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Last Train From Memphis CD

LAST TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS - Last Train From Memphis
Foot Tapping FT094

Track listing: CRAZY LITTLE MAMA / I'M COUNTING ON YOU / LAST TRAIN FROM MEMPHIS / IF YOU WANT IT ENOUGH / YOU KNOCKED ME OUT / PROMISE ME DARLING / KISS ME / LOVE MY BABY / SAY YOU'LL BE MINE / TENNESSEE ROCK 'N' ROLL / A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE / I GET THE BLUES / THE STRUGGLE / OVER YOU / FAY WRAY

Last Train From Memphis are a newly band who individually have been mainstays on the European rockabilly scene. They comprise Rob Chapman on vocals, Paul Gaskin on guitar, Thomas LaVelle on piano, Wayne Hopkins on bass and Rob Tyler on drums and between them their CV’s include The Houserockers, Blue Moon Boys, The Playboys, Dave Phillips & The Hot Rod Gang, Restless, The Outer Limits and others.

What I love about this band is the full blown nature of their sound. Like the very best of the Sun artists that obviously influenced them, they’re more than just a slapping trio, with a rolling piano underpinning the songs and giving them an extra dimension. The other stand out aspects of this band for me, are Gaskin’s guitar and Chapman’s voice, which has a real Hayden Thomspn quality to it.

Chapman wrote ten of the tracks here, including the sensational opener. Crazy Little Mama is one of the best Sun styled modern songs I’ve heard with great guitar and vocals. You Knocked Me Out is another fine tribute to the 706 sound. The Struggle shows the bands versatility and reminded me of Carlos and the Bandidos with it’s Mexican feel and guitar sound that Malcolm Chapman would be proud of.

Say You’ll Be Mine is a superb powerhouse piano rocker and one of the albums high spots. I really enjoyed the slower, Promise Me Darling which sounded like early Charlie Rich. Fay Wray, Last Train From Memphis and A Little Bit Of Love and the jazzy ballad I Get The Blues are all okay without being world beaters.

Of the covers, Johnny Burnette’s If You Want It Enough and Bobby Helms’ overrated Tennessee Rock ‘n’ Roll stick faithfully to the originals and Al Ferrier’s Kiss Me is a fine choice. LaVelle’s piano puts a pep in the step of Elvis’ I’m Counting On You which Chapman again handles really well. Best of the lot though is Love Me Baby which fits the band to a tee and Chapman pays a brilliant tribute to Hayden Thompson. It’s uncanny how much he sounds like him – its as if the Boonesville Flash has found a time machine.

So all in all, a great debut release that should be helped later in the year when the band start touring. To me their sound is sort of a mix between the Kingcats and Jack Rabbit Slim. I look forward to hearing more from them in the years to come.

Howlin' Wolf - 100 Years Old

The great Howlin' Wolf was born 100 years ago yesterday in White Station, Mississippi. He was christened Chester Burnette, but he was born to be the Howlin' Wolf. The greatest bluesman the world has ever seen. Happy birthday Wolf.

I'm just sat here in bed watching videos of him and my misses just says to me, play that "Spoonful". I didn't even know she knew it - she's as surprising as he is awesome.

And finally, check out the entrance he makes to this live spot.

Rockin' Song of the Week No.102 - Elvis Presley

Rockin' Song of the Week No.102 - Elvis Presley - Hard Knocks
Roustabout Soundtrack

The Elvis Presley career is always classified as three main areas, the rockin' 50's, the Hollywood 60's and the Vegas 70's. The middle period gets dismissed by all and sundry as a wasted decade of crap films and rubbish songs. To a large degree that's right, but there are some wonderful songs dotted about, it's just a case of wading through it to find the gems. By 1964 proper rock 'n' roll was hard to come by, with the exceptions standing out like lighthouses in a storm. Big Al Downing and Jack Scott spring to mind but the pickings were slim. That's what I find fascinating about tracks like Elvis' Hard Knocks. For the time and in the backdrop of the time, this was a spirited stab at hard rockin'.

The song was written by either one of a husband/wife team. Joy Byers was a songwriter who was married to Bob Johnson (Johnny Cash/Bob Dylan ) who claims that he wrote a lot of the Elvis stuff as Joe Byers, even penning the wonderful, It Hurts Me with Charlie Daniels. Whoever wrote it, it's a solid piece of rock 'n' roll for 1964. The lyrics aren't bad for an Elvis movie tune, a far cry Do The Clam. "I walked a million miles I bet, Tired and hungry and cold and wet, I’ve heard that lonesome whistle blow, From New York City down to Mexico, Some kids born fancy free, Nobody never gave nothing to me".

