CAT CLUB - MUNDO DE LOCOS

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1. Mundo de locos   2. Si te vas   3. Colgada de ti misma   4. True Blue   5. Esclavo de tu amor   6. Por ti he sufrido   7. Amor desordenado   8. Ven mañana   9. Esto se va a quedar así   10. Suena HTHF   11. El último surf.

Marccato Edicions / MTCD066

Three years since Cat Club's previous record, Rockabillyland (2013), it's a long time... so this brand new "Mundo de locos" is more than welcomed.

Their new record sounds, from the first seconds on, as a Cat Club record is expected to sound. Of course there is some evolution, but their very own way of playing Rockabilly, their very own style, is there. As always, Miguel Ángel Escorcia sings and delivers ace guitar picking, while Archie Boogie with the slapbass and Lucky Martínez with the drums form one of the best Rockabilly rhythm sections we can get to listen to.

As a matter of fact, on that Cat Club Rockabilly style can be included most of the 11 songs in the CD, being the most evident examples "Mundo de locos", "Colgada de ti misma", "Por ti he sufrido" (with Ovidi Tormo from Los Zigarros adding second voice), "Ven mañana" (in which they get the help from the great Carlos Segarra, from Los Rebeldes), "Esto se va a quedar así" (where is Gisela Novais who adds second voice), "El último surf"... Most of them, it's already said.

Two beautiful ballads have been included: "Esclavo de tu amor", of which a good videoclip can be watched on YouTube, and "Suena HTHF", in which they go Country and, at the end, speed it up with a few lines of Johnny Horton's "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor". Brilliant!

"Amor desordenado" (where they have Ariel Rot playing lead guitar) is the one in which these cats go quite out of the style we associate them with, as it is a kind of Rockabilly meets Latin Rock and Italian music... Difficult to explain but, anyway, they make it sound OK and is another good cut.

Please pay attention to "True Blue". If in the past they have played Rockabilly covers of songs from Los Panchos (as Los Swingers, in pre-Cat Club times), Roberto Carlos, or the song "Granada", now they have done the same with a song from... Madonna! Yes, sir. It's a cover somewhere between Rockabilly and Doo Wop and is a very good one, I have to say. This one is, by the way, the only song sung in English and also the only one not signed by Miguel Ángel Escorcia as composer.

As you have seen above, Cat Club has got the collaboration from several top artists, to which Candy Caramelo has to be added as producer and also playing piano, Hammond, lap-steel or guitar here and there.

To finish, it's not easy to highlight a song above the rest, but if I have to do it I'll choose "Mundo de locos" or "Suena HTHF" (really different one from the other, I know), with "True Blue", "Esclavo de tu amor" and "Ven mañana" close behind.

A very good record, yes indeed. These cats can rock for sure.

Long live Cat Club!

Since the times as Los Swingers (album released in 1993),

their first record as Cat Club (released in 2008)...

til the brand new "Mundo de Locos":

these cat's discography is gaining strength step by step.

LARRY COLLINS - ROCKABILLY FOREVER / BED TIME STORY GIRL (single)

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SIDE A = Rockabilly Forever (Secrew The Rest)   SIDE B = Bed Time Story Girl

Sleazy Records / SR113

More than fifty years after his glory days being the 50% of The Collins Kids along with his sister Lorrie, here we have Larry Collins back on record, with Joe Perez playing drums and Deke Dickerson playing bass. Of course, Larry Collins himself plays guitar... I suppose a double-neck one. Both songs, by the way, are also penned by Larry Collins.

On side A we have "Rockabilly Forever (Screw The Rest)", a song that is an evident tribute to those singers and groups that formed the first breed of Rockabilly pioneers by naming some of them as well as some of their most representative songs. A kind of Gene Vincent's "Story Of The Rockers", but with lots more of fury and rage. Not bad. I like it.

On the other hand, side B I feel is quite weak. "Bed Time Story Girl" is another Rockabilly, this time at a mid-tempo rhythm that I believe wants to show something, but doesn't get to do it.

