The Rockabilly Chronicle (2025)

24/08/2025

The High Steppers – s/t

Martin’s Garage Records (martin's garage) – STR-MGV-006 [2017]�
The Flea – He’s Nowhere / Gonna Ball – Too Many H***y Tonks
the High Steppers

The High Steppers are a drummer-less trio featuring Branko Radovančević on vocals and rhythm guitar, Filip Nesvadba on lead guitar, and Marko Markoč on double bass. Together or separately, they have played in B and the Bops, the Dalharts, Twisted Rod, Mad Men…
If you dig primitive and raw Rockabilly tinged with Hillbilly Bop, look no further, this one is for you. The Flea is everything Rockabilly should be: light electric guitar, strong double bass (and superbly recorded to boot), and fantastic vocals on top. I believe that’s the kind of song that Willie Lewis would have been happy to release on his Rock-A-Billy records label. He’s Nowhere reminded me a bit of the style of the great Roy Kay Trio. On the flip, Gonna Ball changes the pace with a slow and menacing drive. This excellent little slice of vinyl ends with Too Many H***y Tonks, which unsurprisingly has a more pronounced rural flair both on the vocals and the instrumentation.
If you dig stuff issued by labels like the aforementioned Rock-A-Billy Records or Dave Moore’s Wild Hare, don’t hesitate, this one is for you.
And icing on the cake, it comes in a superbly designed cover.

Buy it here: https://martinsgarage.bandcamp.com/album/high-steppers-ep

More reviews here: http://www.the-rockabilly-chronicle.com/

23/08/2025

Bobby Lee Trammell – Bobby Lee Rocks
Bear Family BCD17779
Arkansas Twist – It’s All Your Fault – Shirley Lee – I Sure Do Love You Baby – You Mostest Girl – Uh Oh – My Susie J. – My Susie Jane – Open Up Your Heart – Woe Is Me – Hi Ho Silve – Been A Walking – Come On Baby – Sally Twist (part I) – Carolyn – I Love ’em All – New Dance In France – If You Don’t Wanta, You Don’t Have To – Come On And Love Me – Tator – If You Ever Get It Once (You Gonna Want It Again) – I Need Love – Am I Satisfying You – Arkansas Stomp – You Make Me Feel So Fine – Shimmy Lou – Betty Jean – Toolie Frollie – Sally Twist (part II) – Mayonaise Man – Jenny Lee – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On – You’re The Mostest Girl

