hard one to
cover
also, Ok Junior doesn't have the slap bass but he sure does the guitar
in a uncoverable way... The other covers I haven't heard the originals
so
hard to say, I can just listen and enjoy the magnific sound ...
Finally,
if I should recomend one record this year it sure is this one by the
Crome
Daddies!!! Dec -03"
Scotty Bullock And The Stampeders - Dusty Roads (B)
"The cover looks quite good, the band's waiting for a ride. 17
songs and 8 selfpenned I think. It starts off with Sonny Fishers
'Rockin'
Daddy' and as soon as I played it I really thought the sound was awful,
and it is awful all the way. The musicians plays good and the effort
is high but what a studio failure! This could have been a nice record
if the sound was better. But there is a couple of songs that go with
the
sound and 'Long legged Linda' does it, mostly for the nice sax play.
They
also cover Perkins 'That don't move me' and they do it preatty much
just
like the original, but dehanced with the bad sound...What is the
meaning
of destroying a nice original like that? Once again, this gang plays it
good and with lots of effort and their selfpenned stuff is great. I
liked
'Stubborn thing' for example, a good song. But also again, the sound is
so bad you don't ever want to listen to it again. Another thing to
complain
about; the guitar solos don't come out, they are in the same backgroud
style
as the rest of the song. Ok, the solo in 'Rockin' Daddy' stick out but
but
that is the only one. Some people may like this album, I didn't at all!
Jan-04"
Bones Maki And The Sun Dodgers - Ride Again (G)
"Nice cover, blue tiger/zebra-style background with a British bike down
left, it looks like a Triumph! 16 songs and a commercial break!
13 selfpenned ones. You notice directly that this is a more rockier
album than the prior, it is in the same recording style (perhaps also
more echo now n then) but more asskicking. And this does it, it beats
the prior
and it is a strike. Bones Maki (I wonder if this guy has his roots from
Finland regarding the last name?) does excellent tunes even if he
borrows
some parts. I had a song called 'Wildwood Rock' in mind, a smash hit
but
the 'rock rock rock'-line have I heard before somewhere in an oldie.
'Billie
Rae' is also a smash, nice work. 'Up Through The Gears' also really
rock.
He really does it this Bones Maki. Ok, he doesn't have the greatest
voice
but it works when he rocks it. The solo guitar is still awsome and the
bass
is good just like the prior. Still wonder how great this could be with
drums? This is just like how I like to record songs myself, if I had a
couple
of clones by my side. I heard a friend say the other day that the solo
guitar sound much like what I play, I am not that good but there is
similarities. Any downsides on this one? Well, there is a couple of
live recordings with songs from the prior one, the studio recordings
are better and it sounds preatty much the same live - a fill out?. The
commercial break was fun,
I didn't expect it... This is a gem, actually. To top this is hard on a
3 piece, you have to go wilder n more dynamic I guess! Jan-04"
Jed Clayton And The Rockabouts - Swing Into Action (O)
"A Swedish act and it has alot of songs; 27, and all self penned!!! The
cover is nice, you can see a photo of Jed and a girl called Caren
Carol. Now, when I got this I heard the comment 'Listen to that girl,
she
is great'. I had to turn the volume up a bit because the signal was a
bit
low, but my vintage amp has vintage magical powers... The record has a
poor
mixing, you hear the vocals great but the instruments sounds faded
away.
A pity, infact, because there is alot of nice instruments; trumpet and
steel
guitar for example. As the title tell it is alot of great western swing
tunes, and they are well written, super songs!!! The trumpet blows, the
steel twangs, the bass slaps and Jed sings really nice, well you get
the
feeling that this is a nice good better than mediocre cd, and then SHE
enters...
