The Reverend Horton Heat "We Three Kings" 2005***

Who is the Reverend Horton Heat? Until now I had never asked myself that question, despite having 3 of their CD's. Well, they're a trio comprised by Jim Heath (AKA The Reverend) on guitar & vocals plus Jimbo Wallace on bass and Scott Churilla on drums and they've been going at it as far back as 1985. Their self-described sound is "country-fed punkabilly" and -given their music- I wasn't surprised to learn they come from Dallas, Texas. In 2005 they decided to put out a Christmas record covering their favorite holiday songs. For this one they've pulled all the stops and delivered a fun record for the whole family, giving their surf/psychobilly sound some jazz infusions. They're at their best when they're themselves though: "Run Rudolph Run" rocks its heart out and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" is a garage rock dynamite fusing Santa with Batman (the one from the 60's series, of course). "Frosty the Snowman" starts off slowly but soon turns to a hard rocker with wild boogie-woogie piano. "Santa Bring My Baby Back" is given a faithful rockabilly rendition and the ballads ("Silver Bells" and "Pretty Paper") are also played straight-not a great idea, that. The surf instrumental versions, on the other hand, are all cool: Jingle Bells, We Three Kings, What Child Is This and Winter Wonderland. "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" is  a country/rockabilly number and one of my favorites and "Santa on the Roof" is its psychobilly brother, a Reverend original that should be added to the classic holiday repertory. For once, I can summarize a whole album in just 3 letters: F-U-N. The Reverend are obviously having fun playing and you'll have fun listening.

**** for Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy, What Child Is This, Run Rudolph Run

*** for Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me), We Three Kings, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Winter Wonderland

** for Jingle Bells, Silver Bells, Pretty Paper

Let me add my own personal holiday greetings to everyone to has wandered into this blog. Best wishes for a happy Christmas and great New year! Enjoy...

The Bosshoss "Rodeo Radio" 2006***

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

Mojo Nixon "Whereabouts Unknown" 1995****

I didn't know what to expect from this CD. I used to have some tracks with him and Skid Roper on 80's compilations, most of which I sold during the Great Vinyl Purge. I liked them OK but not enough to seek their individual albums. Then I came across a 2nd hand copy of this CD and decided to buy it, if only out of curiosity to hear Mojo's cover of a Smiths song. It proved better than expected: there isn't a single dud in the whole album, and while the lyrics are purely satirical the band seriously rocks. The music is nothing original, of course, but since when is rock'n'roll only about originality? There are elements of psychobilly, blues, punk and country with Mojo's gruff voice halfway between a leering punk and a classic blues shouter. I guess his closest musical cousins are Reverend Horton Heat. Opener "Gotta Be Free" is a garage/R&B stomper, while "Not As Much As Football" is a strange kind of love song (he loves his girlfriend more than a whole lot of things, just not as much as football). Like other songs here, it has an infectious chorus that makes you want to sing along, and wild rockabilly rhythm you want to dance to. The next two songs ("Mr. Correct" and "Buck Up & Stop Your Whinin'") are pure electric blues, followed by a bonafide protest song: straight country "My Free Will Just Ain't Willin'" it's about the first Iraq War, and while it was released after its end, it fits perfectly the second Iraq invasion that lay in the near future. Even the quip "I ain't gonna be George Bush's whore": another president, same name. "Girlfriend In A Coma" is a rockabilly riot, with Mojo lampooning Morrissey ("that fruitcake from The Smiths") just like he did in former albums with other pop stars ("Debbie Gibson is Pregnant with My Two-headed Love Child" and "Don Henley Must Die"). "Pleasurelegience" is a gospel tune praising drinking and fornication instead of The Lord, and "Don't Ask Me Why I Drink" a great punkabilly rocker. "My T.V. Is Watchin' Me" (mid-tempo) and "Take A Look In My Eyes" (turbo-charged) are Cramps-like psychobilly, and "Tie My Pecker To My Leg" a filthy country barn-burner written with Country Dick Montana from Cow-punkers Beat Farmers. "You Can't Kill Me" is a country rocker set to the tune of the hymn "Amazing Grace", and the album closes with folk ballad "If I Can Dream". The great thing about this album is that, while the jokes get less funny with repeated listens, the music is so upbeat and fun that you just don't get tired of it. At least I know I haven't.

**** for Not As Much As Football, My Free Will Just Ain't Willin', Girlfriend In A Coma, Don't Ask Me Why I Drink, Tie My Pecker To My Leg

*** for Gotta Be Free, Mr. Correct (Don't Tell Me What To Do), Buck Up & Stop Your Whinin', The Pleasurelegience, My T.V. Is Watchin' Me, Take A Look In My Eyes, You Can't Kill Me