Bobby Lee Trammell is primarily known to fans for his fantastic debut single, recorded in November 1957, the wild Shirley Lee coupled with I Sure Do Love You Baby, a mid-tempo rockabilly reminiscent of Elvis Presley. On these two tracks, Trammell is accompanied by James Kirkland on double bass and James Burton on guitar, both of whom played with Bob Luman before joining Ricky Nelson, who would later cover Shirley Lee on his second Imperial album.
With this single, Trammell’s place in the rock ‘n’ roll pantheon was assured, but fortunately for us, he continued to record in the decades that followed, covering a plethora of musical genres. This compilation traces this chaotic journey, focusing on the most rock-oriented tracks, from this first single until 1977, the date of his last session. It shows the wide range of styles that Trammell could write (all songs but two are from his pen) and play. Those sessions not only feature musicians, including Joe Maphis, Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, Travis Wammack, The Jordanaires and Sonny Burgess, but also engineers and producers like Scotty Moore, Sam Phillips, Russell Sims and an impressive list of record labels.
In 1958, he recorded “You Mostest Girl,” one of his best tracks, still in the Presley vein. The band has grown to include a vocal ensemble akin to the Jordanaires. The same session also produced a soft-Rockabilly marvel, the hiccupy Uh Oh. Listening to this track, you understand why Ricky Nelson had asked Trammell to write songs for him.
The following years saw him evolve towards a more classic, even more sober Rock’n’Roll. If some of these sides are rather average (Woe Is Me), the whole still benefits from the tenacious, sometimes improbable vocals of Bobby Lee Trammell. The sixties were also those of the Twist, and Trammell did not escape this trend by recording Arkansas Twist. Some will say that he did well because the song would be one of his most important hits. The Rock’n’Roll fan will instead focus on It’s All Your Fault, the B-side, a mid-tempo country with a hypnotic drive that is much more interesting. Obviously, the success of Arkansas Twist generated a whole series of copies trying to repeat the success, whether it was Come On or Sally Twist. Recorded the same year, 1962, Carolyn is an excellent dragging blues, and I Love Em All has more than one trait in common with Chuck Berry’s Johnny Be Goode. He then moved towards a genre close to Sam the Sham with New Dance In France, a weird Tex-Mex-sounding tune.
Trammel then used for a time the stage name of Bobby Lee Trammell, the first American Beatle, which, when listening to the songs recorded at that time, is surprising. Indeed, these are closer in their aggressiveness and their marked blues sound to the Rolling Stones than to the four boys from Liverpool, whether it is If You Don’t Wanna, You Don’t Have To, the excellent Come On & Love Me (with a superb harmonica), or You Make Me Feel So Fine.
If You Ever Get It Once (You Gonna Want It Again) is a country rocker in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis, while I Need Love is almost a carbon copy of What’d I Say by Ray Charles. Fortunately, we find all the singer’s exuberance on Am I Satisfying You.
Always quick to adapt (or copy, depending on your point of view) to the trends and hits of the moment, Trammell offers with the wild Toolie Frollie an excellent answer to the Trashmen’s Surfin’ Bird (with a hint of Wolly Bully thrown in for good measure).
The 70s don’t seem to have had a hold on him, as his new version of You Mostest Girl (renamed You’re The Mostest Girl) seems timeless and particularly fresh. The same goes for the excellent version of Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.
A final session in 1977 yielded Jenny Lee, an updated version of Shirley Lee, which, while it adds nothing to her greatness, is nonetheless very enjoyable. After one last live appearance in 1984, Trammell turned to politics. This excellent compilation does justice to a singer who, despite having a good dose of bad luck (some he provoked), managed to build an interesting career.

Released by Bear Family Records and available on their website (https://www.bear-family.com/trammell-bobby-lee-bobby-lee-rocks-cd.html).

Go to http://www.the-rockabilly-chronicle.com/ to read more reviews.

19/08/2025

Review of the day:
Billy & the Sideburnzz – Big Rat Rocket

Rockin’ Rooster Records [2025]
Electric Lover – Moonshine – Big Rat Rocket – Racin’ Kate – Close To You – Zombie Woman – Monster Walk
billy and the sideburnzz

Billy & the SideBurnzz’s first EP made a strong impression on me, and I was eagerly awaiting for more studio tracks (they released a live EP last year). My wish has been fulfilled with Big Rat Rocket, a seven-track mini album available on all streaming platforms. Big Rat Rocket features two double bassists (Andreas Müller and Slapcat) depending on the songs, alongside Kevin Laske (guitar and vocals) and Franky Schoen (drums).
The album opens with Electric Lover, a Rockabilly track with hillbilly overtones, just like Moonshine, which deals with a subject that seems close to the band’s heart. The title track follows, a fantastic neo-rockabilly track bursting with energy. Speaking of energy, it’s hard to resist Zombie Woman, which borrows its riff from Brand New Cadillac. It’s not far from psychobilly. And the step is happily taken with Rackin’ Kate and its nervous double bass, heady riff, and menacing atmosphere. It’s something the trio excels at. We find these almost oppressive atmospheres on Close To You or Monster Walk, the instrumental that closes the album, evoking Alley Cat King from The Frantic Flintstones, but much spookier.
The vinyl version (which I don’t have) includes an additional track, Big Train, with harmonica, which seems to be a cover of the song by Go Cat Go!