For sure this 7" doesn't reach the level of the recordigs done by Larry Collins and his sister back in the 1950's, but I believe that "Rockabilly Forever" is good enough. It's good to see that (some of) the pioneers are still able to rock.

Yes, I agree: Rockabilly forever (screw the rest)!

PIKE CAVALERO - SIN MIEDO A VOLAR

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1. Apuntar alto   2. Cuando caiga la noche   3. Me siento azul   4. Única es   5. Rumbo a lo incierto   6. Ahora que lo tienes   7. Sin miedo a volar   8. Caída   9. Cuando no te echo a faltar   10. A cualquier lugar   11. Desde que no estás   12. Mi nena pequeña

Sleazy Records / SRCD31-45

Two years since the previous album from Pike Cavalero... It's been a long time for sure, eventhough during that gap we were lucky to get some 7" under his own name or under the name of some of the other bands in which he is involved, such as True Blue Trio. Both singles, by the way, were reviewed by yours truly in this very same blog back in February 2015 and February 2016.

Probably this brand new "Sin miedo a volar" is the record coming from this artist with the biggest mix of styles, showing as the title says, that he has no fear to fly, to take risks.

Just listen to the record and you'll see that it's a Rockabilly one, style in which Pike Cavalero is one of the best singers we can listen to nowadays. Rockabilly is for sure there in more or less quantity in the 12 songs included, being the most evident examples "Cuando caiga la noche", "Me siento azul" or "Ahora que lo tienes". But, more than that, he has given some Country feel to "Rumbo a lo incierto"; has had no fear to give a Pop touch (in the better possible meaning of the term Pop) to songs such as "Sin miedo a volar" or "Apuntar alto"; a little bit of Spanish 1960's Rock'n'Roll feeling can be found in "Única es"; and top class Doo Wop shines in "Mi nena pequeña", the only cover included (The Cleftones' "Little Girl Of Mine"). By the way, note that all the songs are sung in Spanish for the first time in Pike Cavaleros LP's.

It is a must to highlight that Pike Cavalero is surrounded by an incredible band, almost a kind of "all-star" one, with Juanny López and Francis Beard playing the electric guitars, Pepe Lee with the slapbass (and an electric bass somewhere) and Jesús López behind the drums. More than that, there are a few top class collaborations from stars such as Diego Cruz from the Sun Rockets adding his voice to some songs, Al Dual showing his great guitar skills at a couple of cuts and the amazing The Del Prince doo-wopping at "Mi nena Pequeña".

It is "Mi nena pequeña" my favourite song of the whole record. This time I have no doubt about it. Anyway, close behind are "Cuando caiga la noche", "Ahora que lo tienes" and "Cuando no te echo a faltar".

To all that said up above, it has to be added a beautiful artwork, with a cool drawing for the cover.

A very good record by Pike Cavalero, no doubt at all, who keeps on showing why he is one of the top Rockabilly acts we have at the moment. It's worth the money of buying this record. Vinyl or CD, that's up to you.

Thubs up for Pike Cavalero.

Pike Cavalero and band on the stage at the

10th Ubangi Stomp (2016).

BIG JOE TURNER - THE VERY BEST OF

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DISC 1 = 1. Shake, Rattle & Roll   2. Flip, Flop & Fly   3. Honey Hush   4. I'll Never Stop Loving You   5. Bump Miss Susie   6. Don't Make Me High   7. Lipstick, Powder And Paint   8. Roll'Em Pete   9. I Need A Girl   10. TV Mama   11. Low Down Dog   12. Rock A While   13. World Of Trouble   14. Blues In The Night   15. Married Woman Blues   16. Well All Right   17. Time After Time   18. Nobody In Mind   19. Don't You Cry   20. Cherry Red   21. Wee Baby Blues   22. You Know I Love You   23. Switchin' In The Kitchen   24. After A While   25. Morning, Noon And Night