** for If I Can Dream

Doctor Explosion ‎"El Loco Mundo De Los Jovenes" 1994***

I don't know much about Doctor Explosion other than that they come from Gijón, a small coastal city of northern Spain, and that they've been playing 60's influenced Surf and Garage Rock since 1989. This is their 2nd LP and you shouldn't judge them from the nice-little-schoolgirls pose they strike on the album's cover. They are three really bad boys intend on making as much noise as possible. The singer really screams his lungs out every chance he gets, and the mono recording is really raw and primitive - although they do include a song in "estereo": it's the closing acoustic number "Come Back", which could pass for a second-rate Rolling Stones track circa '64. Which reminds me, did you know that in Spain the Rolling Stones are not called for short "Stones" but "Los Rolling"? Anyway, most of the album is much wilder than that, starting off with the Spanish-language dynamites "Basura!" and "Rompi La Television". Other Spanish songs include "Eres Feo, Chaval" (a psychobilly cover of The Downliners Sect's "One Ugly Child") and "Vivir Sin Ti" a garage-soul romp originally recorded in 1967 by Los Salvajes. Other covers include Mickey Finn's "Garden Of My Mind" and The Music Explosion's bubblegum "Let Yourself Go", both louder and more out of control than their 60's counterparts. The band's original compositions like "Hey, Little Girl", "Free Your Troubled Mind", "Someday" and "I Really Don't Care" sound like they could have been written in the U.S. circa 1966, though only the latter (and relatively more restrained) would have been a minor classic of the era. "Breakin' The Wave!" and "Surf'n'Shake" are Trashmen/Cramps-like surf punk. They're not exactly instrumentals since they include a lot of shrieks and shouts. The latter features British punkettes The Headcoatees on backing vocals - they also pop up in a couple other numbers. All in all this is a pretty standard 60's-style garage LP with an aggressive punk twist, reminiscent of Gravedigger V, Stomach Mouths etc. Recommended if you like that sound, but not among the top LP's of the genre.

**** for I Really Don't Care, Vivir Sin Ti

*** for Basura!, Eres Feo Chaval, Rompi La Television, Garden Of My Mind, Free Your Troubled Mind, Breakin' The Wave!, Hey Little Girl, Surf'n'Shake, Let Yourself Go

** for Someday, Peep Show Baby, Come Back

Hot Pants "Loco Mosquito" 1986 (2000 reissue)****

Previous month's UNCUT magazine had a whole page's review and whole back cover ad to promote the reissue of Manu Chao's Clandestino. Which wouldn't be that strange if they weren't presenting it as if it was an unknown new album or a "buried treasure" case. Yes, seriously! Clandestino, the world-wide hit that 20 years ago was inescapable (at least in Europe): you couldn't spend a whole day without hearing it, unless you lived in a cabin without radio up in the mountains. Moby's Play was a distant second. What were the Brits listening to at that time? Robbie Williams, The Spice Girls, and Oasis, what else? So while the world is wondering "where the hell is Manu Chao?" (the man hasn't made a record for more than a decade) the Brits are wondering "who the hell is Mano Chao?" And that's now! Imagine how cut off they will be after Brexit!

Not that there aren't discoveries to be made in Europe about Chao's musical past. Familiar as everybody is with his solo hits, and past as the bona fide leader of Mano Negra, how many of us have heard his albums with Los Carayos or Hot Pants? Well I have, and will present them in this blog. Apparently The Hot Pants were Chao's first group circa 1980-81, and settled in this name and composition (Manu guitar/vocals, his cousin Santi drums, Pascal guitar & Jean-Marc bass) in '84. A first single named "So many nites" was released in '85, followed by this LP in '86. The music is a mixture of rockabilly, punk, ska and latin. They have their own distinct style, but one can recognize them as Mano Negra's progenitors, especially in the 3 Latin songs: The Gypsy-Kings-Go-Punk Chunguitos cover "Ay Que Dolor", original garage-salsa "Ya Llego" and "Rosamaria" - the latter is a cover, but sounds nothing like the original and exactly like Mano Negra would sound later. Then you have a few classic rock tunes reminiscent of the early raw Rolling Stones ("Come On", Chuck Berry cover "Ma Dear"), garage funk "Junky Beat", psychobilly "Gipsy", "Ball And Chain", and "Chicken Chat". Opener "African Witch" somewhat reminds me Elvis Costello in his rocking-est, while there are also some unexpected echoes of swing ("Crawdaddy") and Dixieland ("Lazy Pal"). 

It would have been nice if this 2000 reissue (just in time to profit from Clandestino's almost-worldwide success) included the aforementioned single or the original version of "Mala Vida" which was later re-recorded by Mano Negra and remained a live staple throughout Chao's career. As it is, one has to search for the original 7' single and Romances 85 compilation to get these. But we do get a nice, previously unreleased, rocker called "Can't Let It Down". Soon after the album's release, Manu and Santi would leave Hot Pants to form Mano Negra with Manu's brother, Tonio, a band in which they expanded on the Latin-tinged songs of the album by mixing their beloved Clash with their Spanish heritage - although born and bred in France, they all descended from Spanish activists on the run from Franco's dictatorship. At the same time, Manu and Tonio also joined other French alternative music heroes in the supergroup Los Carayos. More about them later.

**** for Ay Que Dolor, Ball And Chain, Rosa Maria , Gipsy, Come On, Ya Llego, Junky Beat, Can't Let It Down

*** for African Witch, Chicken Chat, Craw-Daddy, Lazy Pal, Ma Dear

Rock A Vila ‎– "¡¡ Goza la Vida !!" 1993****

If you asked me a month ago about Balearic music, the only kind that would come to mind is the so-called Balearic House scene, a kind of electronic chill-out music with exotic sprinkles that originated in Ibiza clubs and dominated the 90's and 00's. Which is sooo unfair to the people of these beautiful islands. We're talking about music made (mostly) by foreigners for the entertainment of tourists - that's what people know of their culture. Now I'm not an islander myself, but I come from an island country and I see what summer is like for the locals. Want to know what summer in Ibiza (or Santorini, or Paros) is like for them? Work, work, work. Not that I feel sorry for them, they mostly make good money and have the rest of the year to relax. With the visitors gone (I'm talking about Greece now, I wouldn't know about Ibiza) life resumes its regular pace, the people reclaim their space and are free to engage in other activities than serving tourists, and to play the music they like - which may be pop, rock, classical, jazz or folk - surely anything except the so-called Balearic Beat.