18/08/2025

Review of the day:

Vibro Kings – Psycho Love
Self released
Psycho Love – Amore Lane – Rat Race – Pariah – Hundred Dollar Bill – Heavy Heart – Middle Of the Night – Medusa
Vibro Kings

From Rockabilly with a Punkish attitude to Psychobilly with a surf edge, with Spaghetti Noir instrumentals and blues in between, the Vibro Kings (Chris Henson on guitar and vocals, Jeremy Burgin on bass, and Jon Garrison on drums) cover the whole gamut of Rock’n’Roll with guts.
Psycho Love kicks off the album, sounding like a supercharged version of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. Then all of a sudden the pace changes and the tune evolves into something almost Jazzy (yet rockin’), not unlike what the Reverend Horton Heat can do, before kicking it back on track at full speed.
Next is Amore Lane, an instrumental with a western feel, somewhere between the aforementioned Reverend Horton Heat (Baddest Of the Bad) and the Meteors (Ballad Of A Black Hearted Man). One could find worse comparisons. There are two more instrumentals, the surf-tinged Pariah, and the wild Medusa. Writing Rock’n’Roll instrumental is an art, and few bands manage to develop interesting ideas beyond the initial riff. Paul Fenech and Webb Wilder are two of the very best at this exercise, in my opinion. The three instrumentals offered by the Vibro King are of the same level.
Among the remaining tracks, Rat Race is more on the Psychobilly side of things, Hundred Dollar Bill is a no-nonsense Rock’n’Roll track, the kind of tune that makes you want to party all night long. But the best track of the album is Middle of the Night, a threatening and menacing slow-paced tune. The atmosphere the band manages to create on this one is superb yet scary at the same time. Despite having quite a few songs that go beyond the four-minute mark (five, almost six out of eight), they always manage to keep things interesting with the different textures and layers of sound, the solos that are always inventive, and the sheer quality of their songs.

30/06/2025

Review of the day:

Various Artists – Rock-A-Ballads-Flipside Dreams and Loving Schemes Vol. 1

Bear Family Records BCD 17776
What Do I Want – Gene Dunlap and The Jokers / I Can See It In Your Eyes – Sonny James / A Thousand Guitars – Tracy Pendarvis and The Swampers / Lonely – Tommy LaBeff / Can’t Help It – Tommy Hill / I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere – Ronnie Self / Someone Like You – Ronnie Hawkins / I Think Of You – Rudy Grayzell / A Cheat – Sanford Clark / My True Love – Jack Scott / Walkin’ After Midnight – Patsy Cline / Trying To Get To You – Weldon Rogers / Since I Lost You – Warner Mack / We Belong Together – Ritchie Valens / Crying Goodbye – Ric Cartey / Poor Little Fool – Ricky Nelson / Breeze – Vernon Taylor / Sleep Walk – Santo and Johnny / The Grave – Tony Casanova / More And More (I Love You) – Tooter Boatman / My Girl – Robin Luke / Anyway You Want Me (That’s How It Will Be) – Elvis Presley / Most Of All – The Prowlers with Les Vogt / Come Back Baby – Mac Curtis / Turn Back The Clock – Ral Thunder / Tragedy – Thomas Wayne with The DeLons / Bitter Tears – Rodney Scott /’ll Take Tomorrow (Today) – Ray Vernon / You Don’t Owe Me A Thing – Marty Robbins / Cold North Wind – Lonnie Dee / Nothin’ Needs Nothin’ (Like I Need You) – Marvin Rainwater / Sure To Fall – Carl Perkins

Many Rock’n’Roll and Rockabilly fans seem to only remember the most spirited and edgy songs from the genre. This tendency is felt even in the repertoire of contemporary groups where it is difficult to find artists capable, or with the desire, to write ballads. This is a great shame because by discarding the softer and calmer sides, they miss out on a significant part of the repertoire. The ballad (let’s use this generic term for convenience) is also the way to hear the singer alone in front of his microphone, with little or no artifice (except for a few backing vocals). Here, the voice can no longer cheat, whether in terms of emotion or accuracy.

