Track Listing: 1. Betty Lou 2. Little Linn 3. Mary Lou 4. I Want U 5. Cindy 6. Sweetheart 7. Warpaint 8. Island Bop 9. Hot Rod Racing 10. Long Blond Hair 11. Tiger 12. I Like It Like That 13. Pretty Little Baby Love 14. Quicksand Love
The Hubcaps are a Swedish band formed in 2001 by Johnny Valentine (guitar and vocals) and Ricky James (slap bass). Dutch drummer Igor Slootman joined the band in 2005 to form the trio they are today. I haven't been aware of their previous releases but their latest on the excellent Enviken label is a blast.
This is pure rock 'n' roll energy and there isn't a weak track on offer. Most of the fourteen songs are original with a couple of great covers. The opening track is a belting rockabilly number in the Pearly Lee category, and if it's as good live as Billy Lee's was then the band are on a winner. There's a few flat out stompers in the style of Jack Baymoore, particularly Little Linn.
They've obviously spent a couple of terms at the School of Dave Edmunds, as his influence looms large on two superb tracks, I Want U and Pretty Little Baby Love. Cindy kicks off in Warren Smith mode before turning into a mid tempo beauty and Island Bop is just so damn hypnotic. The covers of Quicksand Love, Warpaint and Long Blond Hair are great, although they don't quite match Shaky on Tiger.
A wonderful release that's amongst the best modern CD's of the year. Brilliant.
No one does Chuck Berry like Dave Edmunds and that includes ol' Chuckie boy himself. Here he shows the ol Ding a Linger how to do it with Carl perkins and Brian Setzer in tow.
Now Shaun and I have several things in common, we are Welsh, we love cats, we support Spurs and Wales, but most importantly of all we just lurveeeeeeeeeeeeee Mr Jerry Lee Lewis. I`ve been a fan since seeing his famed 64 Granada TV show in the mid 60s and Shaun has been a fan for ten minutes or so (;-)) and we`ve seen him in Wales, Scotland, England and Memphis (and the Lewis ranch).
Now Shaun also digs rockabilly bass boppers, Elvis, Shaky, Stray Cats etc and I dig Eddie Cochran, Fats, Dave Edmunds, Chuck n Elvis but when it comes to da Killah it`s a different kettle of fish, he simply is THE man, on record, onstage and in life, totally unique and the greatest of the greats in our humble opinion.
So I thought I better put some Lewis clip up before we get disbarred from the First Assembly Of Lewis church (Ferriday and Wales branch), back when ole El was doing his tv and stage comeback and ole Johhny C and the Everlys had their own great tv shows the legendary Jack Good`s sidekick Rita Gillespie (who workd on Oh Boy, Shindig and the legendary Catch My Soul stage show) came up with some great tv pilots featuring JLL, family and musical friends but sadly as great as they are ( I mean JLL doing Ubangi Stomp fer gawd`s sake) they were not taken up for national syndication, fortunately the tapes survived and the long gone US cable channel Outlaw Music showed them in the 90s, this is one of my fav clips as it features JLL singing Bobby Bland`s classic r&b gem Turn On Your Lovelight whilst playing the drums, yes drums, watch and wonder without further ado!
Let`s leave the country archive for awhile. Next month ole uncle Chuckles is coming to south Wales for 2 gigs but I reckon ole Phillybuster here and the young `un` "little Jimmie" Mather won't be attending (nearly a £100 for the two shows) I`ve seen Chuck around a dozen times and he`s been brilliant four times ( 72 - 84), ok thrice and dire the other 5 times, usual suspects ie crap tuning, poor pick up band, thudding bass, short set with Dingblydiling taking up a quarter of it and I`ve already got tickets to another gig on the same night as the local show.
I felt the same last time Little Richard came here, stick to me records n videos ta very much, its rock n roll but not as we know and lurveeeeeeee it, I`d rather recall the decent show Mr CB did in the Docklands arena in London a few years back with ole JLL stonking thru a short opening set and Little Richard and his oh so boring "clap yer hands have ya read my religious tract, are there any posers sorry dancers who wanna come up, all the men say OOOH, here's a Fats/Bob Seeger/Larry Willaims toon in fatc anything not by me " set, a good humoured Chuck with a decent piano man saved the day.