Caren Carol enters and knock out all the others! She sings so good and
has
so warm tempered voice you get a tear in your eye! Infact, I instant
started to skip the Jed songs and tuned in to Caren's stuff... Jed is
good but Caren wipes them all out - buy it and listen to her sing, it
is worth every nickel! My favorite became 'No No baby' a great slapbass
uptempo one, her vocals
go from bottom to top pitch so easy. It really should be Caren Carol
And
The Rockabouts, just as The Magnetics became Ravenna And The Magnetics,
I
hope I see one in the near future - I'll grab it instantly! Jan-04"
The Refreshments - Rock 'n' Roll X-mas (O)
"Another Swedish act... Well this gang has some history with Dave
Edmunds (what I can recall) and has always sounded a bit like Edmunds
too.
Instantly you recall the driving guitars and also a kind of Rockpile
sound.
The cover is very exclusive, bit booklet and good pictures. Now, the
band
has 2 singers on this one; mr Arnell (he is the one on the hit 'miss
Belinda')
and the piano guy mr Blohm. Hm, I have actually played once with mr
Blohm
when I (or we) did a stand-in with the Go Getters, must have been 10
years
or so, time passes... And he will not recall me... Anyhow, they sing
great.
The recording is a nice studio work, a modern sound but a good one. I
read
4 self penned ones out of 15. This is a X-mas album with only x-mas
songs,
good thing to have when you get sick of listening to holy night all
day.
Song number 2 really shows thier style - 'I'm the real santa' - a real
blast
off!!! They they do 'Rockin' around the christmas tree' preatty slow
and
boring. The album has several covers that not are good, but they pull
of
'Run Rudolph Run' very good (and the piano lick is there too!!!), yes
this
is how you do a cover.. There is also a steel guitar on a couple of
tracks,
I like it of course! Almost througt the album, that is mixed with good
and
bad numbers, a real bass appears! They do a song called 'Chistmas
time',
and it is the best cut of the album, the double-bass really blasts! So
you
wonder why they didn't use it before...?!? Every time I put it in the
player
I listen a while to 'I'm the real santa' then skip to 'Christmas time'
and
listen to that song (bass) a couple of times, and since it is no 14 out
of
15 the last one plays for some seconds before I get bored of not
hearing
a real bass (when they have one), then I push eject... i.e. I just keep
hearing
3 songs - strange, don't you think??? Feb -04"
The Arousers - Princes of Penetration (O)
"This is a British 5 piece intrumental gang, mostly. Only 4
selfpenned out of 15 tracks. They have an airy sound that kind of
surround you, lots of room-echo in other words. But on the other hand
there is not much of nearness of the instruments. The whole album has
the same sound, but it is a kind of good late 60s sound! The fifth
member has a saxophone that really sound authentic. The material is
very mixed in quality and
some songs has a bit of vocals - but keep out of this, please. The
vocals
isn't the best - but it is mainly instrumentals on the cd so... There
are
some gems of course! 'The Grind' - 'On the beach' - 'Surfin Crow' -
'Russian
roulette' are some examples. I heard this band on Elton's Rockabilly
Twister
and he played the best part and I just had to get a copy of my own.
There
are downsides also; 'Lovin' up a storm' - yes the standard song, but in
the worst version I have ever heard! There are also some mediocre songs
to it, this cd really has the whole spectre you can say. The title of
the
cd is funny, isn't it? You directly think of the ways of nature,
haha...
Well, the first song is called Penetration, so there was the link...
or?...
In general this albums a lot of good stuff so if you are a surfmusic
fan,
like myself, buy it! Feb -04"
Friday Nite Rumble! Volume 6 (O)
"I got some of them FNR compilations and since I am supposed to be
at the next one... ehh... No they are very fun to listen to because
they
are so mixed. Mostly neo-rockabilly and a speedy collection, to go with
the name so to speak... They come in just a sleave but have a pin-up
girl
on the front. I will below list the 3 best acts on this one: 3rd place
goes to '52 Pickup - Don't do it, baby' - It doesn't sound neo but just
like a rockabilly trio without drums. Great pickings and a decent
song. 2nd place goes to 'The Black Knights - Nightmares' - Yes a
Swedish act.