During my recent trip to Mallorca I researched second-hand record stores for local (as well as generally Spanish) music - some folk, but mostly rock as that is my favorite genre. Among other LP's I picked from the offers section, I got this one. I thought here's a Spanish-language rockabilly album made in Ibiza, that challenges any preconceptions one has about rockabilly and about Ibiza which, as I mentioned, people always identify with chill-out electronica. Now these boys don't seem too chill: they seem passionate about the music and culture of a long-gone era, the era that gave birth to the greatest musical revolution since the first guitar was plugged into an amplifier. When I saw them on the cover I was immediately reminded of Athens rockabillies I grew up with: same pose, same clothes, hair, and faces (I guess we Mediterraneans look alike). As for the island town on the background, that also looked familiar: the boats on the port, the three-story buildings on the front line (in Greece these are typically holiday rentals with cafeterias or taverns on the ground floor), church and defensive walls on the top for protection against pirates... all like a typical Greek island. The most complete bio of this band can be found in this Spanish blog. With a bit of help from google translation, this seems to be their story: the band was formed by 4 teenage boys in 1986, and won second place in a 1990 Ibiza Battle-Of-The-Bands-style contest leading to a split LP with the winners, Falsa Alarma. In '93 they traveled to Mérida, Spain, to record this, their only, LP. They never seem to have made a serious attempt for a national (let alone international) career, other than supporting visiting rockers, and dissolved soon after, with the exception of a short 2004 reunion. For what seems to be an unambitious bunch, the band's playing and record production is surprisingly professional, akin to a Spanish version of The Stray Cats - which means a retro sound with a more contemporary alt-rock production. Mostly ultra fast -but still quite danceable- good-timey rockabilly featuring boogie woogie piano, just the right amount of guitar solos, and confident vocals to the effect that the Spanish lyrics roll naturally - which is not always a given. There's some stylistic variation with a couple of Elvis-style ballads ("Cuando Pienso En Ti", "Corazon Solitario"), jump-blues "Amiga Fiel", and Southern Rock "Lookin' Out My Back Door". The latter (originally written by John Fogerty) is the only cover, and one of just two tracks sung in English - the other being "Movin' Shack". Apparently there's no re-release or CD edition of this album. Never been sold on discogs - possibly a rare, though not necessarily sought-after, item. Concerning the rating, I was divided between 3* and 4*. On the one hand there's little, other than geography, to distinguish Rock A Vila from other revival bands. On the other hand, this is a decent rockabilly record which any lover of classic rock'n'roll is bound to enjoy. It is the fun factor, along with the fact that this obviously a labor of love, that drove me to award it 4*.

**** for Goza La Vida, Camino De Destruccion, Viejo Sam, Movin' Shack

*** for Amiga Fiel, Hoy Volvere, Lookin' Out My Back Door, Sobre Dos Ruedas, Corazon Solitario, Dulce Azul, El Diablo De La Carretera

** for Cuando Pienso En Ti

The Original Sinners "The Original Sinners" 2002****

If you listen to Alternative Rock but the name of the band doesn't sound familiar, chances are you've at least heard of their frontwoman Exene Cervenka, formerly of legendary L.A. punks X. After that band fizzled out in the 90's she tried to do different things (acoustic folk, spoken word etc) before forming the Original Sinners for a welcome return to the X's signature sound: aggressive punk with country and rockabilly flourishes. Her co-travelers are two former members of The Distillers on bass (Kim Chi) and drums (Matt Young), and two guitarists, Sam Soto and Jason Edge. The album begins with Wipe Out-style surf drums introducing "Birds & Bees" in speedy Ramones-like pace featuring short and sharp rockabilly solos. After just over 2 minutes, it's followed by "Who's Laughin' Now" and "River City", both similar in style and duration, and exactly what any X fans would ask for. "Bringin´ Me Down" and "Aluminum Flavored Honey" are grungier with alternating quiet and loud passages, at times reminding me of P.J. Harvey's early albums. "Alligator Teeth" and "Mourning After" are a couple of short instrumentals, while "One Too Many Lies" is your typical my-man's-done-me-wrong country song, albeit played at triple speed and given a feminist twist. "Woke Up This Mornin'" and drunken duet "Whiskey For Supper" are also cow-punk, "Suitcase" and "Pretty" are more hardcore punk rock, and closer "Tick Tock" a fine surf instrumental. Fun album, finding Exene and the band on top form. If you like X's early albums, or if you're not familiar with them but the idea of mixing roots music and punk rock sounds good to you, this is an album for you.