Glad to here Chuck is finally going to play the Viva Las Vegas rab fest and that he'll be backed by a stellar band of 50s experts, always wanted him to tour here backed by dave Edmunds Rockpile and then to record and album guided by Dave, who like George Thorogood does Chuck`s songs properly.
I love Chuck`s music to pieces, recently bought the 2nd Hip O Select 4cd box You Never Can Tell the early 60s years which is fabulous esp the new live album on it, I have Fred Rothwell`s great Long Distance Info book on his music and even bought the 4dvd US version of Hail R N R, Taylor " mr Helen Mirren" Hackford the director and Keith Richards the musical direction deserve the Nobel peace prize for getting through it in one piece.
Between 1955 and 65- ish he cut the greatest self penned rocking r&b/rnr records of all time. One of my all time favs is the travelogue Promised Land apparently written during his 2nd incarceration (he had to get special permission to get a map in case he was planning a break out!!), now both Elvis and the great cajun rocker Johnnie Allen have done sterling versions but I love Chuck`s original, got it on UK Pye and US Chess.
This great clip is almost like a sequel to the great Jazz On A Summer's day movie in that Chuck appears on this b&w French tv show in the mid 60s backed by jazzer the George Shearing quintet ( I think!!), dig the beatnik on the double bass,looks like Mike Stoller in Jailhouse Rock, chuck looks and sounds great slim, greasy haired, that marvellous sly smile and cheeky eye movements and moving n groovin for all he's worth, even the mike collapse is covered by a cool duckwalk, check the side bar for the other gems from this show. there's a very abrupt ending - hinted at by Chuck`s usual foot stomp to finish it being almost cut off, remember him this way, the Stones,Beach Boys etc etc should all bow down and say a prayer for this marvellous singer songwriter giving us a golden decade indeed.
In memory of Wales` greatest guitarist - Mickey Gee
Earlier this year I sadly attended the funeral of the Welsh guiatr great Mickey Gee in Cardiff, many musicians were there including Shaking Stevens, Geraint Watkins, Andy Fairweather Low, John David, Terry Williams,John Lewis and Ian Calford, Mickey had provided immaculate Fender bending to all these guys, he`d played with Ian`s dad the late Cal Ford and the Brakemen.
He was a valued part of Edmunds Rockpile and played on the great Carl Perkins Rockabilly Session tv show. He also played with Tom Jones, Lulu, Joe Cocker,Bill Wyman as part of Willie and the Poor Boys and the great 70s rockabilly band Memphis Bend recording a brillaint album on UA that sadly has not been issued on cd and was an important part of the Shaky sound during the 80s chart hits years. When ill health hit him in the 90s he turned down many lucrative jobs/tours preferring to turn up in the local pubs and clubs of Cardiff and sitting in.
A few years back much to my surprise BBC Wales tv acknowledged that music started before Tom Jones by putting this prog out reunting Edmunds, Geraint, Mickey, Andy, etc and one of the many highlights was Mickey`s version of the great Chuck Berry blues rocker Betty Jean (given the wrong title on youtube BTW).
There's an old b& w clip of the pre fame Tom Jones in rocker mode doing What`d I Say and Chills n Fever on tv, look carefully at the young guitarist with hair it`s Mr Gee!
My fav memory of Mickey is of him blowing up his amp doing a Burnette rab classic as his set opener, much of a delay ensued as a roadie went off in his van to find another amp, eventually he set up the new one, Mickey played the Burnette intro and the new amp blew up!
I also love the story about Chet Atkins dressing room where Chet was holding court to all these modern guitar gods when Mickey shyly entered the door, most of the stars looked at this shy bald bloke and wondered who the gatecrasher was. Chet spotted him and called him over to sit next to him and got them both guiatrs whilst they ripped thru the Reed/Atkins classic The Claw, much jaw dropping ensued in the room, I bet they're still jamming up there.
Sadly missed, a wonderful part of my collection is devoted to Mickey.
