| Issue
#33 Nov.
/ Dec. '01
Let's
put everything that's been
happening aside, for now let’s just concentrate on
Rock-n-Roll. Pure Rock-n-Roll.
Rhythm and Blues: the epitome of Rock-n-Roll, Rock-n-Roll’s
birthright. Some say
Rock-n-Roll is dead, lost with the innocence of a long ago time when
R&B/R-n-R
mirrored a youth culture that expressed their rebellion through music,
and laid the
foundation of seduction firmly within the coins dropped through the
slot of the Wurlitzer
playing the 45’s.
Rock-n-Roll is still alive. It may be
referred to as jukebox music, and found in the
cutout bins, but it is timeless. 45’s / singles / hot wax /
33&1/3’s /
platters / LP’s / vinyl - it all perseveres on CD, and you
can still feel the power
of the needle dropping into the grooves. Yes it still grooves us, moves
us, picks us up
and spins us around and around – The turntable bumps and
grinds us from the dance
floor to the bedroom, the corner booth to the back alley. From Sun
Records and Motown,
Phil Spector, Stax/Volt and The Beatles. Most notably from
Rock-n-Roll’s parents: The
Rhythm and Blues sound fueled from the southern reaches of New Orleans
with its Texas
swing influence right on up to Chicago and its barroom shuffle/swagger.
It’s all
about the infectious feel and irresistible sexual allure...
…Like the sexual allure found on
the cover of “45 r.p.m.”
the new CD from Providence, RI’s Black
& White. With a modern
day sex goddess standing over a gramophone and a few scattered vinyl
singles on the hard
wood floor, it tells us everything we need to know, and this is before
we’ve even
unwrapped the disc!
Opening with “Mood
To Get Rude” Black
& White sets the mood with a shoulder
shakin’ groove laced spontaneous
sex / love song that establishes the ultra-smooth New Orleans style
Tex-Mex feel which is
carried through the Rhythm section of Don DiMuccio
on Drums and Kevin
Martin on Bass, and centered around the Blues Guitar and
Vocals of Mark
Wagner.
Sliding along, “Catrina”
bursts out with a “Spy Hunter”
themed bass and drums, spewing lust-filled lyrics intertwined with lead
guitar bridges to
die for! Fats Domino could’ve recorded “Can’t
Win For Losing,”
a lost love blues ballad that would wear out the needle in every
jukebox across the
heartland. And “Rhumba King”
with it’s Island Swing will have you
tilting your hat, extending your hand, and dancing the suave
sophisticated mating ritual
that would be right at home in the “Tropicana Club”
as Ricky Ricardo (Desi
Arnaz) swooned and crooned with his Orchestra.
It’s not hard to understand that Black
& White have fashioned
these original tunes by gathering the pure essence of what gave birth
to a sound that
moves our feet, our soul, our primal urges of joy and pleasure
– The title track
“45
R.P.M.”
captures it all.
Accomplishing something of a rarity by living up to the billing of the
“Title,”
this song fully expresses everything that is right about Rock-n-Roll,
celebrating its
birth, lamenting its journey through the ages, and reaffirming its
power and glory.
Back in February of ’99 in a review
of “Hepcat”
by Black & White we
stated, “To heck with the current 'swing revival'
Black & White is not a
nostalgia act, they are the real deal.” Since then
the “current” swing
revival has all but disappeared, but Black &
White still perseveres
with that infectious feel and irresistible sexual allure, just like
Rock-n-Roll…
Black & White
- 45
r.p.m.
is available now for $9.98 + s/h*
 View
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*Shipping
&
Handling charges:
USA - $3.00
for the first 2 CDs
ordered,
Add $1.50 per each CD after.
Canada - $5.00 for the
first
CD ordered,
Add $2.00 per each CD after.
Everywhere else -$7.00
for the
first CD ordered,
Add $3.00 per each CD after.
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