This copious compilation (32 tracks and a 38-page booklet) is the perfect tool for discovering the richness of a repertoire that’s more subtle and varied than it seems, far from the clichéd caricature of the sugary ballad.

Of course, it features artists experienced in the exercise, with Elvis Presley at the forefront of course (and not far behind Marty Robbins and Ricky Nelson). This album alternates well-known pieces (Sleepwalk, Walking After Midnight) with rarer tracks, and also allows us to present a lesser-known side of artists such as Ruddy Grayzell, Sleepy La Beff, and Ronnie Self. It also contains its share of oddities and rarities, as evidenced by this version of Breeze, a Tin Pan Alley hit transformed into a rock-a-ballad by Vernon Taylor, Tony Casanova’s macabre The Grave, or Weldon Rogers’ almost out-of-tune Trying To Get To You.

The artists who make up this compilation are exclusively white, but this is volume 1, so we can imagine that, like the Rock compilations, volume 2 will be dedicated to African-American artists.

Buy it here: https://www.bear-family.fr/various-bear-family-records-rock-a-ballads-flipside-dreams-and-loving-schemes-vol.1-cd.html

More Rockin' reviews here:
http://www.the-rockabilly-chronicle.com/

29/06/2025

Random review of the day:

Guana Batz – Rough Edges

Streetwise / Open Your Mouth / One Night / Good News / Rockin On Creek Road / Fight Back / Spy Catcher / Love Generator / Bring My Cadillac Back / Rock Around With Ollie Vee / Two Shadows / You Can Run

After the more pop oriented “Loan Sharks”, the Guana Batz returned to the classical sound of their first album. The band threw away saxes and the keyboards and the covers came from the catalogs of Buddy Holly, Elvis and Baker Knight & The Knightmares. In term of cohesion, recording and songwriting, Rough Edges (which is by no means “rough”) is their absolute best album showing an accomplished band at the peak of its creativity that benifits of a clean (but NOT slick) production. The band offers a solid mix of psychobilly (Streetwise, Fight Back), wild neo-rockabilly (Love Generator, Open Your Mouth), instrumental (Spy Catcher) and even an excellent jazzy number (Two Shadows). You won’t find any filler here and even the construction of the album is perfect. If “Held Down…”, was the revelation of a great band to a wide audience and “Loan Sharks” showed a band avid to explore new territories, “Rough Edges” was simply the album of a band in full mastery of his art.

More rockin' reviews at http://www.the-rockabilly-chronicle.com/rockin-reviews/

28/06/2025

Random review of the day:

Johnnie Lee Wills – The Band’s A Rockin’

Bear Family Records – BCD17646 [2025]
The Band’s A Rockin’ – The Thingamajig – Blackberry Boogie – Coyote Blues – A Bad Deal All Around – She Took! – I Like You Best Of All – Let Me Be – Boogie Woogie Highball – Hot Check Baby – Levee Blues – A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E – Smoke On The Water – Sold Out Doc – Four Or Five Times – Rag Mop – Two Timing – Two Step Side Step – In The Mood – Milk Cow Blues – There Are Just Two I’s In Dixie – Tom Cat Boogie – Oo Oooh Daddy – Honey In The Horn – Ten Little Blue Birds In My La – Silver Dew On The Blue Grass Tonight – Southland Swing – Bee’s In My Bonnet – Square Dance Boogie – Devil’s Blues – I’m Leaving (Yes Indeedy)