Hard rock style of the guitars and a great written song. I thought this
would
be the best song of the album until I heard the masterpiece: 1st place,
and
the winner is 'The Brunswicks - Really for real' - This is a
masterpiece;
a very honest recording, a simple guitar riff, the verse starts with
the
guitar switch to the basic rock n roll lick eq. instant dynamics, and
it
is a song about love -> rock and roll at its best - naked and
rockin'!
Mar -04"
Friday Nite Rumble! Volume 1 (O)
"This one, the first one, doesn't come any more. The pin-up holds a
contra bass, nice drawing... It contains as usual a nice variance of
neo-rnr/rab. So here are the three best tracks to my mind, out of 10:
3rd place goes to 'King Kerosene - Five more minutes' - a nice rock n
roll song with all the standard ingredients. 2nd place goes to 'Bob E
Rock - Do you believe it' - a slower rock n roll tune that really
containes some nice harmonics, and hand claps. And for 1st place 'The
Outdoorsters - Hillybilly Party' - Yes a Swedish act, and it is my
buddy Anders that wrote it and plays piano (perhaps he sings too but I
can't really tell). This is the best recording he have done for this
song, not a mash of instruments but a delicate dynamic piano based one.
It is so pumping and smooth, just as it should be. Only thing
to complain about is the drum sound, but when Anders hit that piano you
won't
mind anymore. The fact that the piano solo get a bit out of tempo for a
couple
of seconds just makes it better, you react by listening closer and then
it
is in tempo - if it is planned then it is genious idea, actually. Even
the
guitar solo has some good and odd licks. This is a master piece, it
really
tops the album by far! Mar -04"
Nosey Joe & The Pool Kings - Same (O)
"This album contains 2 of my old friends, oh how am I going to review
this one properly??? Well, it is easy, my buddies play very well and it
is
a nice CD. The layout is on a fabric texture, brown... Could have been
more
colorful and commersial I guess. Now, my buddies play bass and guitar,
both
are very well experienced so before I listened I thought they would be
mixed
in the foreground, but no actually. To explain what style Nosey Joe
&
the poolking play; near bigband experience with blues roots I guess.
Close
to Brian Setzer orcestra and Ray Collins hot club in a way but Swedish.
I wrote Swedish because you instant hear the Swedish accent of the
singer,
he has a good voice but oboy it is actually funny to listen to his
lingo!
Specially it shows on the song 'Chatanooga cho cho' where he calls the
people
aboard the train. Back to my buddies; Mika is one of my favorite
bassplayers
- unfortunately he is mixed down too much, on the most of the songs.
The
only thing that displays generally are the voice and the
trumpets/saxophones.
Too sad because he really slaps good. My other buddie; Totte, plays
guitar
and he is influenced by Brian Setzer and covers the style very well.
One
major thing about Totte is his sound, he practical has the same gear as
Brian
but has always sounded twice as good as Brian. So listen close. So what
offers
the CD musically? Well, good written selfpenned stuff and some covers
both
good n bad. A bad cover is 'Birth of the Boogie' - close to the
original
but do not enhance the song in any way, it would be better without it.
A
good selfpenned song is 'Club Jump' listen to Tottes sound! If you like
big
band style with blues flavour, buy it! I personally think it could be
much
better mixed, more in a rockabilly way than this school bigband sound
with
just lots of trumpets/saxophones and a voice. I think the snaredrum
also
flavour it that way because it sounds just like it does in a
schoolband.
