rockabilly revival Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Stray Cats “Gonna Ball”

sfilzen — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 19:36:34 +0000

Stray Cats “Gonna Ball” 1981. I’m spinning Stray Cats’ second album in honor of International Cat Day (not to be confused with National Cat Day, which falls on October 29th in the US – though my cats would argue that all days preceding and in between are Cat Day). Gonna Ball was a big hit in the UK where it was first released and where the Stray Cats were – and still are – hugely popular. In June we got to see them perform at London’s historic Eventim Apollo, formerly known as Hammersmith Odeon/Hammersmith Apollo. A sold out show, it was packed with aging rockabillys, their pompadours a bit thinning though still sprayed up high.

Gonna Ball is pretty much straight-forward rockabilly, with a mix of originals and a couple of covers including “Baby Blue Eyes” by Johnny Burnette and “Wasn’t That Good” by Wynonie Harris. While mostly rockers (that I prefer, like the title track “Gonna Ball”), there’s a lighter swinging number “(She’ll Stay Just) One More Day” which I’m pretty sure is sung by Lee Rocker rather than Brian Setzer, same with the country-swing “You Don’t Believe Me” (though I’m not positive about the Setzer/Rocker vocals). After this record and their debut Stray Cats successes in the UK, their label finally released a US version that included tracks from both LP’s on Built For Speed: from Gonna Ball were “Baby Blue Eyes,” “Little Miss Prissy,” “You Don’t Believe Me,” “Rev It Up and Go” and the 50′s-style ballad “Lonely Summer Nights.”

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Stray Cats “Stray Cats”

sfilzen — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:22:47 +0000

Stray Cats “Stray Cats” 1981. Today, April 10th, is Stray Cats’ singer and guitarist Brian Setzer’s 60th birthday (b. 1959). Stray Cats is the band’s first album; produced by Dave Edmunds (Setzer met him in London when the Stray Cats moved there from the US in ‘80), the rockabilly revival record was a huge hit in the UK, going to #6 on the album charts. It was not released in the US until after the success of their sophomore LP Built for Speed (1982, it included several of the tracks that previously appeared on Stray Cats). Stray Cats released three singles in the UK from the album: “Runaway Boys,” which went to #9, “Rock This Town” (#9), which, when released in the US off Built for Speed, went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in ‘82 (and was later listed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll), and “Stray Cat Strut” (#11 in the UK). “Stray Cat Strut” was the first single released from Built For Speed in ‘82 and at first only went to #109 in the US but after the success of “Rock This Town,” they re-released it and it went to #3 in the spring of ‘83. Setzer wrote all three of those tracks but there are a few covers on Stray Cats like “Ubangi Stomp,” originally written by Charles Underwood and first recorded by Warren Smith – it would later be considered a rockabilly classic recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis, The Trashmen and several others like Alice Cooper (not exactly a rockabilly artist but he totally brings it on this track). Other rockabilly covers are “Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie” by Eddie Cochran and “My One Desire” by Dorsey Burnette and performed by Ricky Nelson.

I never got a chance to see Stray Cats play live (they pretty much broke up in ‘84, reuniting a couple of times for some tours and one-off concerts) but we did see Brian Setzer Orchestra perform their swing-revival style a long time ago at Summerfest in Milwaukee – possibly in 1996 but I really can’t remember back that far. More recently I saw Brian Setzer in Minneapolis in 2016, though not performing. He was at the Duran Duran and Chic concert I was attending and before the show a bunch of people started pointing over to some seats not that far from us (I had good seats, his were a little better) and then he stood up and waved. I guess he’s married to a woman from Minneapolis and now lives there; our friends who also live there see him out and about occasionally, looking a bit older than he does here on the LP insert from Stray Cats.

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Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio “Don’t Desert Me”

sfilzen — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:54:47 +0000

Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Trio “Don’t Desert Me” b/w “I’m Gonna Leave” 1991. Dionysus Records. Western swing/rockabilly revival from Big Sandy back when he was still with the Fly-Rite Trio (they later became the Fly-Rite Boys, I’m assuming when more members joined the group). I really love early Big Sandy – On the Go! from 1992 is one of my favorite records – and this 45 has the same flavor: sweet-as-honey vocals, clear melodies and an easy, laid-back vibe. “Don’t Desert Me” is an upbeat track that leans more rockabilly than swing with a rockin’ stand-up bass rhythm and a classic rockin’ rhythm and blues song structure. “Don’t Desert Me” was a stand-alone single that showed up on the 2013 comp What a Dream It’s Been. “I’m Gonna Leave” is a more relaxed track, a bit more brushed-swing. It appears on Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys 1997 LP Feelin’ Kinda Lucky in a dramatically rethought format; that version waaaayyy more country, all slide-guitar and noodley twang and not nearly as good as the original (though it’s still pretty decent – Big Sandy’s voice can carry pretty much any song).

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The Reverend Horton Heat “Psychobilly Freakout”

sfilzen — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 20:32:43 +0000

The Reverend Horton Heat “Psychobilly Freakout” b/w “Baby You-Know-Who” 1990. Sub Pop Records, limited edition, Sub Pop Singles Club. “Psychobilly Freakout” is from The Rev’s first album Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em, the best of their albums, and the song is exactly what the title says it is: manic, heavy, brutally speed-metal fast. “Baby You-Know-Who,” also on Smoke ‘Em, is a bit more traditional, with Jimbo Wallace’s upright bass swinging front and center, but still has plenty of dangerous edges when Heat wails and snarls, ripping into a frantic guitar solo to close the track.

