And let the British think that the greatest detective lived in London, at 221b Baker Street, any thoughtful viewer has long known that the best Holmes in the world lives at 22 Yauniela Street in Riga. Uncle Misha Orlov, a vinyl dealer at the “plate” (once a cult place in Yekaterinburg), fished an envelope out of the box, accompanying the process with the words “curious little thing, Baltic rockabilly!” Smiling from the cover was a stylish elderly Riga resident in horn-rimmed glasses, a possible neighbor of Sherlock Holmes, Pete Anderson.
The needle on the record player was broken, the pocket was treacherously empty, and the meeting did not take place. Who could have known that the Canadian-Latvian film “Red Hot”, seen through a dying kinescope, was based on episodes of this musician’s adolescence? Uncle Misha Orlov and Pete Anderson “left the building” in one year. Uncle Misha remembered Jerry Lee’s concert album released in Bulgaria. The Swamp Shakers band left by Pete continued to exist under the supervision of Anderson’s wife Anna, a perky and precise double bass player. Karlis Paukshte forms a wonderful duet with her, banging the drums and leading the main vocal parts. Egils Leymanis is a guitarist of high technique and correct phrasing. Let’s get to know these characters better, Watson!
The polyphony of the Shake It riff! typical, rather, of the 1960s big beat, otherwise it’s a hard-boiled shuffle. Hot Rod Rocket was performed by old Pete. In the new interpretation, the song gained a certain poise, without losing its impetuosity. Make a ballistic missile out of old Lada cars, aim it at the heart of world imperialism – the soundtrack is already there!
Don’t Wanna Miss, which gave the album its name, is the same swamp rock at the beginning of the composition, but the chorus is slightly discouraging in its foreignness. It is in such cases that the prefix “neo-” is attached to the term “rockabilly”. I Don’t Need No Doctor, the band confidently sings in a mid-tempo refrain. Are you listening, Dr. Watson?
Wish You Were Here is a country version of Pinkfloyd’s nettle. According to legend, while composing this song, Waters longed for Barrett. Here, the longing for Pete’s untimely departure is no less sincere. In Buzz Me, Anna took over the microphone, giving out a light high-speed swing. Who would refuse to buzz a lady after such a summons?
The Red Corvette‘s rural rock is filled with the imposing confidence of a Midget pitch. Whistling in a solo doesn’t change the picture. This remarkable song lacks the nerve of hooliganism. Didn’t Start Living is probably better than Albert Lee’s original, but it loses to the versions by Billy Burnett and Darrell Higham. A good attempt looks toothless against the background of these mastodons.
Born To Rock is a faceless song and a strange choice for re-singing. Born for rock? Hearing it, I don’t believe it. Hoola Hoop is fun, bouncy and happily sticks in the memory. A carefree spring jive.Gotta Gimme Watcha Got, “give it your all,” sings Anna in the voice of an affectionate gopnik. Egils gives a dapper solo. A midnight encounter with such robbers will turn into an unexpectedly pleasant parting with cash.
Elvis gave Mom a Pink Cadillac. It’s a difficult but enjoyable job being Elvis’ mom. The song is also not bad. My Heart Is Cryin’ is the romantic meow of a lovesick bully. That’s how Gene Vincent understood jazz. Impeccable execution.
Hillbilly Boy is a slow-paced rural romance evoking westerns like “Lemonade Joe.” Damn good guitar solo. Take your music chilled, with a strength of no more than four and a half degrees. Cool It is exactly like that.
Under Milton Allen’s Don’t Bug Me Baby, I wanted to take a bat and bring universal justice. Or at least fuck up the monument to Yeltsin. The Swampshaker version does not cause such emotions. The broken rhythm of the verse destroys the already weak groove of the composition. The Hucklebuck is an instrumental evoking Cliff Gallup’s sub-twists. It doesn’t look like a Chubby Checker twist.
https://theswampshakers.bandcamp.com/album/dont-wanna-miss
https://www.facebook.com/PeteAndersonAndTheSwampShakers/
The inexorable verdict: the guys played flawlessly, but lost the necessary drive along the way. Let’s wish them a correction, Moon Dogs! The moon, like a can of sprats, peeks through the window…
