COUSIN HARLEY
THE DUTCH SESSIONS
LITTLE PIG RECORDS LPR 008
I’M COMING HOME–GLAD ALL OVER–TEARDROPS FROM MY EYES–I’M FEELIN’ BAD–MER MORTE–ROCK THERAPY–YONDER COMES A SUCKER–WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THERE AIN’T NO SWING–RHYTHM AND BOOZE–JEANIE JEANIE JEANIE
Straight outta Vancouver, BC, roars one of the finest rockabilly trios on the scene today. Yep–Cousin Harley is back with their latest set, “The Dutch Sessions,” recorded live-to-tape in the Netherlands during a break from their 2013 touring schedule. At the helm once again is Gretsch spokesman and guitarist extraordinaire Paul Pigat, also on vocals, with Keith Picot on slapback bass and Jesse Cahill on drums.
These fellows have a passion for the rockabilly era of the early- and mid-Fifties, and they are known for tearin’ it up in their live shows. These ten cuts are some of their favorites, that one would hear at one of those shows.
The Set starts with a classic “truckers anthem,” where Paul declares “I’m Coming Home, I’m dockin’ it in, to make sweet love to you!” They give an authentic read to that “real cool pappy” who’s “Glad All Over,” and give a nod to vintage country with the Jim Reeves chestnut, “Yonder Comes A Sucker.” “Mer Morte” is a twang-filled instrumental, and Jesse adds brush-stroked drums to the jazzy, light-hearted, “Whatcha Gonna Do When There Ain’t No Swing and you can’t get swung?”
We had two favorites, too. Paul strikes some cool stop-time chords with “I don’t need a doctor/I don’t need a nurse/I need Rock Therapy!” And, they close the set with the mile-a-minute “Jeanie Jeanie Jeanie,” where they vow to “rock around the clock in our blue suede shoes!”
Listening to Cousin Harley is like ridin’ shotgun with Robert Mitchum down Thunder Road as he hauls those 200-gallon tanks of Tennesee corn thru the Southern nights. “The Dutch Sessions” delivers classic rockabilly in spades! Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
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