**** for Birds & Bees, Who's Laughin' Now, River City, One Too Many Lies, Whiskey For Supper 

*** for Bringin' Me Down, Aluminum Flavored Honey, Woke Up This Mornin', Tick Tock

** for Alligator Teeth, Suitcase, Mourning After, Pretty

Roy Loney and The Longshots "Shake It Or Leave It" 2007****

If there ever was an album worth of a PLAY LOUD! sticker, it could have been one of the first three Flamin' Groovies albums. Think Rolling Stones circa '65-68, add some wild rockabilly and pump them full of adrenaline and you'll get an idea how they sounded. Yet they all flopped - a clear case of wrong time (late 60's-early 70's) wrong place (hippy San Francisco). It wasn't until they toured England together with The Ramones in '76 that they were hailed as the keepers of the original rock'n'roll flame, but at that point their lead singer/screamer Roy Loney had left the band, and with him most of the edge was gone: that version of The Groovies took a more melodic, Beatles-inspired, approach. After leaving the band on '71, Roy resurfaced with other bands and sporadic albums, always flying under the radar. As evidenced by this effort, his staying on the edge of the music business, had nothing to do with a lack of skill or inspiration: his voice hasn't lost any of its power and the 12 original songs here display his compositional skill in a variety of styles: from his familiar Stonesey rock (opener "Baby du Jour" and closer "Hey Now") and rawdy rockabilly ("Big Time Love", the 80-second "Raw Deal") to less explored sounds like the spaghetti western "Big Fat Nada" and atmospheric psychedelia of "Subterranean Waterfalls". Other high points include the jangly folk rock of  "The Great Divide" and garage dynamite "Don't Like Nothin'", the latter heavy on fuzz guitar and vocal sneer. "Danger Waves" is a short surf rocker, "Hamlet's Brother, Happy" a whimsical slice of Anglophile pop, "Miss Val Dupree" a ? And The Mysterians-like farfisa garage rocker and "Looking for the Body" a rockabilly-ish tune seen through the prism of an English pub/punk rock band. The musicians include some talented players like Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows/REM), Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) and Mark Pickerel (Screaming Trees), and the outcome is a record of timeless and classy rock'n'roll, which once again failed to win the appreciation of the masses. What do they know, right?

**** for Baby du Jour, The Great Divide, Big Fat Nada, Raw Deal, Don't Like Nothin'

*** for Big Time Love, Danger Waves, Subterranean Waterfalls, Hamlet's Brother Happy, Miss Val Dupree, Looking for the Body, Hey Now

Roy Loney & The Longshots "Baby Du Jour"

Huevos Rancheros "Dig In!" 1995***

Huevos Rancheros were a Canadian surf trio (1990-2000) which, according to wikipedia, "was (in its early days) sometimes described as a cross between Led Zeppelin and The Ventures". Well, maybe in the early days there was a bit a of Zeppelin in the mix, but by the time of their third album "Dig In" the guitar wasn't bluesy or heavy at all. And, like most instrumental surf music, this is mostly about guitar. The Ventures comparisons now yes, I understand: just listen to "Secret Recipe" or the mid-tempo "Where's The Bathroom" and "Girl From N.A.N.A.I.M.O." The album's highlight and lead single is undoubtedly the instrumental version of Frankie Laine's "Jezebel" with dazzling guitarwork reminiscent of Dick Dale and enough Mexican/Western flavour to justify the band's name. Some Western twang creeps up here and there "American Sunset", the grungy "64 Slices Of American Cheese", and rockabilly-ish "Go West Young Bee". There's a welcome 60s garage flavour in the farfisa organ of "Go West Young Bee " and Yarbirds-like intro of "Who's Your New Girlfriend?", 50's rockabilly in "Rockin' Lafayette" and the unnamed hidden track, wild psychobilly in "Rockin' In The Henhouse" and "Gump Worsley's Lament", while "Whiteout In Wyoming" and "Evacuation" add a bit of spy-movie mystery to the mix. Like the dish that gave the band its name, it's all about tasty ingredients combined well. Huevos Rancheros do have the necessary touch, but surf music is a rather limited genre, so despite their best efforts it still sounds a bit samey to my ears.

**** for American Sunset, Who's Your New Girlfriend?

*** for Secret Recipe, Whiteout In Wyoming, Rockin' In The Henhouse, Where's The Bathroom (In Spanish), 64 Slices Of American Cheese, Gump Worsley's Lament, Evacuation, Rockin' Lafayette, Go West Young Bee 

** for Girl From N.A.N.A.I.M.O.

P.S. I started this blog picking random albums from my collection to review, but nowadays I'm either reviewing my latest acquisitions or stuff I feel like writing about. The inspiration for picking this particular CD was my girlfriend's delicious huevos rancheros. Here's the recipe for those who'd like to try it out: First make the refried beans. You'll need 250gr. black beans, 2 onions, 2 garlic cloves, oil, a bay leaf, salt and pepper. Soak the beans overnight, boil with a bay leaf and some salt and pepper, and drain them. Keep 1 cup of the water. Heat a pan, add 1 spoon of oil and the onion and garlic finely choped. Add the beans and water from the boiled beans. Keep stirring until the beans burst open, then squash everything with a fork. If you're in a hurry you can also use canned refried beans, but I can't guarantee it'll taste the same. Warm the tortillas on the pan and leave them in a bowl to get a cup-like shape. Then make the sauce: grind one tomato and boil it with a garlic clove, one jalapeno pepper, salt/pepper/sweet paprika powder and a couple spoonfuls of tomato paste for 3-4 minutes. Put it through the blender for a smoother texture. Warm some oil on the pan and fry the eggs. When the white is done, turn it over for 10-15 seconds so that the yolk will be cooked but just a little wet inside. Use the tortilla as the base, add 2 tablespoons of refried beans, the fried egg, salt and pepper and tomato sauce on top. Serve with coriander. Yummy!