DISC 2 = 1. Corrine, Corrina   2. Hide And Seek   3. Boogie Woogie Country Girl   4. The Chicken And The Hawk   5. I Get The Blues When It Rains   6. Love Roller Coaster   7. Midnight Cannonball   8. Trouble In Mind   9. Rebecca   10. Red Sails In The Sunset   11. The Chill Is On   12. Still In Love   13. Oke-She-Moke-She-Pop   14. Teenage Letter   15. Sweet Sixteen   16. Ti-Ri-Lee   17. You're Driving Me Crazy   18. Until The Real Thing Comes Along   19. We're Gonna Jump For Joy   20. Here Comes Your Iceman   21. St. Louis Blues   22. When I Was young   23. Pennies From Heaven   24. Morning Glories   25. Baby I Still Want You

Not Now Music / NOT2CD607

One of those cheap editions that are always welcomed to fill a gap in your collection or for those that are just starting one. Sometimes those kind of CD's don't have good sound quality, but this is not the case: the sound is good enough. "Cheap" does not always mean "bad quality": here we have an example.

The content of the double CD is absolutely clear just reading the title: Big Joe Turner's very best songs... which means that we have not only Rock'n'Roll, but also Blues and Jazz... Of course, being Big Joe Turner there are songs than can fit in more than one of the above-mentioned styles. To highlight any of the 50 songs included above the rest will be a hard and nonsense work: it is a Big Joe Turner greatest hits, so top quality everywhere for sure... Just take a glance at the track listing and you'll see.

So, we get 50 great songs by one of the true Rock'n'Roll pioneers, in good sound quality and at a bargain price... Maybe it is not a record for "experts", but if your collection lacks of a Big Joe Turner record, this one released this year by Not Now Music is a very good option.

JUNIOR MARVEL & THE HI-FLYERS - SATURDAY NIGHT

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Side A = 1. Love My Life Away   2. Get Out Of My Mind   3. Where's A Will There's A Way   4. Hopalong Howie   5. Kinda Late   6. Saturday Night

Side B = 7. Won't You Be My Baby   8. Act Like You Love Me   9. Keep Me Satisfied   10. Beer Ball Boogie   11. The Great Pretender   12. Blues At Midnight

Sleazy Records / SR10-14

The new record released by Junior Marvel comes in 10" format... and maybe the word "new" is not the most accurate one: probably "last release" will fit better as the 12 songs included were recorded from 2004 to 2014. Not bad at all. That's a "take it easy" way of doing things...

Anyway, this is a very good 50's style Rockabilly record, as previous records by this singer who, in my own oppinion, is one of the best we can find in Europe nowadays. The songs included are a mix of songs composed by Frank Marquez (aka Junior Marvel) himself and/or The Hi-Flyers' members, along with well chosen covers (not those that everybody does). Regarding the rhythm of the songs, it goes from the most danceables such as "Get Out Of My Mind" or "Keep Me Satisfied"; to the mid-tempos, such as "Kinda Late"; to some slows, such as "Act Like You Love Me" (a version of the Hayden Thompson's song). And all that, it's already said, in a very evident 50's style, with electric guitar (Nils Becker), slap-bass (Brend Scheffer) and drums (Markus Spieker), plus the voice and rhythm guitar of Junior Marvel, of course.

Talking about the songs, please pay attention to the amazing cover that these guys do of the Doo Wop classic "The Great Pretender", which Mr. Junior Marvel and his band take to an absolute Rockabilly rhythm. Wonderful.

Just to point out a little defect of this release, probably the sound is at some moments far from perfect but, anyway, good enough to enjoy the record without any kind of problems.

About the artwork of the sleeve, it is OK, being also 50's style like the musical content of the record.

Brief, if you like 50's style Rockabilly, this is a record I believe you will enjoy for sure.