Please put me behind the turnknobs next time, huh? The best one is
'Baby
Jean', a slow song great harmonies! May -04"
Eddy and the Backfires - Seven nights to rock! (G)
"This german platter stuns instantly with a blasting vintage sound, it
is so awesome and with a few stunning selfpenned ones I just got to
mark this with a G. The downside is that it contains so much covers it
is sad, very sad. The first cover you really dig is 'Seven days rock',
they do this in a ska way, wov blasting! Also 'Rock ola ruby' is a good
cover. Also the song 'Down Town Mexico' is stunning, selfpenned if I
remember it right sittin' by the computer, it varies from slow to hot.
'Saturday night' is also blasting. You instant want to dance or tap
your shoe or something. A bad cover is 'My
babe', that is the worst I version ever heard I think. Also 'Tornado'
is
a disaster, a disgrace actually... a tear in my eye. 'A strange kind of
feeling' is also a disgrace but not that hard. They try on a kind of
blues song called 'Miss December' but blues ain't for this band I tell
ya! The selfpenned
one called 'Rock baby rock' is awesome, the best song on this one of
the
selfpenned. The album finishes with a surf instro tune 'Ghost surf',
wow...more
surf dudes! The upsides of this cd is awesome, master class sound,
fierce
slapbass, a good voice, if it wasn't for all the covers it would be the
best
I heard for a while. Ok, you hear that he is German but it is not that
off
the track. May-04"
Marti Brom - Wize to you (O)
"A nice flip front sleave. 16 songs, a couple of Marti's own and a
couple
of Teri Joyce songs and perhaps some more originals. Now, on this
platter
there is 2 back up bands; Ted Roddy and som other Austin people, the
Barnshakers
from Finland. The Barnshakers contributes with a more old style sound
with
steelguitar and Roddys gang does it more modern american rock. Good
mixture
actually! Marti has done a song called 'Whole lotta lonesome', and what
a
hit! You can call it a Charlie Walker type of song, early 60's country
sound!
'Voodoo Voodoo' also rocks, and I mean rocks, a cover I think but oh
who
great she pronounce Voodoo! A marvellous back beat 4 by 4 tempo. I am
more
into Barnshakers style but as written a good blend. 'Why are you saving
your
kisses' contains good harmonies, that goes for the steel also...
'Firecracker'
is a hot Brom song, nice. Final word will still be a good mixture of
songs!
May-04"
SONGS:
Dwinght Yoakum - Crazy Little Thing Called Love (G)
"I stumbled over a site when workin' that had this song as a mp3. This
song has many covers before this and I haven't heard any one good until
this one. What is good then; well it is absolutely not the voice but
the instruments (hard to top Mercury...). It has a good stereo bounce
(kind of walkin the between the channels) of the guitars, in a part a
piano really punches it up! The sound is modern in a great way, the
only thing I miss is some rimshots in the frekvent breaks. Top cover!!!
Nov -03"
Junior Brown (with the Beach Boys) - 409 (G)
"I got this on DVD - a show where known C&W-stars of today play
Beach Boys songs with the Beach Boys. Junior Brown (with his big hat n
GuitSteel) enters and just wipeout the others. He does 409! He does it
in another way; not too fast, great guitarriff, blastering bass voice,
stunning contra bass, sharp drums, and of course the best backing
vocals of the Beach Boys. You are completely gone, and then
the steel solo!!! He shifts to his S8 E6 or C6 no pedal steel and just
blasts away. It is so cool, so right and so long gone. Take a listen,
you'll be stunned! Nov-03 "
The Chop Tops - My Baby She Rocks (G)
"Got this one on rockabillymp3.com! Several songs with the
Chop Tops there but this one was a gem. It got nice saxophone licks
during the whole song. The best about this one is the jivy beat that
really get your toes tappin'. Great sax solo also. Only setback is the
guitar solos - not that hot. Nov-03"
The Ranch Girls and their Ragtime
Wranglers - Move Over Rover (G)
"Got this one on IUMA.com. This one has really
nice steel licks! It has multiple vocals thats sings together, no
harmonies but nice. The sound is good, not vintage not that modern.
Just a nice w&s song with nice steellicks.Nov-03"