I
Wanna Go I Wanna Go - High
Class Weddin' - Leave
That Junk Alone - Dark
Swamp - City Lights -
Million Dollar Gang -
Otro Corazón - When I
Left El Paso - When Love
Calls On You - I Wanna Be
A Millionaire - All My
Life Is Gone
This good surprise comes
from Spain as the slight
accent of Klaus Villarrel
(singer and double bass
player) reveals. This
trio (guitar, light drums
mostly played with
brushes and double bass)
plays an excellent brand
of roots music they call
hillbilly swing and it
suits them well. They mix
influences from Hank
Williams (All My Life Is
Gone) to Johnny Burnette
(Million Dollar Gang is a
wild rocker in the vein
of Train Kept A Rollin')
and Charlie Feathers. In
between you find City
Light, a bluegrass
influenced number with
two parts harmonies and
"When I Left El Paso"
that reminds of the great
Marty Robbins with lyrics
(by the way the lyrics
are included) like "But
at night bad luck came to
my life / When a fight
started my knife had to
shine / the blood in my
hand and his body on the
flor / the sheriff's son
is dead and my soul went
down" . You'll also
find some Johnny Cash
with the cover of "Leave
that junk alone" and
his trademark boom-chica-boom
rhythm is featured on
"When Love Calls On
You". The name of
the band comes from
guitar virtuoso Jerry
Reed, and guitar player
José Casarejos does
justice to this name
especially on the
swingin' hot number
"I Wanna Be A
Millionaire".
Another highlight is
"Dark Swamp", a
haunting number not that
far from neo-rockabilly,
with lyrics close to
"Endless Sleep"or
even "Johnny
Remember Me". With
only eleven songs (9 self
penned tunes), Mr Whiz
offers a tight album with
no filler and are another
proof of the good heath
of the Spanish scene.
Available at El
Toro records Fred "Virgil"
Turgis
