For once, this is a 90's Greek band I don't have any first-hand stories about. Which is strange, given that, as their output proves, they are among the most active in the scene: 10 albums in 35 years, hell I can't think of any other Greek alternative rock band even approaching a double-digit LP discography. But here's the catch: this band comes from the country's second biggest city, Thessaloniki. They formed in 1987, released their first LP in '88 and produced new albums regularly - every 2 or 3 years, with a long hiatus between the mid-00's and late-10's. I'm sure they visited the capital from time to time, but they never put in the effort to win Athenians over. One could find their records in the shops, but they either never played at the usual clubs, or if they did these gigs were badly promoted. At the time, whenever concert organizers in Athens needed some rockabillies to play a festival or support visiting acts, they'd go for our resident band, The Blue Jeans. Anyway, although Perros and The Lone Stars failed to create a buzz in Athens, reports from Thessaloniki are very enthousiastic: talks of the band turning their every appearance into a wild, alcohol-fuelled, party, stories of fantastic gigs, all-night partying, flash cars and motorcycles, pretty girls following the band around, etc. Apparently, the band also had some success abroad, including in France and North Macedonia. Whether that's all true, or just the usual rock'n'roll mythologizing combined with nostalgia for a bygone era, there's no denying Perros' popularity in a vibrant city famous for its night life. A testament to this, is the fact that while other Greek bands struggled to get their music recorded and released by small indie labels, The Lone Stars were immediately picked up by Vertigo/Polygram, who released their debut Rockabilly Boogie in '88, and The Borderline two years later. Despite them being presented as pure rockabillies, this record isn't just grounded to 50's-style rock. I see more similarities to 70's-80's neo-rockabilly artists (The Stray Cats, Robert Gordon, Chris Spedding etc) -most notably on "Motorcycle Girl", "It's Time To Rock 'N' Roll", and "Rock Boppin' Baby"- as well as garage punk and blues influences. There are a couple of Eric Clapton-style electric blues numbers ("I Got The Blues", "44 Blues") as well as a some R&B/garage tracks reminiscent of The Flaming Groovies ("When My Baby Loves Me" and Stones cover "Jumpin' Jack Flash"). Opener "I'm A Rocker" sports a typical 70's riff (think Stones, AC/DC, even Kiss), "Stars In Your Eyes" is the record's only ballad, and closer "A Full For Your Stockings" (sic, no relation to the ZZ Top anthem) is lightning-fast rockabilly. Overall, I'm impressed with Perros' excellent guitarwork, less so with his vocals. Don't get me wrong, his singing isn't bad or too heavily accented, just unremarkable. Long-time associate Kostas Hasiotis on bass, and drummer Petros Papakyriakou are also quite good. I was surprised to come across the name of Dimitris Starovas here (2nd guitarist); this guy later became famous as a member of music/comedy group Agami Thite. His face is instantly recognizable in Greece as he still regularly pops up on TV, either as a musician, actor, guest on daytime TV shows, or presenter - he even had his own cooking show for a while. The original compositions here are OK, well-crafted rock'n'roll with hooks where necessary, but again nothing memorable. I would nevertheless recommend checking this band out, especially if you're interested in rockabilly, garage, or surf music (later LPs are punkier and feature more instrumentals). This specific album can only be found on second hand vinyl stores, but a couple of their other LP's are available via iTunes or streaming platforms e.g. Spotify.
*** for I'm A Rocker, Motorcycle Girl, Jumpin' Jack Flash, I Got The Blues, When My Baby Loves Me, It's Time To Rock 'N' Roll, Stars In Your Eyes, 44 Blues, Rock Boppin' Baby, A Full For Your Stockings
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