Various Artists "Enjoy The Greeks II" 2006****

The second instalment of "Enjoy The Greeks" was released as a promo with Greece's most popular and historic music magazine Pop+Rock (1978-2012). Contrary to the first one which aimed to introduce Greek rock to international audiences, this freebie is aimed at the local market and also features mainly (but not exclusively) bands related to Thessaloniki's On Stage Records. Now these bands are virtually unknown even in Greece outside a small circle of garage and rockabilly aficionados, so the magazine tried to include at least a couple of names its readers would recognise. One of them must have made many people happy: Last Drive's debut EP "Midnite Hop" was the scene's first circulation ever (1985) as well as one of the most coveted vinyls of Greek alternative rock. This rockabilly gem has since been re-released but at the time was very rare, and the magazine used a vinyl copy as source. Another relatively known in the circuit band is Purple Overdose, represented here by a previously released demo of the 1993 B-side "2008 Old View" (probably influenced by The Doors and early Pink Floyd). The 3rd veteran band here is Alexandros Perros & The Lone Stars, a legend in his native Thessaloniki but less familiar to Athenean audiences. They're adept at playing in many different styles, and resort here to slow, Cramps-like, psychobilly. With the exception of the 3 abovementioned tracks, all others are previously unreleased. The Ducky Boyz play psychobilly in The Meteors vein, while there's a wealth of retro 50's sounds, including Gene Vincent/Brian Setzer rockabilly from The Rockets and Breathless, Buddy Holly-style pop (The Bullets' "Little Angel", great backing vocals and harmonica) and crooner pop by George & The Hustlers. The Frantic V offer vintage garage pop with "Treat Me Kind", while another pure 60's-sounding band are the all-girl Meanie Genies (Here with their version of Sam The Sham's "Little Red Riding Hood"). 

These girls have been around for a long time and were fantastic live. Great stage presence and playing, it's such a pitty they only left a measly couple of 7' singles behind. The Teardrops' "I Cry" is an enjoyable  Seeds/13th Floor Elevators pastiche, while another 60's style band Yesterday's Thoughts offer a heavier garage/psych song. The darker side of psychedelia (Fuzztones-like) is also invoked by Mod Factor, Unknown Passage and Teddy Boys From The Crypt. Lastly, there are two instrumentals here, a heavy fuzzed-out one by The Psykicks and a good surf version of the oft-covered "The Bag I'm In" by The Overtones. All in all, and despite being a freebie, this compilation is the equal of the first one. The absence of any info on the bands is a big minus, since even in the Google era, most of them are completely obscure. At least our superhero Ouzoman makes a triumphant return on the album cover, carrying in his arms the two loves of his life, miss Garage and miss Rockabilly.

**** for Midnite Hop (Last Drive), Treat Me Kind (The Frantic V), Little Angel (The Bullets), Because (The Rockets), I Cry (The Teardrops), Really Killing Me (The Ducky Boyz), Lil' Red Ridin' Hood (The Meanie Geanies), Betty Page (Al. Perros & The Lone Stars), The Bag We're In (The Overtones)

*** for I Don't Love You (Yesterday's Thoughts), Thoughts Of Regret (George & The Hustlers),  What To Do (Breathless), Why ? (Teddy Boys From The Crypt), Shame On You (Unknown Passage), 2008 Old View (Purple Overdose)

** for  Dark Side (The Psykicks), Polymorphously Perverted  (Mod Factor)

Various Artists "Enjoy The Greeks" 2004****

Not much is known internationally when it comes to Greek rock music. Chances are you know Aphrodites Child who had a UK/European hit in '68 with ballad "Rain And Tears" and released cult prog album "666" (Uncut's 15th weirdest album of all time, btw). But there's also a burgeoning indie scene that's worth your attention as well as one of the best Garage/Psych scenes in the world. The first and most famous of the garage revival bands were Last Drive who released albums and toured internationally But during the late 80's and 90's I saw lots of other great rockin' bands in small clubs - so good I often wondered what's the fuss with some of the more famous US/international bands, which weren't any better than the local talent. Most of them didn't get the chance to record in a proper studio and put an album out, but in the next decade there were many releases from small Greek indie labels. Thessaloniki's On Stage Records was one of them, and with this compilation they make a great job of presenting some of the scene's top bands circa 2004. 

First mention should go to Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars, a Thessaloniki rock'n'roll institution since the mid-80's. He offers two 50's style surf/rockabilly sides. Another veteran band from the same city The Frantic V are represented by "I'm Asking Why" with swinging farfisa organ in pure 60's style - a specialty of Greek garage bands. The Teardrops and female-fronted Strange Brew offer more in the same style,  Unknown Passage offer a moody psych ballad and Marry Me Mary 60's-style garage pop. 5*Hotel combine garage with indie pop, T4 are more R&B, the Overtones play sax-driven surf and The Bullets offer retro surf and rokabilly. Moving on to the dirtier side of garage the Teddy Boys From The Crypt with the trashy "The Fuzzman" and mid tempo "Mini Dress" and The Ducky Boyz with the surf/psychobilly "Waitin' For Yesterday" (just like early Last Drive) and "Not My Day". The Psykicks are another noisy garage band with touches of punk and psychobilly, while The Crazed offer more psychobilly and The Hydes a punk soul cover of Martha Reeves and The Vandellas' "Heatwave". All the songs first appeared on this comp but not all are exclusive to it as the bands brought forward some of their best compositions for inclusion, so naturally a few songs appear on later releases. The music is a heady cocktail of garage, surf and rockabilly, every bit as strong as the Greek superhero of the cover, Ouzo-man. As a child, he was inadvertently left to spend the night at an ouzo factory and inhaled the fumes of that drink's undiluted secret ingredient. As a result, he's stronger than Superman, twice as fast as the Silver Surfer and a meaner guitarist than Dick Dale, but tends to lose control and have occasional memory lapses. Thank God for the antidote Cafe Frappe, which you can see him holding on the fold-out CD insert. Well, even he couldn't get the world interested in the Greek alternative/garage scene, which is too bad because stuff this good deserves to be heard. On the plus side, this means there are still enough copies of this comp kicking around, and you can get one from the record label website or discogs sellers for a nice price. Buy it, pop it in your car's CD player, crank it up real loud, take a few sips of ouzo and drive off to... no, wait! On second thought, that's not good advice! Ouzo and driving don't go well together, just play loud at home!

