It would be close to pointless to attempt playing rockabilly music without an upright bass player. Easily one of the finest in the field is the former Stray Cat himself, Lee Rocker. On this tight, compact, and self-produced CD, Bulletproof, Rocker is joined by a couple of staggering guitarists, Brophy Dale and Tara Novick, and solid drumming from Jimmy Sage. Vocal chores are split between both Rocker and Dale, both sounding superb with plenty of the necessary twang, but never overdoing things. Covers include Carl Perkins' One More Shot, Johnny Cash's Johnny, Frankie's Man, and the Lennon & McCartney gem, I'll Cry Instead. The remainder are mostly originals either written or co-written by Rocker with Blue Suede Nights,
Nervous Little Angel, and the title track smoldering standouts. Thankfully, production values are kept to the bare minimum and close to everything sounds like it came right out of Sam Phillips' Sun Recording Studios somewhere around 1956, complete with the perfectly timed hollers, screams, and hair-raising madness that was so evident in the early music of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and others.
www.leerocker.com has more information.
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