After last week's post on Bob Wayne's cover album Hits The Hits, I thought I'd present a similar CD by a bunch of German "cowboys" from "Berlin, Mississippi" called Bosshoss. Unlike Wayne who's a genuine red blooded redneck, these guys seem to come from a punk/rockabilly background and take a half-jocular approach towards country. The end result is less Johnny Cash and more Leningrad Cowboys, even though Bosshoss never break character, employing their best twanging guitars and fake South U.S. accents with a straight face. Their punk roots nevertheless do come out, more noticeably on covers like Plastic Bertrand's "Ca plane pour moi" and Ministry's "Jesus Built My Hotrod". They both remind me of Jello Biafra's one-off cowpunk classic Prairie Home Invasion, while the frantic pace of Cardigan's cover "My Favourite Game" is also punky. Own compositions "I'm on a High" and "Hell Yeah" have pop-punk hooks, while opener "Radio Rodeo" is a speedy hoedown with an ultra-catchy chorus which in some places reminded me of RUN DMC's "Walk This Way". Good fun as their originals are, though, it's the unlikely countrified covers that steal the show - especially De La Soul's "Ring Ring Ring", Diana Ross' "Upside Down", and Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff". Less satisfactory are the way-too-camp covers of "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick), "It's Not Unusual" (Tom Jones) and faux-Elvis ballad "You'll never Walk Alone". In any case, the band sound like they're having fun, and that feeling is infectious, which accounts for their lasting success in Germany and Austria. I'm not crazy about them myself, but when I'm in the mood for something slightly silly but entertaining, this CD usually hits the spot.
**** for Rodeo Radio, Ring Ring Ring, My Favourite Game, Hot Stuff
*** for I'm on a High, Hell Yeah, Rodeo Queen, Shake a Leg, Mary Marry Me, Upside Down, Ca plane pour moi
** for I Say a Little Prayer, It's Not Unusual, Jesus Built My Hotrod, You'll Never Walk Alone
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