Halloween Rockabilly from Clem Burke & 69 Cats
I’m not much for goth (Siouxie and the Banshees being perhaps the lone exception) but rockabilly discs get my attention. And when Clem Burke (Blondie) is involved, it gets my undivided attention. Since Burke & Co put out a holiday appropriate record called “Transylvanian Tapes”, well it gets my undivided immediate attention.
Disclaimer: The disc was released in 2014 but since I just learned about it, I’ve chosen to discuss it this week.
So here goes….
Appropriately consisting of 13 tracks in total (it IS Halloween after all), this collection of rockabilly, goth rock and pop covers will have the folks in the city morgue trading in their toe tags for a pair of blue suede shoes. Lead singer Jyrki Linnankivi delivers with a deep baritone rivaled by no one except perhaps the dearly departed Country Dick Montana. And he’s nearly as much fun as Country Dick. If you can stomach the occasional childish indiscretion (for some unexplained reason, Jyrki feels the need to use the obvious expletive in “Werewolves of London” which comes across as gratuitous and childish, really), then you’ll enjoy his Dark Elvis alter-ego.
The Doors classic, “People Are Strange” starts things off and The Cramps’ “Sunglasses After Dark” is an up-tempo rockabilly gem. Both get great treatments here. Del Shannon’s “Runaway” is the only real straight forward interpretation on the record but it’s such a great song, why would anyone in their right mind change it? Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London”, like the werewolf’s hair (the one at Trader Vick’s) is perfect – other than the one indiscretion mentioned above.
The only track that doesn’t quite fit with the theme is Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film” but it’s a fun enough version that you won’t care. 69 Cats saved the best for last, though. While I’m not a big fan of goth, their cover of Bauhaus’ “Bella Lugosi’s Dead” is absolutely killer. As an added bonus, Wanda Jackson guests on “She’s Not You”, an irresistible slice of country goodness. If you’re a fan of The Cramps, rockabilly guitar and to a lesser extent, gothic rock, you’ll play this disc to death. Plus, its the only Halloween rockabilly record ever released to the best of my knowledge.
Clem Burke has been involved with a number of great projects recently. These include recent discs from The Empty Hearts and The Split Squad (with Eddie Munoz of The Plimsouls and Keith Streng of The Fleshtones). Burke was also present at last week’s benefit show for John Wicks of The Records. More on that soon.
The members of 69 Cats are: Jyrki 69 (of 69 Eyes), Clem Burke (of Blondie), Danny Harvey (of The Rockats) and Chopper Franklin (The Cramps). Buy it at iTunes.
