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Gina’s vocals are warm, strong, and ideally suited to this material, and the accompanying
musicians totally on board with the project. It may be a little different from much of what is
around on the blues scene these days, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Plenty right on this
evidence, in fact.

Norman Darwen

Half Deaf Clatch—The Devil and Tom Walker—Self

Well, Clatch has done it again. This is the rather gruesome tale of
Tom Walker and his wife, who it is safe to say didn’t get on too
well.
The music is based on “The Devil and Tom Walker”, a short story
by Washington Irving which relates a fictional legend reminis-
cent of Goethe’s Faust. In this Gothic tale, the Devil entices Tom
Walker with the promise of Pirate-Captain Kidd’s treasure, bur-
ied somewhere in the marshes near Boston. As is the way in
Faustian tales, things don’t quite go to plan.
Lyrically and musically this is core Clatch material and comes with some inventive instumenta-
tion, including Clatch’s excellent cello playing.
The whole is beautifully recorded and is strongly recommended.

Don’t miss it
Ian K McKenzie

Brian Setzer—The Devil Always Collects—Proper Music

Rockabilly, is early form of rock music originated by white per-
formers in the American South. It was popular from the mid-
1950s to 1960, with a revival in the late 1970s. Record reviewers
coined the term rockabilly—literally, rock and roll played by
hillbillies—to describe the intense, rhythm-driven musical style
introduced by Elvis Presley on his first recordings.

Following Elvis’ passing the baton passed to younger artists,
none more so than to The Stray Cats, a band from Long Island, NY

who had huge success in the UK. Fronted by Brian Setzer the band
later took its stylish delivery back to the USA.
There are certain tropes common in recording the music, not least of which is the ‘tape echo’ or

slap-back, pioneered by Sam Phillips in his Memphis studio. Setzer is master of its use, as well
as being a fine guitaris per se.

Here we have eleven tracks, all delivered with the panache you would associate with such an
iconic figure. The tracks range from the frenetic, ‘Play That Fast Thing (One More Time)’ though
the only slightly less fenetic title track (’The Devil Always Collects’) to a stomping version of Del
Reeves’ ‘Girl On The Billboard’ a rockabilly fantasy love story (of a kind). Only one complaint
about this otherwise oustanding album - Diction Mr Setzer - Diction.!

Ian K McKenzie