THE DELTAS
‘FROM FLEETVILLE TO VEGAS’
(Migraine)
The Deltas are celebrating 45 years as a band with this reissue. The album originally released on Gary Day’s Rockout label in 1995 it has been given a remastering makeover, with the addition of two previously unreleased tracks from the original session and four brand new tracks, all engineered and produced by Boz Boorer. The Delta’s were at the forefront of the neo-rockabilly movement branches of which evolved into psychobilly, they had and still have a gritty rhythmic blues edge for which they stood out from the crowd. The remastering is noticeable, this is loud and fucking tough, the 1995 tracks blend in with the new seamlessly, ‘Empty Chair’ is a tribute to Cavan Grogan while ‘Get Down’ is as low down and dirty as 1952 night on Beale Street, all 16 tracks are dance inducing shuffle and stompers from a band that has rocking blues running through their veins, the real deal then and now.
Simon Nott
THE HYPERJAX
‘SCARS ON THE HORIZON’
(Wildest Card)
The Hyperjax are a band that are difficult to pigeonhole, they have their roots in rockabilly and psychobilly but are more than that. That pair of rocking styles are evident here, the double bass an anchor point to the past though not focal part of the music the Hyperjax make though is an essential component to the whole feel as the album is powered by the urgent rhythm section propelling the driving force behind the band. Sam Woods plays guitar and writes the lyrics of the dozen songs here. ‘The Scapegoat’, ‘Ain’t That A Kick In The Teeth’, ‘The Train You Never Caught’, are songs about life, real life and regret with a sideways look and a sardonic grin. It’s rock n roll, with a capital R, psychobilly once the cartoons have fucked off and the bare boned running gears of rockabilly bouncing punk rocking the world’s worries away
Simon Nott
THE WOLFTONES
‘PENTONVILLE ROAD’
(Western Star)
Make no mistake everyone, this is legs wide apart both feet planted firmly in the centre of the stage howling hard bastard blues boogie rockabilly with attitude. If that hasn’t sold it to you then I’ll go into some finer detail though a punch in the chops would fit that category. The first thing to note is that this is no nonsense meat and two veg double bass driven music, it right there in the mix pummelling away throughout while the guitars wail and the saxophones and harmonica do their stuff. It’s all self penned, there’s some surf and country in there for flavour but predominantly this is a rocking blues album with earthy lyrics, no lyrics at all and filth as in ‘Red Hot & Throbbin’. The Wolftones look like a nice bunch of lads on the cover so the music herein took me totally by surprise, it’s tuff stuff.
Simon Nott
VARIOUS ARTISTS
‘PRAISE BE!’
(Righteous)
Sub-headed ‘Boarding The Gospel Train, In The Thrall Of The Lord – Lux and Ivy Across The God-Fearing Nation.’ You might think this is most unlikely to be a positive review, but you need it. When you are scrambling for coffee on a Sunday morning after a hard night of sinning enjoying the pleasures of the flesh, alcohol and pharmaceuticals, you feel like you are already dead, put this on, your soul is not lost. These 23 tracks, a mixture of blues based gospel and country could be salvation, after all there are some legendary hell raisers here hedging their bets with songs of glory to God, George Jones & Johnny Cash just two, kicking the set off with Mary Deoatch with ‘The Lord’s Gospel Train’ this is rocking, rousing stuff and so it goes on. The Devil doesn’t have the best music after all, this is a rollicking detox, until next Saturday night.
Simon Nott
BOBBY LEE TRAMMELL
‘ROCKS’
(Bear Family)
OK, this series has been going a while and is essential listening but this is probably the wildest artist that’s been included. Some claim you might suggest, well how does kicked off the Louisiana Hayride for being ’10 times worse than Presley’, causing near riots, climbing the mast of a radio station in protest for not playing his records, and going head to head with Jerry Lee Lewis on tour. Given the preamble it’s probably no surprise that Trammell never made it big commercially but he had a real crack, with backing from the likes of James Burton, Joe Maphis, Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and Sonny Burgess along the way. His style varied from the louche and laid back though bare backing on the twist craze and just being, well, crazed. The trouble was Bobby Lee was his own worst enemy ‘the man who wanted to be a star but prevented himself from being one’ though he left some amazingly good recordings behind, they are here in all their rocking glory.
Simon Nott
VARIOUS
‘FRANKENSTIEN’S PARTY’
(Bear Family)
Yes, it’s that time of year again and Bear Family have served up another vinyl platter of Halloween nuttiness. There are 14 tracks here, there’s something for every palate as long as you like your tunes a little loony, as they say. There’s a fair whack of this ilk that came out of the US that’s so cheesy that no amount of fake blood and horror green shades can make it easy to swallow. There’s none of that shit here it's all great, it’s a real varied compilation style-wise, Marv Griffin’s ‘House Of Horrors’ kicks off complete with all the sound effects you’d expect for the season, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins is a welcome addition to the party with ‘Little Demon’ Rod Willis ‘The Cat is the unedited version while Round Robin and The Savoys are off the wall, what a collection, blood curdling but for the right reasons.
Simon Nott
VARIOUS
‘BUSY BOOTIN’ 2
(Shineola)
The first and last recordings on this 16 track collection of pre-war blues, ‘Boogie Woogie Woman’ by Robert Petway from 1942 and Mississippi Bracy with ‘Stered Gal’ from 1930 are from artists who were never heard of again after their stab at recorded immortality. The former featuring some sublime double bass slapping and the latter some mesmerising rhythmic guitar strumming at us from 95 years ago. What lies between is equally as enjoyable, earthy, rockingly bouncy awesome music made for our listening pleasure from long dead, largely forgotten artists. Their souls have been resurrected scooped from dusty groves harboured in prized 78 collections and now live here. Did I say earthy, ‘Do you remember when the door was locked, I had your mother on the chopping block’ The sleeve notes are a joy but also make sombre reading on occasion, the story of Sonny Boy Williamson’s demise would make a great blues song in itself as would the fabulously named Peetie Wheatstaw’s. But hey, enough of the morbid curiosity, this music is alive man, buy it and blast it praying all the while for volume 3, 4 and 5 to not be too far behind.
Simon Nott
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