The song was recorded on March 2nd, 1964 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, in a pretty productive session for the forthcoming Roustabout movie, that also spawned Little Egypt, Poison Ivy League and It's A Wonderful World. To my ears, that's a good quartet. The King was still using the crème de la crème of musicians at this time, with the likes of the Jordannaires, Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, Bob Moore, Boots Randolph, Buddy Harman, Billy Strange and Barney Kessel.

The song might not be as good as the primetime 50's rockers and the film clip might not have the magnetism of the Loving You live scene, but it's still good. Don't just write this period off - there's some good rock 'n' roll to be had. Spinout, anyone?

Rockin' Song of the Week No.101 - Ray Hudson

Ray Hudson and the Western Rhythmaires - Jackhammer
Dixie 45-1043

I know nothing about Ray Hudson and the Western Rhythmaires other than what I can see at Terry E Gordon's great Rockin' Country Style website (thanks for the label shot). He had two singles on the legendary Starday-Dixie label, the first one, The Blues Walked Away being a favourite on the rockin' scene. That came out on Dixie 45-819 in late 1959, a full four years before his next effort.

The second single (Dixie 45-1043) is a classic. The flip side, Here I Am Drunk Again is a well known cover of the Autry Inman country bopper. The a-side is a monster instrumental. The intro is all Duane Eddy before moving into Link Wray and Sandy Nelson mode. Does anyone know who the guitarist is? I know a lot of the Starday stuff is Hal Harris but it doesn't sound like him to me. It packs more punch than a jackhammer and if savage rock 'n' roll is your bag, you'll love it.

Reasons to love youTube No. 6 - Carl Perkins

There can't be many arguments that Carl Perkins is the true king of rockabilly in it's purest form. Check out these clips that run through the years. The Ranch Party clip is phenomenal. What a find these old clips were - footage that we never dreamed we'd see.

Your True Love (from Ranch Party tv show)

Turn Around (from Nashville Now - he was a great rockabilly, but just as awesome at country music)

Johnny Cash medley 1974

The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll ( from Class of '55)

Restless

Blue Suede Shoes/Matchbox medley from 1971 - I'm not sure which was worse, the waistcoat or the dance steps! The rest is great though.

TV chat with Scotty Moore

Matchbox with Duane Eddy and the Mavericks (what a line-up)

Kingcats – In The Mood

Kingcats – In The Mood
Foot Tapping FT091

Tracklisting: 1.PROMISED LAND; 2.LONESOME LIFE FOR ME; 3.TREAT ME NICE; 4.LOSING SIDE OF ME; 5.PERFECT WORLD; 6.IN THE MOOD BOOGIE; 7.DONT' LEAVE ME NOW; 8.TIME OF MY LIFE; 9.WALK ON BY; 10.WASH MACHINE BOOGIE.

I’ve raved over these guys before, both on record and on stage. Their latest Foot Tapping offering doesn’t disappoint and maintains the high standard they’ve set for themselves. Again the format is a short album full of well chosen covers and reminds me of the type of albums you used to get in the late 70’s.

As with their earlier Back On Track CD, there’s a trio of Elvis covers. Treat Me Nice and Don’t Leave Me Now showcase the quality of Bill Crittenden’s voice but add little to the original. The CD opener is something else though – they romp through Promised Land. I love the way the Kingcats turn the 70’s Elvis songs into 50’s rockabilly, a further example being Crittenden’s cover Hurt for an album he did with The Sweet Georgia Boys – check it out.

Again the covers on this album are well chosen. Jerry Lee’s In The Mood Boogie is a fine band workout that differs little from the Killer’s and the cover of the old nutmeg Washing Machine Boogie is superb. Crittenden is similar in style to James Intveld, so their cover of his Perfect World was always going to be good. Perfect voice, perfect song, perfect world indeed. Lonesome Life For Me and Time Of My Life are very Elvisy and the Mavericks Losing Side Of Me is tailor made.

The best song though, and one that I haven’t been able to stop playing is Leroy Van Dyke’s Walk On By. It’s a brilliant version and even manages to surplus Leroy’s original. The vocals on this are superb. On my review of Back On Track I finished by saying that BC was the Paul Ansell. If he keeps this up he’ll be the new Elvis. Bill Crittenden take a bow.