EDDIE COCHRAN - TEENAGE HEAVEN

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RECORD 1 = SIDE A = 1. Tired & Sleepy   2. Fool's Paradise  SIDE B = 3. Rockin' & Flyin'   4. Skinny Jim

RECORD 2 = SIDE A = 1. Twenty Flight Rock   2. Completely Sweet   SIDE B = 3. Pink-peg Slack   4. Sweetie Pie

RECORD 3 = SIDE A = 1. Summertime Blues   2. Little Lou   SIDE B = 3. C'mon Everybody   4. Pretty Girl

RECORD 4 = SIDE A = 1. Nervous Breakdown   2. Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie   SIDE B = 3. Teenage Heaven   4. Somethin' Else

RECORD 5 = SIDE A = 1. Guybo   2. Jam Sand-witch   SIDE B = 3. Fast Jivin'   4. Shotgun Wedding Theme

RECORD 6 = SIDE A = 1. Hallelujah! I Love Her So   2. Ah! Pretty Girl   SIDE B = 3. My Way   4. I Remember

Sleazy Records / SR-110

And when after two EP's box-sets of Gene Vincent released by Sleazy Records, we believed that they couldn't surprise us again, here we have the Spanish label releasing an astonishing box-set of 6 Eddie Cochran EP's. Yeah, of course... after Gene, here comes Eddie.

I've said astonishing and yes, it is so for sure, as were so the two Gene Vincent box-sets (reviwed in this blog in June and November 2015).

We got 6 EP's with songs by the Cochran Brothers, Eddie by his own, Eddie as studio musician, Eddie experimenting with different recording techniques... I guess it has been a hard work to pick the 24 songs to be included. It is important to highlight that the songs included are not always from the take we are used to, as many of them come from alternate takes, the "official" take minus the overdubs and so on. All that, of course, with the so good sound quality that the label usually offers.

The team that has put together this great release is the same  that did it possible for the two Gene Vincent's box-sets: Guillermo Jiménez as producer, "Francho" Angas for the artwork and, again, "Francho" Angas, along with Rocio Cañas, for the sleeve notes.

All that said, with the good sound quality and the brilliant selection of songs, it has to be also highlighted the beautiful artwork, both for the sleeves and for the box itself, and the great, informative, sleeve notes providing info about session dates, musicians, where and when were the songs first published, etc.

Very good sound, stunning artwork, informative sleeve notes, great songs selection, it's Eddie Cochran... No doubt this box-set is somethin' else.

Six EP's, so a total of 24 songs by

Eddie Cochran,in this box-set

released by Sleazy Records.

BERT BLACKMONT & THE BUCKS - HIGH LIFE

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1. Wake Up, Wake Up!   2. I Wanna Be (Bert Blackmont)   3. Losing My Faith (On You)   4. Buck's Train   5. High Life   6. Automatic Joe   7. Nena Peligrosa   8. Rockabilly Music   9. Russian Love   10. Solo Tengo Un Corazón (No Heart To Spare)   11. No Good Lover

Sleazy Records / SRCD27-41

First "long play" from this group and a good disc it is. The band members are Bert Blackmont (voice and maracas), Carlos Jiménez (guitar), Antonio "Smiley" (double bass) and J. Bucks (drums). People with quite a lot of experience playing Rockabilly and with previous experience in other well known bands in the Spanish Rockabilly scene such us The Beerbellys, Mike Hillman & The Latin Hillbillies and so on.

Rockabilly, yes indeed: that's what we have in the 11 cuts of this "High Life", with 8 of them written by band members and the other 3 coming from outside ("Rockabilly Music", "Solo Tengo Un Corazón" and "No Good Lover"). 8 of them are sung in English, 2 in Spanish, plus 1 instro.

I've liked a lot this CD and I find difficult to highlight a single song. Probably, of the songs penned by the own band, my favourites are "Nena Peligrosa" (which start reminds me of "Brand New Cadillac", by the way), "Losing My Faith (On You)" and the instro "Buck's Train" (great harmonica).

Among the covers, they do a very good job with Mickey And Sylvia's "No Good Lover", for which they get the help of Carmen Robles for the second voice and to which they give a Rockabilly beat. I've also liked "Solo Tengo Un Corazón", that is a version in Spanish of the Go Getters' "No Heart To Spare".

It is written at the beginning of this review: a good record. Thumbs up for Bert Blackmont & The Bucks.