The night wind mercilessly throws raindrops through the black windows, the branches dance in a frenzy, trying to bare themselves, throwing off the disgusting dresses of foliage. It’s like they can hear some other kind of music. Behind impenetrable walls, in the dim light of the dance floors, dudes twist, musicians measure themselves by the sharpness of arrows on wide trousers, girls by the splendor of petticoats. The sounds of their songs mix on the asphalt with the nocturne of crazy weather, rush into the sewers and, reaching the very bottom, find new friends in the face of shit and mutagen. There are always hungry rats as pets, grease and penny swill as grease, and the double bass had to be brewed from the coffin of an unknown runt. It’s a completely different rock’n’roll here, and the young ladies better hold their noses. It doesn’t look at all like cute ninja reptiles, It crawled out of the darkest alleys of mass consciousness in the late 1970s to sing about resilient monsters and dance on the bones of famous maniacs. His name is Psychobilly, and below I will recall several iconic albums for this genre, much to the disgust of the respectable public.
The Cramps – “Off The Bone”, 1983
Family values, what could be more important for the young American nation? The Addams couple made the whole world admire their enduring passion and refinement of manners, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” showed their unconditional love for their child, no matter how unconventional this child was, “The Hills have eyes” demonstrated the strength of family ties. The young couple – Lux Interior (Luxury Interior or Luminous Insides?) and Poison Ivy Rorschach decided to turn home music making into her main activity.
With the support of a drummer and a second guitarist (bass will appear later) in 1976, they organically fit into the company of similar renegades who rumbled in the CBGB club. A little later, they will all be branded with the word “punk”, because punk sells well, but we know where Mr. McLaren can stick this label. The Cramps (“Cramps”) – distorted by perversions and garage rockabilly sound, with guitar passages in the spirit of Link Ray and the beat of cannibalistic tribes, still remembering the taste of James Cook.
“Off The Bone” was released on vinyl in the UK in 1983 in an anaglyphic cover (the same cardboard stereo glasses with red and green film were included) and was a compilation album made up of early singles and the first mini-album.
The buzzing Human Fly by Lux and Ivy, the first on the list, immediately declares that something is wrong with the guys and they like it. If Cronenberg had listened to her before directing his “Fly,” the filming process would have gone in a different vein. The Way I Walk by Jack Scott in the Cramps version brings to mind the Monty Python Ministry of Strange Gaits, and Domino reveals the threatening potential laid down and carefully covered by Roy Orbison. The stuttering bird from the famous Surfin’ Bird has a beak in some white dust, in Ricky Nelson’s Lonesome Town, Lux brings the story of a broken heart to an absurd apotheosis with his whimpers. She Said she competes in madness with Hazel Adkins himself, his own Garbage Man growls about the birth of a Garbage Monster, half hillbilly, half punk (well, if you buy it…). After going through all the circles of the record, the listener comes across a New Kind Of Kick, and these are pure, crystallized Convulsions, as they will remain until death The universe. One of the most important milestones in the formation of the band and the style of saikobilly in general. And the stilettos… Well, apparently, Lux and Ivy had everything in common, including the wardrobe. An exemplary couple.
The Meteors – “Bastard Sons Of A Rock’n’Roll Devil”, 1996
Boil the water! Otherwise, bacteria and something worse will breed in it. By the 1980s, the infection would cross the Atlantic, infecting immature organisms. Young Paul Fenech will be the easiest victim for her and the main prophet. Equips a recording studio in an abandoned church. He will be the first to name his style “saikobilly”, and it will be saikobilly of the highest standard. Fenech’s songs will host aliens from the planet Zorch, swamp creatures, serial killers and other cute animals.
Honing his style from album to album, in 1996 Paul, now a “Daddy”, recorded “Bastards…”, the pinnacle and quintessence of his quest, an album of penny horror films and bloody noir, murderous instrumentals and heart-stopping songs.
The journey into darkness begins with John Carpenter‘s insinuating Halloween Theme, but the fabric of reality will crackle under the wheels of Straight Down To Hell, a locomotive on its way to Hell (yes, there is a direct rail link from England). You Scare Me (Not) – a scary surf guitar and a story about how psychiatrists didn’t help. Nightmare In Elche opens with the iconic phrase “let’s rock, cabron!” and these are the only words. One can only guess about the events that took place in a town in southern Spain, although it is clear that good things do not happen under such flamenco. The Kattle Slut describes an ideal, by the standards of a cyborg, woman, and 5 Five For Her, 3 For Him – payback for infidelity. The colors are disturbing, the guitar goes into a frenzied solo, testing the strength of the speakers. A thunderclap foreshadows the oncoming Psychobilly Stomp (The Real McCoy), here the killer from Dorz’s “Riders On The Storm” starts a duel with a trucker from R. Matheson’s “Duel”. The rock’n’roll Devil laughs contentedly, stroking his belly. Meteors have a lot of great records, but they reached the peak of fun and fear with this record, perhaps the best in the genre. Slow down you grave robbin’ bastards!
Reverend Horton Heat – “Lucky 7”, 2002
Jim Heath, a native of Dallas, once attended a concert by The Cramps in the eighties, but The Blasters‘ performance hammered a decisive nail into his brain. In order not to get confused, Reverend Horton Heath took the same name for himself and the band, and in 1986 he set out to preach psychobilly with the humor and accent typical of Texans. Double bassist Jimbo Wallace became his faithful companion, and “Lucky 7” is the seventh, most colorful and truly happy album in their discography.
The first song is Loco Gringos Like A Party, and that says a lot. Many NASCAR racers can’t keep up with the high-speed Like A Rocket, so it was adopted as the official anthem of the 2002 Daytona 500 races. However, Reverend Horton Heat’s Big Blue Car is arguably even faster, and in it surf rock meets punk rock, eagerly brushing each other’s piglets.The snide country waltz Tiny Voice Of Reason talks about the dangers of rational thinking, and Go With Your Friends talks about pleasant things that are available only by turning off the mind. Remember Me is amazing, the way a lover possessed by a cannibal Wendigo spirit could sing. Show Pony – Chet Atkins, who escaped from a straitjacket. The cherry on this whole cake, if I may say so, is a sermon dedicated to the double bass player and the song You’ve Got A Friend In Jimbo that follows. Everyone needs a personal Jimbo, where do you hide yours? “Lucky 7” is an insanely sparkling act of uplifting creativity. Hallelujah.
These are the “Russian roller coasters”, the Moon Dogs. And if it will be pleasant for someone to remember and listen again, then for others these saykobilly testaments will be opened for the first time, and here one can only sincerely envy! Buenas noches, loco gringos!