**** for I'm Asking Why (The Frantic V), Waiting For Yesterday (Ducky Boyz), Coming Home(The Teardrops), Cruisin' Mean (Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars), What I'm Gonna Do(Strange Brew), I Want You (5*Hotel),  My Foolish Friends (Unknown Passage), I'm Leaving You(Strange Brew), Not My Day (Ducky Boyz)

*** for Out Of Gaz (The Bullets), Minidress (Teddy Boys From The Crypt), Hitwave (The Hydes), I Shot My Baby (The Psykicks), Thank You Johnny Carroll (The Bullets),  Mr. Myster (The Overtones), Travel High (The Teardrops), No Time To Waste (Alexandros Perros & the Lone Stars), Lunatic (The Psykicks), Spy's Girl (Marry Me Mary),  The Fuzzman (Teddy Boys From The Crypt), Trouble Im Not Strong (T4)

** for Kiss Eternal Life (The Crazed)

Deadbolt "Haight Street Hippie Massacre/Best of Deadbolt" 2003*** (compilation, recorded 1993-2002)

When I realised Friday The 13th was coming once more, I went straight to my CD racks to choose a relevant album for my blog. You see I have developed this tradition of posting horror albums every Friday the 13th. Neglecting to present one would be like The Simpsons not airing a Treehouse Of Horror episode on Halloween - unthinkable. Thankfully, I didn't have to search for long. The obvious choice presented itself by the time I reached D: Deadbolt, the self-proclaimed "scariest band in the world".

"Haight Street Hippie Massacre" is a Best-Of - which, seeing as all this band's songs sound the same, just means it includes more tracks than the average Deadbolt CD. They've dubbed their style "voodoobilly", but if that's not enough for you imagine a mutant strain of psychobilly with surf guitars and lots of country twang - especially in the half-spoken/half-sung vocals. I imagine that's about how Johhny Cash should sound now i.e. after he's been dead for a dozen or so years. The lyrics are basically recounting supernatural horror tales, or stories of crime and decadence from the gutter, always violent and misanthropic e.g. on the (previously unreleased) opener "Go Tell Alice" they fantasize the Haight hippie massacre of the title set to the tune of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit": "One bullet makes you slower/the next one makes you dead/and a bottle of patchouli/is crushed upon your head/Go tell Alice/that I'm not through yet...". It's not just hippies though, they have a bad word for everyone. On the live "You Don't Want to Know Me" they insult a member of the audience for looking like a grunge rocker. Reputedly live gigs often degenerate into good-natured(?) exchange of abuses between them and their audience, punk-rock style. As I said before, their songs sound more or less the same (you'll find more variation on a Ramones LP) but if I had to choose my favourites those would be the exotica flavored/themed "Tiki Man" and "Zulu Death Mask", rockabilly "Who the Hell Is Mrs. Valdez?" and hillarious hard-boiled country "Truck Driving S.O.B.". Sample lyric: "Two antique dealers in a SUV proceeded to cut me off/I followed them downtown to one of them artists' lofts/One of the guys came to the door, he said "Hi you must be Mitch"/I said "no" I punched him in the teeth and said "I'm a truck driving son of a bitch"/Aw yeah..truck driving son of a bitch/Chain smokin', baby chokin' truck driving son of a bitch". Among other goodies for the dedicated fan who already has all of Deadbolt's albums (I imagine there must be at least a dozen of them fans) this CD includes previously unreleased live and studio tracks, the craziest Burt Bacharah tribute ever "Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head" and a couple of songs ("Hang Em' High", "Stanger's Theme") from their alter egos The Strangers 1800 who perform exclusively music from old Western movies. As for them being the scariest band on the world, I don't know. I recently saw Ozzy Osbourne live (I think he was live, I mean he did move and sort-of sang, but he looked like a corpse). I saw the Meteors pick a fight with a poor fan in the audience - and that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was P. Paul Fenech taking off his shirt and unleashing his tattooed beer belly to the world. I saw Sky Saxon shortly before he died and he looked like a psychedelic skeleton with a cowboy hat - I'll bet the grass growing on this guy's grave is ten times more hallucinogenic than your most potent weed. On the other hand, an interviewer proclaimed Deadbolt to be "just about the nicest people you could ever hope to meet" - but then he proceeded to write about them carrying guns around, and of their guns going off in all kinds of directions. I guess I'll have to reserve judgement for after I've seen Deadbolt live...

**** for Tiki Man, Who the Hell Is Mrs Valdez?, Zulu Death Mask, Truck Driving S.O.B.

*** for Go Tell Alice, Cockeye, Shrunken Head, Down in the Lab, Swamp Witch, Last Time I Saw Cole, Watongo, Voodoo Truckers, Hang Em' High, Stanger's Theme, Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head

** for You Don't Want to Know Me [Live],  Edie, Hit Gone Wrong, I Saw the King, Pour the Bourbon [Live], Listen to the Message

Thee Headcoats "The Kids Are All Square - This Is Hip!" 1990**** / Thee Headcoatees ‎"Girlsville" 1991****