We saw Reverend Horton Heat 25 years ago in 1993 at the now burned-down Club de Wash in Madison, WI. Songs from Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em were definitely in the set list as were selections from the ‘93 release The Full Custom Gospel Sounds (I can’t tell you which ones – it was 25 years ago!) (I do remember hanging out at the bar with Jimbo before the show and him being completely obnoxious but not much else from that show.)

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Dex Romweber Duo “Live at Third Man Records”

sfilzen — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 21:45:53 +0000

Dex Romweber Duo “Live at Third Man Records” 2010. Third Man Records. Roots rock/rockabilly revival with deep scratch Cash vocals. Dex, formerly of the influential (if not commercially successful), Flat Duo Jets, and his sister Sara, former drummer of Let’s Active, team up for a live performance of bluesy, surfy and country-infused songs at Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville, recorded live to tape on February 4th, 2010. Especially manically surfy is the instrumental “Curse of the Little Bastard,” which Dex introduces as being named after James Dean’s car. “Homicide,” which would appear on their 2011 release Is That You in the Blue? is a cover of Myron Lee’s classic rockabilly tune. “Is It Too Late?” is a twangy weeper ballad off of the 2009 album Ruins of Berlin. “Grey Skies” and “Love Letters” also appear on Live at Third Man but sadly Cat Power (Chan Marshall) does not feature on “Love Letters” as she does on the studio release.

Run off grooves: Side A – “That guys gotta stop. Hell see us” (I think a missing apostrophe?) Side B – “Twas a rainy February night”

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Southern Culture on the Skids “Dirt Track Date”

sfilzen — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 20:37:54 +0000

Southern Culture on the Skids “Dirt Track Date” released 20 years ago on this date, August 15th, 1996. Telstar Records. We saw SCOTS play a lot in the 90′s and most recently (I guess not that recently) in the summer of 2010 at WMSE’s Backyard BBQ. Their quirky psychobilly style is always great party and the highlight of every Milwaukee performance is when my friend Buzz dons a Mexican wrestler-style mask and gets on stage with SCOTS for “Viva del Santo!”

Dirt Track Date is a mix of some SCOTS live standards (that also were on previous recorded releases) and new tracks for ‘96. The most well-known is “Camel Walk” which makes Little Debbie snacks truly sexy.

A show favorite, “8 Piece Box,” appears on Dirt Track Date (as well as their ‘91 debut Too Much Pork for Just One Fork). If you haven’t had the SCOTS live performance experience, this is the part of the show where they bring a few audience members on stage to dance and eat fried chicken from (I assume) an eight-piece box. Fried chicken is also the star of “Fried Chicken and Gasoline,” a mid-beat rocker detailing the health hazards of life on the road. “Nitty Gritty” is delightful, featuring Mary Huff’s girly rockabilly voice and “Whole Lotta Things” is a whirlwind of rockin’ guitar and harmony. One of the best tracks on Dirt Track Date is “Soul City” – infectiously boogie-tastic and hilarious:

It don’t matter if your pants are shiny
If your dick is big or your dick is tiny
it don’t matter if your wig’s on straight
if you show up early and you party too late
cause it’s soul city it’s soul city
the shoes are big but the women are bigger
and the pantyhose make em’ look like winners
rolled up hiked up by the knees
they got the party dress on can you smell my breeze
cause it’s soul city it’s soul city
yo little joint with a roof on top
sitting on a stack of cinderblocks
it’s soul city yeah it’s soul city

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High Noon “Texas Style”

sfilzen — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:39:37 +0000

High Noon “Texas Style” 1994. 10″ EP on Exile Records. Country-swing and rockabilly complete with fiddle, steel guitar, stand-up bass, banjo and accordion, “a good half dozen farm-fresh ranch style delights played Texas style.” They cover Willie Dixon on “Crazy Mixed Up World” with a sliding honky-tonk beat and get weepy with close harmonies on “Across the River.” The EP wraps up with “Red Barn Boogie” which is “a hot-rod wagon load of farmyard fun…to keep all the hands haystack hoppin’ til the rooster crows.” My favorite track is the upbeat yet sorrowful stomper “My Heart Cries Yes” as High Noon croon their gorgeous harmonies in minor to intricate banjo plucking.

We saw High Noon play at an off-site venue during South By Southwest in Austin in March of ‘94, not too long after they recorded this EP. Amazing show: the Frantic Flattops and Herman the German opened. (Still looking for something by Herman the German on vinyl or cd – all we have is a 2nd or 3rd gen tape recording from the early 90′s).

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The Cramps “Songs the Lord Taught Us”

sfilzen — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 21:22:38 +0000

The Cramps “Songs the Lord Taught Us” 1980. Illegal Records/IRS Records. Today, February 4th, marks the anniversary of singer and Cramps founder Lux Interior’s death (b. Erick Lee Purchaser 1946, d. 2009). His stage name was inspired by an old car ad.

Songs the Lord Taught Us is The Cramps first studio album following the release of the EP Gravest Hits in 1979, both releases produced by Alex Chilton. It’s a psychobilly “sex stomp” filled with malicious intent, howls and snarls. Both original tracks and covers appear on the record: “TV Set” is a stellar Cramps original as is the hard-driving “Sunglasses After Dark.” They cover the Sonics’ “Strychnine” – a perfect pairing – as well as an evil rendition of the classic “Fever.”

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