Published on Nov 15, 1999
If you have any doubts that rockabilly is still alive, well and
thriving, you haven’t heard music from bands like Kim Lenz And The
Jaguars lately.
The group’s second release,
The One And Only, shows that one of the cornerstones of rock
music is still a fun, viable means of entertainment, and this band
knows how to swing like the best of them.
The band – vocalist/rhythm guitarist Lenz, lead guitarist Nick
Curran, bassist Shawn Supra and drummer Scotty Tecce – strikes an
interesting medium in their music. They don’t try to throw their
musical style back to the ’50s, but they also don’t try to
modernize their sound to fit in with the dawn of a new millenium.
The end result is an honest-sounding music that balances the
musical past with the present. Confused yet? Don’t be; let the
music explain it to you.
Lenz is able to keep an innocent face on songs like “If You
Don’t Like My Peaches (Don’t Shake My Tree)” and “Stick Em Up
Honey” while not losing an ounce of power in her vocals or guitar
licks. Providing a decent mix of originals with cover versions
(including some songs written by label stablemates like Carl Sonny
Leyland), the overall feel of
The One And Only is as smooth as a frozen lemonade on a
summer day.
Not every track hits the mark; songs like “Somebody Lied,” “Rock
And Roll Guitar” and “Truest Love” just don’t seem to be of the
same grade as most of the material. But when Lenz and crew hit
songs like “Choctaw Boogie,” “Howl At The Moon” and “You’ve Met
Your Match,” you can almost see people getting up to dance to this
stuff.
The One And Only is a surprisingly short listen; even with
14 tracks on this disc, it still clocks in at just over 32 minutes.
In a way, this might be a good thing; it’s almost as if Lenz and
crew knew how much music they could put on the disc without
overstaying their welcome. (As much as I can appreciate rockabilly,
I do admit it gets to sounding old real quick.)
If you liked the debut effort from Kim Lenz And The Jaguars from
last year, you’ll love
The One And Only. If you’re not familiar with rockabilly,
this disc will undoubtedly make you want to hear more. If you don’t
like rockabilly,
The One And Only might help to change your mind about this
type of music.