Gail and the Tricksters are in town,
and we of Rootstime are aware of it. With "Dare To Be Different"
they have put forth
a strong shot of rockabilly,
jump-blues, roots/rock and surf,
and they let no grass grow over them.
Different styles and
each time performed through the vocals
of singer/songwriter, guitarist, and front lady Gail Lloyd. From
Hawaii originally,
but currently in Nashville, a refuge
for the Rockabilly/roots world. Earlier - in 2001 - this group
released the mini-album
"All Tricked Out " (only six songs),
but truly it was enough
to look out for their next musical
releases.
And now here it is at last:" Dare To
Be Different" a full time
CD that lives up to our expectations.
Rockabilly sound,
that here and there ("Twist My
Heart" and "Runaround")
carries the stamp of Buddy Holly, delicious
jump-blues with
a special indication for the other
band members: Walter
Egan, (writer of "Hearts on Fire" and
"Magnet and Steal")
on acoustic and electric guitars, Steve
Haggard, on harp & backing vocals, Supe Granda, on bass (ex-Ozark Mountain
Daredevil) and Kathy Burkly on drums. With two live record-
ings, a cover of the "Wine-spo-dee-o-dee"
-- more classic
and "Tom Cat Blues", the first song
that Gail ever set on
paper, gives you an indication
of what you can expect of
this group. Moreover Walter Egan
does not hold back, from
his "Sheik Or Araby" guitar lines to
a mix in the surf song
"Wet Sand" and former 'guest guitarplayer'
Bart Weilburg
himself is not inactive on "Wanna Go
South" and the older recording "Round 'n' Round" that Gail had recorded
with
her 'hero' the rockabilly-world
knew as "Andy" Starr. Also,
so precious a number is "Pink Slip'
(with that "Oh Carol"
Chuck Berry intro), strong production
by Steve Haggard,
rocking guitars and a tight rhythm
section. The calm blues
ballad "Evil Grows" proves that Gail
Lloyd posesses a
lovely voice and seems to come into
her own on this
"different " album. It being
no "Rockabilly Robots", as
you perhaps would expect from this
track, on the
contrary, Gail & The Tricksters
are a delicious pleasant
roots band, that we in the business
-once in a while- want
to see: so that we from the heart can
sing along (now, with
us).... "Look Out World ......the
Tricksters are in town, your hometown" (Mr. Haggard on harp, Walter
Egan the real,
Kathy Burkly, she can rock, she can
swing, is Supe always
a "Supa"). A beautiful disk that
we very much wished
would’ve lasted longer (32 minutes),
with seven songs
written by Gail Lloyd and we can agree
with the words of
late Rockabilly hero "Andy" Starr
lending his support. ..
"You are simply Great: Wonderful:
By all means keep up the good worked want and surely good fortune come
your way
(if it hasn' t already)". "Rockabilly
Mama" - Rock on.. & You
want be the Biggest Name in Rockabilly
& no tellin' what else." Take a look on their website and
you can be convinced that
Gail has much more in her arsenal (oil,
paintings of famous colleagues." The Hip And The Dead"). Also the
"Gone
With the Wind" cover of the CD.
(SWA) |