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Look at the lineup --- vocals
& guitar; upright bass, make that upright bass, not that
poseur electric thing my son plays; tenor sax; and drums. Then
consider the tracks, which include a cover of Buddy
Holly's "Not Fade
Away."
Finally, take a look at the guys in the
band, all of whom have what my grandmother used to refer to as
real haircuts. Consider all
of these factors, and ask yourself, how can BIG TOWN by Sean
Kennedy and the King Rats be anything less than damn near
perfect? And, sure as two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of
oxygen will give you water, it's as close to perfect as you're
gonna get in the first
year of the second millennium.
You could hear this type of music in the
late 1950s if you knew where to go. You'd head to a place a few
miles out of the city on a two lane road and there would be a
place with cars parked helter-skelter all over a crushed oyster
shell parking lot, and maybe the place would have a name out
front in lights and maybe it wouldn't, and maybe there'd be an
ass-kicking or two the night you were there and maybe one of
those kicked asses would be yours. But you'd risk it anyway for
the beer, (usually warm), the women (usually hot, and with
somebody else), and the music. You might know the brother of
somebody in the band, but they'd never get invited to play at
your high school because the music would have had the kids
swinging from the rafters and screwing in the lockers. Not that
they weren't anyway. Because the guys weren't doing covers of
The Lettermen or the Brothers Four.
BIG TOWN brings back memories of those
days and makes it sound like one of those unknown, nameless
roadhouse bands stepped through a timewarp and started playing
as if Elvis wasn't dead and Buddy Holly had never gotten on
board a plane and an asshole in New Orleans hadn't abused his
power and closed every nightclub in the city that didn't pay him
off. Sean Kennedy and the King Kats take you through ten tracks
in a little over 33 minutes, no fluff, no long boring solos (but
plenty of short, no b.s., interesting ones).
"Ball and Chain" starts things
off quite smartly, thank you, a rousing rocker with the guitar
and sax simultaneously battling for supremacy before Jim
Hannibal breaks through and blows like he's trying to split his
lip open in a manner worthy of Andy McKay. Sean Kennedy pops in
for another verse and then unleashes
a blistering guitar solo before abruptly bringing things to a
close. All in 2 minutes, 12 seconds. The interplay between
Hannibal and Kennedy is constant and sizzling throughout BIG
TOWN, but don't you dare ignore Roddy
Larsen on that upright bass and Dave Maneeley on drums. Remember
how everyone ignored Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman at the Rolling
Stones' concerts, concentrating on the Jaggerrichard machine in
the front? Haul out those old records and listen: Watts and
Wyman were the guys who kept things moving. So here as well;
while Kennedy and Hannibal provide the flash and fire and lots
and lots of substance, Larsen and Maneeley provide
the gunpowder.
Kennedy mentions the Stray Cats as
influences. Fuggedaboutit. The Stray Cats wish they had been as
good as these guys are. These guys are wild men, wild
men with talent. Interestingly enough, some of
the best tracks on BIG TOWN, a CD full of best tracks, are
instrumental, including the title track and the killer closer
"Room 39." First among equals, however, would have to
be "Racer Girl," a smoker not
even 3 1/2 minutes long, which gives Hannibal
room to stretch out and blow his face right off of the planet
and Kennedy space to blister the skin right off of the tips of
his fingers.
And how do they follow "Rocket
Girl." By taking the revered Buddy Holly classic,"Not
Fade Away," and giving it a respectful reading by subtly
making it their own, something no one has done since the Rolling
Stones did almost 40 years ago.
BIG TOWN is ten killer tracks that is so
good that you'll be pounding your head against the wall in
disbelief, and in time to the music. It would be worth a trip to
the band's native San Luis Osbispo just to check them out. The
CD will hold you over 'til you do that, though. This is
incredible retro music
from straight out of nowhere.
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| Artist |
Sean Kennedy &
King Kats |
| Title |
Big Town |
| Label |
Rocket King
Records |
| Reviewer |
Joe Hartlaub |
| Rating |
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| win stuff |
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