Let's have some rocking r&b for a change. Through the 60s all I had of Wilbert Harrison was the old Top Rank 45 of Kansas City (which I first heard by the Beatles, with a bit of Hey hey hey on the end, they copied the more frantic Little Richard Specialty version) which had a wonderful shuffly charm like the best of the Jimmy Reed or Buster Brown sides.
In the late 60s Canned Heat covered Wilbert`s epic Let`s Work Together (later annihilated by Bryan Ferry and the howlin Jerry Hall) which Dave Edmunds had been figuring on doing, then decided to do Smiley Lewis` great I Hear You Knockin instead which gave him a deserved UK no 1 and a Billboard no 2.
But here`s dapper uncle Wilbert plonked in front of a piano with his atmospheric ciggie trailing smoke throughout his fine rendition of the old New Orleans saga Stagger Lee, mighty fine it is too despite the brupt cut off. No idea when or where, but just glad it exists (one day the holy grail of Larry Williams footage will be realised -don't be fooled by that Billy Preston Shindig clip of Short Fat Fannie (steady Shaun) claimed to be Mr Williams, it aint.
What we also need is some more Wilbert preferably with Wild Jimmy Spurrill on guitar and several shouts of " Ah moustache".
Rockin' Song of the Week No. 70 Carlene Carter & Dave Edmunds - Baby Ride Easy
Carlene Carter is a result of a couple of minutes of rompy pompy between country legends Carl Smith and future Mrs Cash, June Carter. She is a country rock singer who has had some hardships along the way, together with some pretty good records. I like her bopper I Fell In Love in the early 90's but it's Baby Ride Easy that sums her up for me.
In the early 80's she was married to Rockpile's Nick Lowe who was starting to influence her sound. It resulted in Musical Shapes, Carter's third album. The best song, and only hit from the album, was Richard Dobson's Baby Ride Easy, a deut with the great Welsh rocker, Dave Edmunds.
It's got a rockabilly guitar line throughout and the their vocals compliment nicely. The alternating lines were Americana fueled and came over like a modern day Johnny and June ala Jackson or If I Were A Carpenter. "If I drove a truck, And I were waitress, And I ordered coffee, And I poured you some. Then you'd stop by on your way sometime later, And if we arm-wrestled, I'd say that you won".
The Refreshments - A Band's Gotta Do What A Band's Gotta Do
1. A Band´s Gotta Do What A Band´s Gotta Do 2. I Still Love You 3. Keep Movin´ On 4. Cadillac Rock 5. Takin´ A Chance 6. He´s Doing Well 7. Rock´n´Roll Heaven 8. A Man Among Men 9. Forever Yours 10. She Makes Me Cool 11. Just Like Jerry Lee 12. Day By Day 13. Hard Luck Jim 14. High On You
This year sees the twentieth anniversary for Swedish band The Refreshments who formed in the Autumn of '89, looking to enjoy themselves and make a few records. Their reputation has grown consistently over the ensuing decades with 2003 seeing them top the Swedish charts with their album Rock'n'Roll X-mas. This year seems like being their biggest yet with a summer long tour planned and this new album has shot straight to number one in the charts within two weeks of release. It's their twelfth release and looks like being their biggest to date. The album cover looks like the cover shot on one of the Sopranos box sets I recently bought, I don't know whether they're fans or it's just a co-incidence - it doesn't matter either way.
They started off as a covers band but have developed as solid writers in their own right - this latest album has just one cover. They worked with Dave Edmunds (check out the great live CD, A Pile Of Rock) and Billy Bremner and their sound is very much in the Dave Edmunds/Rockpile mode. The band line-up has been the same for years and features Joakim Arnell (bass/vocals), Johan Blohm (piano/vocals), Micke Finell (sax/vocals/guitar), Mats Forsberg (drums) and Robin Olsson (guitar/vocals). Joakim Arnell produced the album and he's obviously learnt along the way from Dave Edmunds, as he has the mixture just right with a rolling piano always present in the mix without dominating at the expense of the others.
The opener says everything about the band, it's a good-time, rock 'n' roller with piano and sax underpinned by a solid drum beat and upbeat vocals. The Refershments are not the band to commit suicide too. Al Anderson's I Still Love You has backing vocals that give it a catchy pop sound that again sounds like Dave Edmunds - I won't mention him again alright. The first single is Keep Movin´ On, a great hypnotic rocker that sounds like, well, you know…. I wish songs like this were getting into the UK charts. What's with the Swede's, all them leggy blonde bombshells and rock 'n' roll in their charts.