Billy Childish is a true original - he emerged from the lo-fi punk/garage/blues Medway scene of the late 70's as an impossibly prolific singer/guitarist (about a 100 albums, released by a dozen different groups) as well as painter, poet and overall cult artistic personality. He's played punk, psychobilly and blues among other styles, but Thee Headcoats, probably the best-known of all his groups, were more or less straight garage rock. Obviously there isn't anything new and revolutionary about the music; it's all just rock'n'roll, played right. At times you get the nagging sensation the tunes are a bit too familiar: The opening "Gatekeeper" sounds like The Downliner Sect's "One Ugly Child", "Davey Crockett" like The Premiers' "Farmer John" etc. But what does matter when you're having so much fun? Childish's lyrics are true to the rock'n'roll tradition - with the addition of the best dry English humour. "Davey Crocket" (one of the many Western-themed songs here) features The Headcoatees on vocals, lots of handclaps and the Ramones Gabba-Gabba-Hey war cry. The party atmosphere and male/female vocals also reminds of the B52's. "Monkeys Paw"'s jungle sounds and guitar riffs are closer to The Cramps, while "All My Feelings Denied" is a mix of Sonics and early Kinks. "Ballad Of The Fogbound Pinhead" adds a cheesy keyboard part to the mix. "Cowboys Are Square" is another Louie Louie/Farmer John garage ditty remarkable for its funny anti-cowboy lyric and ululating Indians in the background. "Poccahontas Was Her Name" continues the Wild West saga, with its tribal rhythms and recounting of the popular myth. "Nanook of The North" is inspired by a 1922 pseudodocumentary about Eskimos - who else than Billy Childish could have made an R&B song out of this story? "Squaresville" is the slow psychedelic one, and "Krasal" mixes the classic Bo Diddley beat with some carnival music. Generally a great record with no weak songs. One sees why Jack White and Kurt Cobain were such big Billy Childish fans...

***** for Davey Crockett

**** for Monkey's Paw, Ballad Of The Fogbound Pinhead, All My Feelings Denied, Cowboys Are Square,  I Can Destroy All Your Love, Poccahontas Was Her Name, Nanook Of The North, A Town Named Squaresville

*** for I'm A Gamekeeper, Karasal

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Generally coupling two albums by different groups in one CD doesn't sound like such a great practice. In this case, though, there can be some debate on whether Thee Headcoats and Headcoatees are indeed different bands. Ostensibly the latter were an all-female band and their pose on the record cover is meant to give that impression. But in truth I doubt they played the instruments heard on this record: Tradition with Childish bands was to feature a few numbers with female guest vocalists, usually their girlfriends. These were often presented as the work of a girl band. As The Milkshakes gave way to Thee Mighty Ceasars and then to Thee Headcoats, so their female analogues Milkboilers were succeeded by The Delmonas and they in turn by Thee Headcoatees. The latter band contained Holly Golightly (then dating Headcoats drummer Bruce Brand), who was destined to have a long and successful solo career. She sings lead on a cover of the Kinks' "First Plane Home", "Boysville" and Childish-penned "When The Night Comes" - all reminiscent of 60's British Invasion R&B. Contrary to Thee Headcoats who just incorporated (or stole if you prefer) classic rock'n'roll tunes in their own compositions, the 'Coatees usually just cover the oldies. The humour here comes from the gender reversal: While the original "Wild Man" was sung from the perspective of a boy whom the parents of his beloved try to keep away from their daughter, in this version it's about a young girl lusting for the boy-next-door's father. Likewise, instead of the sexy Gloria of Van Morrison's garage classic, the singer gets nightly visits (and orgasms) by the tall and mysterious "Melvin". On the Beatles' "Run For Your Life" and "Money" Ludella Black sounds much more dangerous and greedy than the clean-cut Fab Four ever did. She also takes the lead on the Bo Diddley-ish "Meet Jacqueline" -a paean to a famous UK 60's go-go-girl- as well as the punky "Give It To Me" and vindictive garage rocker "Stolen Love". Kyra La Rubia handles the saucier numbers "Wild Man" and (The Sonics') "Dirty Old Man", while Bongo Debbie offers a tough R&B cover of Petula Clarke's "Round Every Corner" and lead vocals and lustful moans on "Melvin". "Girlsville" turned out to be so successful that what started as a side project ended up more popular than the main band, The Headcoatees went on to release many more records, as well as solo albums for each girl. As for this particular compilation, pairing two great albums in one CD makes for an unresistable combination - unless, of course, you're strictly a vinyl person. Billy Childish makes his feelings clear on the stamp on the album cover where the CD is described as a silver digital beermat!

***** for Melvin

**** for Wild Man, When The Night Comes, Stolen Love, Run For Your Life, Dirty Old Man, The First Plane Home, Meet Jacqueline

*** for Round Every Corner, Give It To Me, Boysville, Money

The Cramps "Big Beat From Badsville" 1997***

By no means my favorite Cramps album, but I couldn't resist posting it once I saw the Bad Girl video clip: Absurd, dirty and fetishistic - if that's what Lux and Ivy cooked up for MTV, I wonder what their home movies look like? Well, there's different kinds of people and different kinds of love in this world, but with this couple you know it's true love: After 25 years of living together, not many can honestly sing to their partner as lustfully as Lux does "I love your ass/ for bad or worse/I love your nasty way you curse/When you sit down, it's wild how you sit/Grind your heel in the ground, the groovy way you spit/Ooh, you look good, ooh, you smell good/Ooh, you taste good, like a bad girl should". But here is a rare case in show-biz: a couple that remained inseparable for 37 years, from meeting in college (in the Arts and Shamanism class) to Lux's death in 2009. They never got married or had any children - I guess you could say The Cramps were their lovechild, and they gave everything they had to the band, living the rock'n'roll lifestyle to the max: world tours, crazy unhinged performances, sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. They originated the whole psychobilly music scene, by deriving their inspiration from horror movies, vintage porn, exotica, obscure 50's rockabilly and 60's surf and garage and filtering it all through punk's DIY aesthetic. Poison Ivy is probably the most underrated guitarist ever, delivering her inexhaustible stock of surf/rockabilly licks with silent cool while Lux wailed, gurgled, screamed and sang like a madman in the throes of an epileptic crisis. 

