The JAILBIRDS in 2010 are...
At the beginning of 2001 the Jailbirds were faced with a big problem, when their founding member and bass player, Stefan, left the band. Many gigs that had been planned for the spring and summer 2001 had to be cancelled. After a compulsory break of about 2 months, the Jailbirds finally found a new bass player. marvell storm, an old friend of the Jailbirds.
In the course of this change in the line-up, the Jailbirds started creating a completely new program for their stage shows and in summer 2002 they were back 'on the road' and started a tour all over Germany. In March and April they had been to the studio to record the tracks for their 3rd album entitled 'Secret', which was released in July 2002 on Cherokee Records.
Over 10 years of experience on the rockabilly scene should stand for something, and it sure does, because the album hits off hard with a rockabilly cover of the 60s classic 'Secret Agent Man' with real gone James Bond instros. The self-penned 'One Desire' is original fifties style rockabilly with a fast slapping bass and clean cut lead guitar. Next is a superb rendition of 'Three Cool Cats', a Leiber/Stoller tune, orginally by The Coasters, one that even The Beatles played in their early days. 'It's All Over Now', made famous by The Rolling Stones in 1964, sounds better than ever with a jazzy rockabilly rhythm.
Another Jailbirds original 'Give Me Your Love', with guest saxophone player Lars Wockenfuss, is a cool love song with a bite and the Beatles' classic 'help', with deep dark vocals, is rearranged with a rockabilly beat, which is done pretty nice I must say. It seems if the jailbirds have a 'secret' love for the Beatles, because 'One After 909' is also a Lennon/McCartney song, but believe me, the Jailbirds play it all with solid rockabilly pounding. In between Beatles remakes and Jailbirds originals are some good covers, among which a cool version of Johnny Horton's 'All Grown Up'.
The album is packed with 17 tracks and I counted 4 Jailbirds orginals, from which 'Dangerous' is definitly my favorite with its' spooky sound... Great album, different, but great. Bet you'll like it! ... Reviewed by The BlackCat, 2002
(the complete BlackCat Review here: http://www.rockabilly.nl/reviews/jailbirds_secret.htm)
