| CD REVIEW |
| James Dean lives! Nah, h'�s been dead and buried for several decades now, but the characteristic spirit of that rebel-rockin' era has been lovingly resurrected by these 20-something rock'n'rollers. The Southern Ontario trio is comprised of Jon Thornton on guitar (he also takes turns on upright bass in live performance) and vocals, Corey Richardson on upright bass and vocals, and Shane O'Connell on drums. When I first heard this CD, hot on the heels of their live performance at Ridgeways, I didn't catch the same combustible spark they had ignited the previous night, but after taking a few more listens to it, I realize it is, in fact, a very vital production. The seven tracks are all immensely catchy originals that pick up the thread where the King Bees (with Jamie James), the Bop Cats (with Jack de Keyzer), and later the Stray Cats (with Brian Setzer), left off. The Screamin' Black Cadillacs is a corset-tight unit of prodigious players that aims to musically pillage and plunder on the highways of cities that never sleep. Speaking of prodigies, the CD was produced by Rob Deacon and the Screamin' Black Cadillacs at the appropriately-named Prodigy Audio. If you consider yourself a throwback to the '50s (or even a person who was born too late to have enjoyed that dance-crazy music in its heyday), you'll want to have this CD permanently installed into your car stereo unit whenever you're going for a "joyride"! Although the revelatory opening track is called "End of the Road", it's only the beginning of a short (but sweet) journey through time that recalls the sounds of Chuck Berry, Duane Eddy, Carl Perkins, Blue Cheer, and especially early recordings by Elvis Presley. Right through to the CD ender, "Back Around", you'll surf the crest of psycho-billy waves enhanced by suitably powerful and crooning vocals. Keeping the rhythmic motor running in high gear is an ever-present driving drumbeat coupled with brutally spanking bass lines and dynamic "bug music" guitar riffs on songs like "No Mistake" and "Midnight Train (goin' to Memphis)". The last track, bringing you "back around", is the only slow-tempo tune, but even that one incorporates a full-on fretful guitar break. Although a couple of the songs, such as "Waiting for You" and "Moonlight", sound a wee bit too similar to each other the first time around, the distinctions are discovered in the fluent guitar breaks. It's a "killer" from start to finish. The King may be dead, but long live the Screamin' Black Cadillacs! [You can catch their live-wire performance at the Thirsty Cactus (2 King Street East) on Sunday, February 23/03, in Dundas, Ontario, next door to Hamilton. |
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