Other highlights include the sax driven Cadillac Rock and Rock´n´Roll Heaven pays homage to the greats that are no longer with us, and is delivered with a Buddy Holly and the Crickets beat. I was expecting the same of Taking A Chance as it was written by Finell, Brian Hodgson and Holly perv Mike Berry, but it's more Mavericks than Crickets. Arnell's semi-autobiographical She Makes Me Cool wasinspired by Annie Marie Dolan, daughter of Linda Gail Lewis - "Well I never was one of the boys/I was just a weird dressed kid making noise/when the guys hit the town I stayed in/playing old records again and again".
Just Like Jerry Lee is set to the Killer's early Sun sound and acknowledges all the piano pounders who worship at the Church of the Ferriday Fireball. Johan Blohm, take a bow. Hard Luck Jim, based on My Babe, is okay but nothing great. Don't let that put you off though, this is a cracking album that is the perfect way for the band to celebrate twenty years. You can buy this with confidence.
Geraint Watkins is the embodiment of the journeyman musician. He'sthe perfect guy to have in your touring band, he's always engaging onstage, full of good humour and to top it all, he's a damn good player.His work on piano and accordion has been heard on more tracks thanyou'd imagine, as well as being an integral part in the careers of twoother fine Welshmen, Dave Edmunds and Shakin' Stevens. I know we're a bit incestuous here and there's a lot of in-breeding, but Geraint has managed to work with a few foreigners as well!!
Born Geraint Meurig Vaughan Watkins in Abertriwr, South Walesin February 1951 his music career began in the early 70's with localWelsh language bands as well Buck Dancer, Juice on the Loose andRed Beans & Rice. He did a session for Stuart Colman's It's Rock 'n'Roll radio show and was included on the second volume of the show'salbums. Similarly, Charlie Gillett's Honky Tonk radio show and Demosalbum. He made a name for himself as a fine session player and overthe years has worked with such artists as Rory Gallagher, AndyFairweather Low, Sting, George Harrison, Status Quo, Eric Clapton,The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Paul Young, Mark Knopfler, The BluesBand and Box Of Frogs (featuring ex-Yardbirds). As well as Edmunds and Stevens he's also played on many a rockin' album including CarlPerkins, the Stray Cats, Frankie Ford, Restless, Matchbox and yet another Welsh band, the great Crazy Cavan & The Rhythm Rockers.He played on the five albums by the good-timey roots/cajun pub band,The Balham Alligators. Recent times have seen him work with Nick Lowe, Van Morrison andBill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. As well as all this he's also released a coupleof solo albums, the first one, GW and the Dominators coming out in 1978.Anyone who caught Johnnie Allan's great shows in 1992 couldn't havefailed to be enthralled by Watkins. He was part of a blinding backing bandand really seemed to enjoy himself on backing vocals on Running Bear.He was also a part of the superb Carl Perkins and Friends RockabillySpecial. With ten guitarists on the go, GW still manages to keep his rolling piano up in the mix. Apart from the Balham Alligators, his most prolific timehas been as a member of the Refreshments. If the UK had it's own A-Team of musicians, Geraint Watkins would be the equivalent of Pig Robbins orFloyd Cramer. There aren't many Dave Edmunds produced sessions where he doesn't call on Geraint, even flying him to Texas for a Fabulous Thunderbirds album. As an aside, I was just playing Honeyboy Hinkling's Wonderful Night and the woman opposite me said, "that sounds like Dave Edmunds with that squeezy thing". I didn't say she was bright! But she did recognise the accordion of our man Geraint, so it does prove the point. I must confess to not having any of his solo releases but I've got two self explanatory bootlegs called The Sessionman Vol's 1 and 2. They perfectly demonstrate how his piano and accordion can bring a new dimension to a song, adding just the right amount of sparkle. Here's a butcher's dozen to tap your feet to: Dave Edmunds - Run Rudolph Run or Dear Dad - GW's piano plays theJohnnie Johnson to Dave's CB. Shakin' Stevens - Oh Julie - almost a cajun rocker thanks to GW's accordion. Crazy Cavan - Both Wheels Left The Ground - stomping JLL piano poundingfrom GW, and CC and the boys follow suit. Brilliant. Southside - Don't Lie To Me - great GW boogie intro. Nick Lowe - True Love Travels On A Gravel Road - to be honest GWis fairly restrained on the organ here, but what a version. Memphis Bend - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - driving accordion. Refreshments - Veronica - I love Ronnie Dawson's version but this kicksass as well. Mason Ruffner - Baby I Don't Care No More - sounds as much like DaveEdmunds as DE sounds like Chuck Berry!! The Balham Alligators - Gotta Have Money - does ever have a boring session? Honeyboy Hinkling - It's Over - nice moody piece with some tasty brass andguitar. Willie & the Poor Boys - Saturday Night - GW takes the vocals on a stonkingversion of the Roy Brown rocker. Juice On The Loose - The Blue Flames Boogie - hot rocking boogie babywith GW in fine fettle. Stray Cats - Look At That Cadillac - last but not least. GW works in fineunison with Mel Collins' sax. A romp.
