Boz Boorer - Miss Pearl

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 23 / 8 / 2008

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Review

I have to confess that I’m not a great fan or expert on what I guess could be termed ‘rockabilly’ but to these ears this sounds like genuine pure rock ‘n’ roll. If you didn’t know any better you’d be hard pressed to tell that this collection of 16 songs from Morrissey’s Musical Director / guitarist wasn’t recorded at the very beginning of rock and roll some six decades ago. It really does sound that authentic and will be very popular with those who still long for down and dirty rock ‘n’ roll played and sung with passion and which sounds like the real deal. Boorer was in the The Polecats and maybe it shouldn’t be any surprise that he is such an expert in recreating the sounds of the past; he even turns in exciting versions of The Ramones ‘Rockaway Beach’ and Hank Mizell’s ‘Jungle Rock’, the latter of which features Adam Ant. The whole album conveys perfectly the fun that this band must have had in making these songs. The sound of a tight band playing and creating music that they love shines through in every song. Sixteen songs of hard-assed rock ‘n’ roll may seem like hard going for anyone who is not a massive fan of the genre but this CD simply flies by; with a total playing time of just over 40 minutes none of the songs overstay their welcome and it all ends too soon. Playing this album is like being at a party where they are playing the right music for once, but instead of not wanting to go home you can at least hit the replay button. The guitar playing is, as should be expected from Boorer, excellent throughout recalling all the rock ‘n’ roll greats especially on ‘In The Witchin’ Hour’ where Steve Hooker pitches in. The duet with Chrissie Lane on ‘Yakety Yak’ again reinforces that Boorer can create these sounds with ease; it sounds like it is being played from some radio show way back in the 50's. If someone put on a 78 record of this very version very few people apart from rock ‘n’ roll fanatics would argue that it wasn’t an original from near-on sixty years ago. Even through his work with Morrissey, Boorer has always shown his love of rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly but never has it been so obvious as it is on this collection. The opening and title song, ‘Miss Pearl’, is all you need to hear to convince you that with this album Boorer has made the most authentic rock’n’ roll record you will hear all year. It’s one long party from start to finish and will have you, if not bopping in the aisles, unable to sit still for very long. Although Boorer is not alone in keeping the spirit of this music alive he has more right and more talent than most in flying the flag for rock ‘n’ roll; he goes that extra mile, his vocals especially on ‘She’s My Little Woman’ are passionate. He doesn’t shout like so many artists do when playing highly charged music such as this and he still manages to actually sing and when he says he loves his ‘little woman’ you are left in no doubt that he does. Take this album to the next party you go to and just watch that floor fill up.

Track Listing:-

1 Miss Pearl
2 B29 (Droppin' Bombs On Your Heart)
3 She's My Little Woman
4 Dollar Short
5 Cold Feet
6 Rockaway Beach
7 Bad Hangover
8 Deep Shade Of Blue
9 Crash The Party
10 Atom Bomb Baby
11 Jitterbop Baby
12 Rock'n'Roll Ruby
13 In The Witchin' Hour
14 Yakety Yak
15 Jungle Rock
16 Ruff 'n' Ready

Have a Listen:-