By the 90's their sound hadn't changed much from the days of psychobilly landmarks Songs The Lord Taught Us and Psychedelic Jungle, despite exchanging the 2nd guitarist for a full-time bassist. But inspiration didn't come knocking as often as before. Live they were as wild as ever, a force of nature actually as I've described before, but their albums contained more and more filler. "Big Beat From Badsville" was their 7th (and penultimate) full length LP, written and produced exclusively by Lux and Ivy. It's distributed by the indie punk label Epitaph, which may explain why it sounds a bit rawer than its predecessors. It opens with "Cramp Stomp", a song bearing all marks of the band: jungle beat, wild guitar and deranged vocals. "God Monster" is a messy psychedelic horror piece, "It Thing Hard-On" is raging garage punk and "Like a Bad Girl Should" a rhythmic rocker with a dirty riff, nasty lyrics and lusty vocals. Mid-tempo boogie "Sheena's in a Goth Gang" and "Queen of Pain" introduce us to a couple of memorable female characters whom no sane man would want to meet. "Monkey With Your Tail" revisits their favorite jungle theme while "Devil Behind That Bush" and "Super Goo" take their cue from 50's R&B. "Burn She-Devil, Burn" and "Haulass Hyena" are sped-up rockabilly and "Badass Bug" and "Wet Nightmare" are wigged-out surfin bird-style psychopunk. The latter introduces a novelty in the guise of an out-of-control theremin sounding like a malfunctioning UFO driven by an intoxicated alien. In the end, despite being a simple re-hash of The Cramps' familiar formula, "Big Beat From Badsville" is still great fun and puts all other psychobilly acts in their shade. Lux's death deprived us of an one-off rock'n'roll original - we're not about to see his position as psycho-sleazy king of trash rock'n'roll challenged any time soon...

***** for Like a Bad Girl Should

**** for Cramp Stomp, Queen of Pain

*** for It Thing Hard-On, Sheena's in a Goth Gang, Hypno Sex Ray, Monkey With Your Tail, Devil Behind That Bush, Burn She-Devil Burn, Wet Nightmare

** for God Monster, Super Goo, Badass Bug, Haulass Hyena

Nashville Pussy "Let Them Eat Pussy" 1998****

Wow! What a title and what an album cover! Of course they've earned a place in my collection! Need the music be good too? Well, thankfully it is: If, of course, by good you mean loud, fun, fast and nasty. Its punk-metal-psychobilly hybrid steals from the Cramps, Ramones, Motorhead and AC/DC. The core group of former 9-Pound Hammer guitarist Blaine Cartwright (gruffy vocals, rhythm guitar) and wifey Ruyter Suys (smokin' lead guitar, tits) are joined here by Adam Neal (drums) and Corey Parks (bass, tits, tattoos). Corey and Ruyter are, of course, the two "classy" ladies on the cover.  The music is fast, high-octane rock'n'roll (the band goes through 12 songs in only 27 minutes), augmented by way over-the-top macho lyrics and a wild, sexed-up rollercoaster of a live show. All songs are originals except a cover of 60's R&B classic "First I Look At The Purse". Compared to garage/psychobilly bands like The Cramps or Reverend Horton Heat, the 60's influences are less pronounced with more of a 70's vibe, evident in the short and dirty hard rock solos. Opener Snake Eyes sounds like Motorhead while "You're Goin' Down" is equally fast but also features some nice rockabilly-ish soloing. "Go Motherfucker Go" adds the missing element: hooks! With the addition of a catchy chorus, it becomes obvious we've got a winner here. It sounds a lot like those Scandinavian kings of sleaze, Turbonegro. Not surprisingly, NP later added Turbonegro's "Age of Pamparius" to their repertory. "I'm The Man" further ups the ante with its AC/DC riff-ola and "philosophical" lyrics like "I'm the man/A real motherfucker/You ain't shit/Just another sucker". Cartwright looks the part with his redneck truck driver appearance and attitude but he's easily overshadowed by the powerful female presence in the band: Ruyter struts the stage Angus-style, albeit dressed in a leopard bra and leather pants while Corey looks like a leatherclad cowgirl dominatrix. Her presence is even more impressive thanks to her 1.95m height (it's in her genes: her brother, former NBA-er Cherokee Parks stands at 2.11m) and fire-breathing antics. The album continues on the same path with titles like "All Fucked Up" and "Eat My Dust" but, although the pace never lets up, you have to wait until the last track for the next highlight, the Grammy nominated "Fried Chicken and Coffee" - not surprisingly the longest and most metal-oriented track in the record. Dig those lyrics: "Fried chicken and coffee/Are keeping me mean/I'm wiping my ass/With Hustler magazine". Doesn't get more manly than that! Now NP may be kitschy as hell but that's why I like them. All that trashy sexuality would otherwise be plain bad taste, but taken as a joke you're free to enjoy it. Not that it'd matter, of course, if it wasn't for the music: fortunately they match attitude with passion and enough ability to make their albums worth listening. So I did get their next two CDs (offering more of the same) but gradually the novelty started to wear off. Not to mention that Corey left after the second album. A string of female bassists followed, of which the best known was Karen Cuda. She had the tits and tatts alright, but how can you replace such a fire-breathing powerhouse?

**** for Go Motherfucker Go, I'm The Man, Fried Chicken And Coffee

*** for Snake Eyes, You're Goin' Down, Johnny Hotrod, 5 Minutes To Live, Somebody Shoot Me, First Look At The Purse, Blowin' Smoke, Eat My Dust

** for All Fucked Up, 5 Minutes To Live