Retro Music Review | Oldies, Reissues and New Releases with a Retro Sound

Mitch Woods - Jukebox Drive (El Toro Rhythm & Blues; El Toro R&B 206)

Whether “Boppin’ The Boogie” or serving up burgers at a “Boogie Woogie Bar-B-Q,” piano man Mitch Woods is the epitome of cool. He rocks those eighty-eights like crazy as a “Saturday Night Boogie Man,” then stumbles in the next morning with a “Blues Hangover.” The latter track is a thrilling rhythm and blues masterpiece, thanks in no small part to Woods’ first class backing band, The Lazy Jumpers. Drummer Blas Picon not only drives the tune furiously, he also delivers a killer harmonica break… READ MORE

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club - Cipher (Alternative Tentacles; Virus 383)

Every Slim Cessna’s Auto Club album represents a new and haunting vision of the American landscape. This country as seen through the eyes of Slim is a strange place indeed. Revival meetings and mason jugs and bullfrogs and highways being hacked to ribbons are set against a constant and curious chant, the drumming voice of the ignored and the dispossessed… READ MORE

Sean Costello - We Can Get Together (Delta Groove Music; DGPCD120)

The blues had a baby and they named it Sean Costello. This amazing young guitarist has got what it takes. A winner of the Beale Street Blues Society new talent award when he was just 14, Costello more than fulfills the promise of that early recognition on We Can Get Together. His style is down to the ground intense, and his vocals are laced with raw, ragged truth… READ MORE

Legendary Rhythm And Blues Revue - Command Performance (Delta Groove; DGPCD121)

“For a good time, call The Legendary Rhythm And Blues Revue.” This slogan should be scrawled on walls from Terre Haute to Timbuktu. Command Performance is the rave-up, jump back, get down, spin-around party record of the decade. This electrifying live album generates enough pure power to light up the entire Western Hemisphere — with a little left over for the other hemisphere… READ MORE

Read Rockabilly Reviews:

Welcome to the Club - Early Female Rockabilly

Janis Martin and Elvis Presley - Janis and Elvis

Buddy Holly - Not Fade Away: The Complete 1957 Recordings

Hometown Gamblers - Dypsomania