Today the world lost one of the great rock ‘n’ roll guitarists when Mickey Gee passed away after suffering from emphysema. It’s a sad day for music in general and Wales and rockabilly in particular. His passing will probably go criminally unnoticed by the outside world but for us lucky enough to have appreciated him, the loss is immense. Born in Cardiff in the 40’s, Mickey Gee was like a generation of teenagers who fell in love with the guitarists from across the pond like Carl Perkins.
The 60’s saw him backing Tom Jones as part of the Squires, as well as one of Lulu’s Luvvers and he even had a spell with Joe Cocker. Don’t blame him for that though – you gotta pay the bills! He was influential in the sounds of Love Sculpture and Rockpile and sang and picked for the tragically short-lived Welsh band Memphis Bend. Everyone will have heard his playing on the early Shakin’ Stevens hits and who hasn’t grooved to his hypnotic playing on Dave Edmunds’ I Hear You Knockin’. Highlights of his career had to be the wonderful Carl Perkins tv special where Mickey traded licks with the likes of Clapton and George Harrison and Dave Edmunds’ New Years Eve MTV Party as 1986 turned into 1987 with Edmunds and Gee trading licks with Brian Setzer and Carl Perkins. I can’t remember what I was doing that night but I bet you everyone at that gig remembers. Always so unassuming, he just stood to the side and played in his easy, flowing style – steeped in the tradition of the rock ‘n’ roll he loved. This guy was a genius, the Welsh flags should be flying at half mast tonight. Rest In Peace Mickey, those that believed, truly believed. If you were Dave Edmunds’ favourite guitarist, that was good enough for me.
MEMPHIS BEND – GOOD ROCKIN' TONITE UAS 30036 1977
Musicians: Micky Gee - Guitars,Vocals. Lincoln Carr – Bass. Tom Riley – Drums, Vocals. Additional musicians: B.J.Cole - Pedal Steel Guitar. Mick Weaver – Piano. John Jenkins – Piano. John David – Bass.
Produced by the band and John David at the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, South Wales, Good Rockin’ Tonite is one of the finest tributes that a British band has paid to the American originators. A mix of straight ahead rockabilly and some Hank Williams’ covers, the band play with great respect for the originals but with their own splash of flair. Mickey Gee is astounding throughout, with flying fingers making new classics out of old favourites Red Hot and If You Can't Rock Me. Sun pervs can drool at the covers of Mystery Train and one the albums best numbers, a high-stepping wade through the Big River that Cash would've loved. If you think Jerry Lee's Folsom Prison Blues was funky (and it was!) you'll be changing your boxers during this one. There's a real pep-in-the-step to Hank's Setting The Woods On Fire where Mickey and BJ Cole sound like everything Nashville wishes it was. I love BR549 but they can only dream of being this good. I think everyone would agree that the glorious version of Tennessee is better than Carl Perkins’ original, just listen to that guitar – it’s splashed in more Tennessee than the lyrics.
