Brutal Purity
Vampirette VAMPCD106
Just Alright ~ Diamonds At Her Feet ~ What Colour Is The Sky ~ Make That Date ~ Never Came Back ~ Decisions On Love ~ Am I Wrong ~ Look That Looks Good ~ Sweet Love From You ~ Deuces Wild ~ Blues So Bad ~ Brutal Purity ~ Radiation Ranch ~ Deuces Wild ~ City Bound
This album was first issued on Fury in 1989 and until now was only available on vinyl, so that's a good idea from Vampirette to reissue it, especially with 3 bonus tracks. The Deuces Wild were a british neo rockabilly trio. The majority of the songs are rockers influenced by Cochran, Restless (Deuces Wilds #2) and of course Brian Setzer, the excellent and frantic "Brutal Purity" sounds like a mix of Stray Cats "Wicked Whiskey" and Restless' "Crack Up And Fall To Pieces" (you could find worst references for a neo band) and included in the bonus tracks is a good rendition of "Radiation Ranch" from Setzer's solo album The Knife Feels Like Justice. Pete Hague’s voice is not that far from Paul Roman (The Quakes) at places and talking about The Quakes if you dig their “Voice Of America” album, you sure wont be disappointed with the stuff contained herein. But their originality comes from the blues elements you can find on some songs (It’s Alright, Am I Wrong), close to the recordings made by The Nervous Fellas around the same period. They try to escape the clichés (and succeed) with some tunes you’re not used to find on “80’s neo rockabilly-slap bass led” albums like the jazzy blues “Blues So Bad” or the acoustic skifflebilly “Diamonds At Her Feet”. Sure this album won’t change your life, but this is a more than pleasant reissue if you dig "Gonna Ball" by The Stray Cats and that typical 80’s rockabilly sound like I do.
Fred "Virgil" Turgis