Well known in France as the lead singer and upright bass player for furious French rockabilly trio ‘Hot Chickens’, Jake Calypso is the alter ego of Hervé Loison, a man with many strings to his rockin’ bow. Hervé plays guitar in the Jake Calypso Trio and can also be found moanin’ the blues as Lonely Jake. Not content with just the one or two projects however, Jake’s latest endeavour is a four-track vinyl EP that sees him teaming up with none other that Bubba Feathers, son of legendary claimant to the title ‘King of Rockabilly’ Mr Charlie Feathers. 

What do we get? We get four of the most renowned and covered tracks originally recorded by the aforementioned Feathers senior. Choosing to go back to the source, and, pushing the authenticity fader into the red, Jake and Bubba have opted to record this EP at Sun Records legendary Memphis studio and I’ll tell you what, it’s clearly inspired the band to produce some excellent work.

Jake and Bubba, assisted by the very talented rhythm section of Memphis drummer Rodney Polk and French upright bass maestro Stéphane Bihan, have taken Charlie Feather’s original recordings of ‘That Certain Female,’ ‘Bottle To The Baby’, ‘One Hand Loose’ and ‘Stutterin’ Cindy’ and brought them bang up to date with a searing slice of 21^st century rockabilly. They haven’t really changed a thing as far as the arrangements of Charlie’s original Sun and King recordings go, but they have brought a whole new level of energy and, well, cos we are in France, joie de vivre! 

Listening to this EP it’s easy to understand how the raw new musical phenomenon that would be called rockabilly shook the foundations of contemporary music after Elvis Presley’s seminal 1954 Sun recording of ‘That’s Alright Mama’. Charlie Feathers also got his start in Sun studios and it’s great to hear that his legacy is being so ably continued. Jake Calypso gleefully leans into the hillbilly whoops and hollers that made Charlie’s vintage recordings so iconic, and Bubba does his father proud as he quotes the original guitar solos while bringing his own unique feel and touch. It’s not easy to make an album of cover versions that pay tribute to the original composer but has artistic merit on its own terms. Jake, Bubba and the boys have pulled this off with aplomb, and I like it a lot. As they say in France, ‘Chapeau’!

Andy Brodie

Check out drummer Rodney Polk’s band, the Rockin 88s, here for more Rock n Roll goodness!

For more info on Bubba Feathers, check out his Facebook!