The Happy Drivers   We Shall Be Going On Babe Please Don’t Go – We Shall Be Going On – My Bopping Rocking Babe – The Fun Of It – Midnight Train – Popeye – Low Rider – Old Black Jack – Long Blond Hair – You Will Never Come Back Again – Oh Babe – My Daddy’s Banjo When you listen 20 years later to an album you liked a lot as a teenager, it’s very hard to actually know if you like it for good reasons. Does this album have real qualities or is this just pure nostalgia? For “We Shall Be Going On” the answer is : both. On one hand, if you want to be objective, you can say that the sound is a bit thin, Jean Christophe’s voice is from time to time out of tune and his pronounced French accent a bit present. But this album has its own qualities. The boys wrote their own songs (even if Low Rider sounds very close to Stray Cats’ Built For Speed) with varied influences from straight rockabilly to blues, with detours by neo-rockabilly and bit of country too (you can find a banjo on some songs). The covers, including Dave Phillips “The Fun Of It” are very well chosen. All this elements, and I can’t deny a bit of nostalgia too, make of this debut album an enjoyable listening experience, even two decades later. Fred "Virgil" Turgis       Indians On The Road Indians – I’m Not A Hero – Tear It Up – Nervous Man – Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You – Crawdad Hole This time, there’s not the shadow of a doubt and nostalgia has nothing to do here, this mini 10” album is plain good. The Happy Drivers, on a short distance that advantages them, deliver 6 songs : 2 covers (a raucous version of Tear It Up and a banjo led Crawdad Hole) and 4 solid originals. Since their previous release, they have hardened their sound. Not exactly psychobilly, but no longer 50’s rockabilly, they created their own brand of modern rockabilly. “Indians” features the appropriate drum beat, as you can imagine, and a citation of The Shadows’ Apache (of course). Next you have “I’m Not A Hero” a wild modern rockabilly that shows how tight the band was at that time. “Nervous Man” is nervous for sure, a really heavy number (strong guitar and raspy voice) that prefigures what will follow with “War” their third album. JC has really worked on his voice and you also hear that the band benefited of a real studio and enough time to work their sound. The fourth self penned number, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” is simply perfect, a frantic rockabilly. With this 10” the Happy Drivers had a level rarely reached by French bands. Fred "Virgil" Turgis       War La isla bonita / I cry Jerry Lee / I shoot da sherif / Lame de fond / Arena // Indians war / Crazy life / Rock on / Fire down below / I cry freedom / Blood & war The third album by the French trio marks a new step for the band. Alain (ex Wampas and Los Carayos) now replaces Mickey Black Finger on bass (you can find Mickey today with The Grizzly Family). Alain also brings with him lots of influences that one didn't find in the band's sound previously like hardcore and heavy metal (Cro-Mags, Black Flag). He also sings two songs including a French one. Contrary to their first releases, they benefit the service of a "real" producer, namely Roger tebutt who worked with The Long Tall Texans. The sound gets harder and harder and the trio explores new territories by covering the likes of Madonna (an explosive version of La Isla Bonita), Bob Marley (imagine i Shot Da Sheriff if Marley was onspeed instead of weed) and Gary Glitter (Rock On). Some songs stay closer to the rockabilly idiom (I Cry Jerry Lee), while other are strictly hardcore/punk rock like Arena. Another tune (Lame de Fond) sounds like a French folkoric song, a way some members of the band will take after the band splits. Despite some good songs here and there, the following albums of The Happy Drivers were disappointing compared to War who was the perfect combination of rockabilly, psychobilly, hardcore and alternative rock. The Radioactive Kid