Various Artists - Rock'n'Horreur

Here is another album courtesy of Stephan James/Stephen J. Munson of Living In Texas: Rock'n'Horreur, a French compilation of psychobilly bands from 1989 (or 1990, details are sketchy). Most of the bands are French as well, with the exceptions of Batmobile (Dutch) and Hi Grip (Swiss). Living In Texas, represented here by their best song, "The Girl in the Red Leather Coat," were actually English but had laregly relocated to France by this time. While the eleven bands here take different approaches to rockabilly, injecting varying degrees of camp horror, the influence of the Cramps is always felt. The track listing is:

Rock Side:

• 01 Crabs - Mort Au Volant
• 02 Batmobile - Amazones from Outer Space
• 03 Washington Dead Cats - Babe You're a Nightmare
• 04 Dead Ox Gulch - Vendredi 13 Pour Beurki Crado
• 05 Rocco and the Rays - Ballad of John Lee Hopper

Horreur Side:

• 06 Burial Party - Flat Twin Woman
• 07 Living In Texas - The Girl in the Red Leather Coat
• 08 Happy Drivers - Nervous Man
• 09 Wampas - Seul
• 10 Los Mescaleros - Witches Revenge
• 11 Hi Grip - Kleopatra

The name of the record company is not even listed anywhere, unless it is AR; the catalog number is AR 002. The collection was compiled by Mat Firehair of the Washington Dead Cats. I have included a large photo of the back cover in case you want to try to read the liner notes (in French and English). The blue type on amber background is hard to read on the jacket itself; it is even harder to read in the pic, but it is still barely legible. And now that I take the time to read it, it's not at all informative, just a few sentences that link the song titles together into a "story". Oh well, delete it if you like, I won't be offended. Get the vinyl rip here or here.

Living In Texas - Everything Was...

I am delighted to announce that I have some more Living In Texas rips to share, thanks to none other than the band's frontman Stephan James! First up is the compilation album Everything Was... from the French label Made In Heaven, which collects the earlier album Everything Is... and a few other tracks:

1. Sweet Little A-Bomb Baby
2. Something Wonderful
3. Oh Yeah
4. Everything Is
5. Kill
6. Can You Touch the Sun
7. Superman Is Dead
8. When I Close My Eyes
9. Heart
10. Where Do We Go From Here?
11. Love That Child

I'm not quite sure where these songs fit in the Living In Texas chronology, but the bulk of it sounds similar to The Fastest Men Alive (1985) in terms of musical style and production, so I'm guessing it comes between 1985 and the 1991 album Believe. The most notable difference between this record and (presumably) earlier material from Living In Texas is the prevalence of piano in the mix; there is even a full-fledged piano ballad, "Superman Is Dead." A larger trend that was happening in the late 80s was "dark" bands becoming poppier (think of The Cure's progression from "A Forest" and "The Hanging Garden" to "The Love Cats" and "Why Can't I Be You"), and that trend is reflected in this music as well on tracks such as "Sweet Little A-Bomb Baby," "Something Wonderful," and "Kill." But true to form, Living In Texas put a little more bite into it than the norm. Another standout in the sound is the chiming acoustic rhythm guitars in "Oh Yeah" and "Everything Is," the latter of which intercuts the band's trademark manic rockabilly with an expansive, arena-worthy chorus. And speaking of arenas, the album closer "Love That Child" is what U2 might have sounded like at the peak of their popularity (early 90s?) if they remembered to rock! In short, these eleven rare Living In Texas tracks rank with the band's finest and make an already-impressive body of work even moreso; get them here or here.