Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs "Greatest Hits" 1990(comp) *****

They got a yoko-maka, huba bakwa ju ju hand

I'm not saying I'm objective here, but I can't help but give 5 stars to Mexican-American Sam Samudio. I know that "perfect" normally is a word reserved for God and The Beatles, but he's such a likable guy. Just look at him and his band at the cover of that old LP. And if you're still not convinced, try to listen to the whole 2 minutes 19 seconds of Wooly Bully without moving with the rhythm. I know I've already made my point, but I'll be quoting some of the lyrics as further proof. Anyway, here is the tracklisting:   

A1)Woolly Bully***** "Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro/Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw/Had two big horns and a wooly jaw/Wooly bully, wooly bully...."  

A2)Little Red Riding Hood***** Mid-paced number with genious lyrics "Hey there Little Red Ridin' Hood, you sure are lookin' good/You're every thing that a big bad wolf would want....Wooooof...ehm...I mean Beeeehh".    

A3)The Hair Of My Chinny Chin Chin**** Another fairytale-inspired song, in similar rhythm "I'll huff and puff and blow your little house down".
A4)Red Hot**** "My gal is red hot/Your gal ain't doodly-squat" Great rockabilly. 

A5)El Toro De Goro*** A story about a peace-loving bull ramming his horns in an arrogant bullfighter's ass. Accompanied by mariachi trumpets.    

A6)(I'm in with) the Out Crowd ** OK, you got me. This one sucks. I think it comes from some 60's soundtrack.    

B1)Ju Ju Hand**** Basically, a shameless recycling of Wooly Bully. But try to resist it and you'll see it's pointless."I got a lock o your hair and a bullfrogs eye/And if you break my heart, you better say goodbye"    

B2)Standing Ovation*** Typical Tex-Mex organ sound. Reminds me of Doug Sahm (no relation).     

B3)Mystery Train*** Nice version of this Elvis hit.     

B4)Ready Or Not** "Apple peaches pumpkin pie". OK, it's a comparatively lame song.     

B5)Ring Dang Doo*** "Said I can't stay though my love is true/I've got to keep a lookin' for a ring dang doo". A nice mid-60's garage rocker.

B6)I Wish it Were Me** nothing special. OK, that wraps it up: 8 in 12 genius songs, although half of them are actually recycling the Wooly Bully riff. But Wooly Bully alone is enough to secure a place in rock paradise. Plus one more for the sax player of the Pharaoh's, I hadn't heard such rocking sax since I played the Sonics' debut.