Just hearing the band’s name immediately brings to mind rollicking boogie woogie and straight ahead R ‘n’ B and they don’t let you down. These guys have been around for over 15 years and the music is as fresh as a daisy and as lively as a band in the first flush of youth.
Right from the get-go this album suggests that they are a live band par excellence, the kind of dance band that is gonna get the crowd off their asses and shake tailfeathers a-plenty. Led by Tim Penn’s piano and accordion with some great guitar work from Mal Barclay, Mike Thomas delivers some sterling vocals and slide and the whole thing is underpinned by Roy Webber’s drums and Paul Cuff’s bass.
Of the 14 tracks here, 10 are originals and they are confident enough to cover Professor Longhair (‘In The Night’) and the zydeco flavoured rock & roll of Glover & Thomas’ ‘Soleil de la Louisiane’ but their own material sounds pretty damn tasty too, especially ‘Cadillac Shake’ and the opener ‘For Richer For Poorer’ It is very much an ensemble piece; everyone gets a piece of the pie and the whole thing relies on them all for its swing and power.
Now, truth is that they are not the first band ever to make this kind of music but equally, there are very few bands around at the moment who make music of this much fun and add in so much sheer danceability. They play without any inhibitions and stay away from the cod- boogie of many bands who purport to be rockers.
