The Eddy Blake Trio "Bucko"

(Sleazy Records 2019)

Terrible Tara Belle

Do A Little Bop

Every Day Of My Life Is A Waste Of Time

Good Old Boys

Play It Up

That's Why I Do What I Do

Stormy

Lost And I'll Never Find My Way

Love Me Baby

My Girl Mini

I'm A Wrecking Ball

Blues Stay Away From Me

You Can't Walk My Walk

Slap bass demigod Eddy Blake and his two cohorts know what rockabilly and roots music is all about. With a fine pedigree behind all three, this is some fine slap bass driven bop with the kind of stripped back appeal that made The Shakin' Pyramids one of my all time favourite bands. The music flows perfectly between rockabilly and honky tonk to some hairy bollocked rock'n'roll. Harmonious, echo-laden, doghouse bass drenched ditties abound but with enough variety in style to keep you going back for more. Now then, let me get this off my chest...the internet is alight recently with chatter about the forthcoming release of the Stray Cats new album. The much vaunted trio should hang their heads in shame. With the financial clout behind them they could have done a far better job on the production and mixing side of their new music. Granted I've only heard one song, but it's enough! Muddy, slapless demo-quality disappointment. Then we have The Eddy Blake Trio. A band with fuck all financial clout in comparison to the New York megabucks ensemble. The Eddy Blake Trio shine where the Cats don't. Now this may sound somewhat pejorative when it comes to the Cats. I don't mean it to. I love em. I don't love the missed opportunity with their new output. Conversely Eddy and the boys have recorded something that really shows how to breathe life into the 65 year old genre and keep it exciting. When I'm not actually listening to music, THIS is what rockabilly sounds like in my head. 

In addition to the CD release and of course the download option, there is also a 45 featuring three tracks taken from the album (Stormy/Wrecking Ball/Terrible Tara Belle) out now on limited edition vinyl on Modern Syndrome Records who have brought us some of the finest and rarest rockin' sounds over the years.   

Eddy Blake on Facebook

Eddy Blake on bandcamp

Eddy Blake on Sleazy Records

Modern Syndrome Records on Facebook 

Hellacious Harmonies on Facebook                                                    

Eddy Blake "The Wooden Whale"

(Eddy Blake 2016)

The Titan

Low Down To The Ground

All I Can Do Is Cry

As Tears Go By

Love Float Away

Leviathan

Dream Of A Miner's Daughter

Drink Up And Go Home

I Love Everyone

I'd heard a song called Walk My Walk a long time ago somewhere on the net and made a mental note to research the band in question....Canada's Cockroaches. But of course I forgot until they popped up again on one of the Modern Syndrome Neo Rockabilly Nation compilations last year. So this time around I was adamant to find out more. After much Googling I discovered the names of the band members and then it was on to Facebook to see if any of them had a profile on there. Lo and behold who should I discover only slap bass and vox frontman Eddy Blake. I sent him a message asking if The Cockroaches self titled 2007 CD was still available! It was, a purchase ensued, an autograph was signed, and the CD was mine! I was delighted with meself! Anyway, as it turned out, Eddy was still very active musically what his Eddy Blake And The Honky Tonk Heartbreakers rootsy garage-a-billy ensemble and now this, his brand new solo album "The Wooden Whale". Eddy says it's a concept album. The concept being the only instrument used is the double bass. I was sold on that idea before even listening to the album. "The album is a bass trip for me. I've been playing upright bass about 20 years now, in all sorts of rockabilly, r n' b and bluegrass bands and I've also played classical music. So the main thing from a musical perspective was to make a record with just the bass, to see where I could go with that" said the ultra-talented Mr Blake when I quizzed him further. Well, he went beyond anything I expected! The bass is slapped, plucked and bowed. It's a rootsy rockabilly symphonic masterpiece. And I don't use the term masterpiece lightly. Mostly self penned songs and instrumentals with a few choice covers make each song flow perfectly from one to the other. Anything with "billy" attached to the end of it has been done to death and it's not easy to take that, or any musical genre that's been around for years in a new direction. Our Eddy has done just that with stellar results. I like to keep my music collection categorised but this in a category all by itself. It's a moody, dark, double bass carousel of delights.

The O'Prez

Eddy Blake On Facebook

The Wooden Whale on Bandcamp

Eddy Blake And The Honky Tonk Heartbreakers on Bandcamp

Hellacious Harmonies on Facebook