Fans of the Wills family are definitely spoiled by the German bear, because after Bob and Billy Jack, it’s the turn of Johnnie Lee, the third of the four brothers, to join the prestigious Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight series.
After six years as a banjo player with the Texas Playboys, Johnnie Lee Wills finally had the opportunity to form and lead his own band when Bob decided to relocate the Texas Playboys to California. Far from his brother, the freer Johnnie Lee was able to develop his own style. While the eldest of the Wills brothers abandoned the strings for a big-band horn section, evolving his sound towards something smoother and more sophisticated, Johnnie Lee consolidated his lineup around a smaller group with Junior Barnard (guitar) and Millard Kelso, two former Texas Playboys. This first lineup also included Luke Wills on double bass.
The first session recorded by this group is exemplary. This compilation features two of the best songs from that session: Milk Cow Blues and Devil Blues. From this first session, we can see the difference between the two brothers. Johnnie Lee Wills was more bluesy and more in tune with his time and the development of small combos during this period of restriction, whether in Jazz, Blues, or Country Music (Ted Daffan, Al Dexter).
The war and the recording strike initiated by James Petrillo kept the orchestra away from the studios, and it wasn’t until 1947 that Johnnie Lee Wills recorded again. During these years, the lineup evolved, this time with a full horn section and drums. The result is once again very good (Square Dance Boogie), although a little more impersonal.
It wasn’t until the following sessions, recorded between 1949 and 1953 (which constitue the bulk of this compilation) that Johnnie Lee Wills developed his personal style. The horns gave way to a single clarinet that brought swing and velocity, and the group skillfully blended blues, swing, and boogie in a style sometimes reminiscent of Tennessee Ernie Ford. While commercial success was escaping the band (with the exception of Rag Mop), artistic achievement was omnipresent throughout, the group blending verve with relaxed style. Aside from the consistent musical quality, this compilation has the merit of highlighting Johnnie Lee’s Western Swing, lesser known than Bob and less flamboyant than Billy Jack, but just as good.
For those who already own the compilation of the same name released by Krazy Kat in 1996, rest assured, there are ultimately relatively few tracks in common between the two albums, with the Bear release being more of an extension of the first album.
Hopefully, Bear will now reissue the 1988 LP High Voltage Gal to complete the series.

27/06/2025

Random review of the day:

The Frantix – Antix With the Frantix
Rollin Records RRCD-008
Mama,Mama,Mama – Duck Run – Big Time Mama – Alligator Meat – No Lovin’ No River Blues – Mean Evil Woman – Rock Around The Town – Rock And Roll Fever – What’s Inside A Girl – Filth – She’s My Baby – Rocket Ride Bop – Stone Killer – Hep Cat – Toe Rag Stomp – Trouble With A Capital T – Never Been So Lonely

Believe it or not, the Frantix exist since 1981 but this is their first long player (though they appeared on compilation albums). The band has gone under a few line-up changes. The first two third of “Antix with…” has been recorded in 2008 and 2009 with Jerry Brill (vocals), Graham Murphy (lead guitar), Boz Boorer (rhythm guitar and sax) Roger Van Niekirk (drums) and Neil Scott (doublebass), the remaining titles were recorded in 1994 and feature Malcom Chapman (lead guitar) and Craig Shaw (rhythm guitar). You can say you’re in good company with members of the Bobshack Stompers, Carlos and the Bandidos, The Excellos, The Polecats etc.
The opening number, “Mama, Mama, Mama”, is a classic rockabilly that reminds a lot of “That’s Allright“. Then everything goes wild with “Duck Run” a Batman like instrumental written by Boorer with a dirty sound and wild screams added for good measure. And from that moment you’re on for 45 minutes of some of the finest rock’n’roll recently recorded featuring Diddley beat (“She’s My Baby” with maracas and sax), strip clubs instrumental (“Filth” with sax) and of course a majority of wild and raucous rockabilly, including a cover of the Cramps’ What’s Inside A Girl“. Talking about The Cramps, “Rocket Ride Bop” is not that far from their sound and reminds me a bit of “Rock On The Moon“. Hey, what did you expect? This band is called the Frantix not the Sweetiz or something like that. Even on mellower tunes like Jimmy Sysum’s Big Time Mama you feel the urgency in Brillo’s voice. Just plain great!
Recorded live, for some parts at Toe Rag, this is what rock’n’roll should be: raw, wild, nervous and most of all thrilling.

The Rockabilly Chronicle

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