Jerry King & The Rivertown Ramblers (USA)
A Date With...

©El Toro Records 2006

Pure Rockabilly recorded live at the legedary Sun Records Studio.

If you're a modern Indie Rock artist ready to record an album, Steve Albini's studios in Chicago might be the dream setting. Rockers of all sorts would probably kill at the chance to lay down tracks at Jimi Hendrix's old Electric Ladyland studios. What's a recording-ready Rockabilly cat to do? Pilgrimage to Memphis and rent some time at the legendary Sun Studios, of course, Jerry King & the Ramblers did just that. This four-piece group has ace chops, but what makes A Date With such a success is their ability to capture the energy and spirit of the masters, injecting the traditional sound with the necessary authenticity to make it sound like it was indeed recorded in the '50s during Sun's heyday. Also inspired by the locally-spawned King Records family, the Ramblers are built like the prototypical Rockabilly crew -- stand-up bass, shuffling beats, soulful, twangy lead vocals, call-and-response back-ups, driving guitar and songs about Brown Eyed women and Devil's Children. Singer/rhythm guitarist King has the vocal presence of a youthful, ornery Eddie Cochran, his spirited, jumping croon speckled with a barrage of inspired "C'mons" and hiccups that slap-back with wet, echoing reverb. The group's motor mostly runs at a steady, high-octane pace and that's when they are at their most effective. Highlights include "You Forgot Your Name" and "Bad Dreams," which finds King at his most excitable, the propulsive "Speed Limit", and "She's a Devils Child," which has that wild-eyed, early Elvis feel. Elsewhere, "Price Of Love" slows down the tempo and breaks up the train-chugging assault with a lonesome ballad that best shows off King's vocal talents. The joyous performances are priceless and the lively recording techniques give the album an undeniably vintage vibe, refreshing in this age of auto-tuners and multi-layered tracking. Recording at the foundation of Rock & Roll, it's nice to think that the Ramblers ran into lingering ghosts checking out the new blood. After listening to A Date With, if there was indeed any spectral intermingling, the spirits probably offered them a light off their Zippo, gave 'em a pull from their flask and challenged them to a game of dirty pool. Sun Studios is just where this talented band belongs. Jerry King and the Rivertown Ramblers are the real deal. -- MB Blue Suede News Magazine.

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1. You Forgot Your Name
2. Party Line
3. Brown Eyed Baby
4. Rains
5. Honky Tonk Bop
6. Big Door
7. I Want a Lover
8. Bad Dreams
9. She's a Devils Child
10. She Don't Live Here No More
11. Speed Limit
12. Price of Love
13. It's All Over
14. Used To Be
15. My Baby Said Goodbye
16. Bobby Socks

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