Hicksville Bombers

“ ​Danger Road – The Hicksville Bombers CD review By Andrew Smith The Hicksville Bombers recorded their latest CD/ten inch vinyl record on Cool & Crazy Records, at Sugar Ray’s Recording Studio, using original 50’s recording equipment, to capture their particular sound, on disc.  The result is that you, the listener, get an absolute treat of a sound.  The current line up of ever present Dave Brown on lead guitar and vocals, Landon Filer on upright bass and Paul Saunders on drums, present eleven tracks on this record, nine of which are originals, starting with, the title track. The initial beat and timbre of ‘Danger Road’ has a Dale Hawkins feel to it, and indeed the guitar riff put me in mind of ‘Baby Baby’.  Cracking tune this, and worthy of the title track.  ‘One Night’ keeps the pace going, a typically hard nosed rocker, with a searing brace of guitar solos, in a top drawer slab of Rockabilly.  The rhythm from Landon and Paul set up ‘Victims of Love’ perfectly.  Written by Volker Houghton, it pitches Dave’s vocals just that touch higher, to really good effect. ‘Stand Up And Fight’, is a Landon Filer original, that has menacing lyrics, and a stick on dance floor stroll beat.  ‘Beast From the East’, isn’t a reference to the weather phenomenon of 2018 in the UK.  It is, however a cautionary tale about a woman, and being involved with her, set to a mid tempo blues bop beat.  A change in style again with another Dave Brown composition, ‘The Man You Want Me To Be’.  This has a jazzy lilt to the rhythm, and an irony within the lyrics ‘If you want the mailman, don’t go second class’ given Dave’s day job.  This rhythm works like a charm, with each player getting chance to showcase their own skills with a designated solo break each.  Cool beans. The first cover, is a nod to the TV series Peaky Blinders, with a solid version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ ‘Red Right Hand’, a song astonishingly nearly twenty five years old in itself.  Another DJ stroller track if ever you’d hear one.  A bit of country/rockabilly next with a super toe tapper, ‘Blind Eye, White Lie’, which has shades of early Elvis about it.  I don’t think there’s many that wouldn’t be familiar with the second cover track, ‘Hank Mizell’s ‘Jungle Rock’, and the Bombers, in typical fashion, turn out a foot stomping version. Many who have been to a Bombers show, will have seen the air raid siren at the front of the stage.  With that wailing, ‘Bombs Away’ follows, a powerhouse instrumental that ticks all the boxes.  Glad that it’s now been waxed for all to appreciate.  Finally we have ‘Goodbye, Roger That, Over & Out’, basically about a break up, with the guitar replicating morse code, set to a rock-along beat. This is another first class release from the Hicksville Bombers.  They have a large fan base, and with the quality of this collection of tunes, they’ll add to that for sure. © Andrew Smith, The Bettajive Review, January 2019 ” - Andrew and June Smith

“Danger Road by the Hicksville Bombers Released 2018 on Cool & Crazy Records Reviewed 15th October 2018 “Danger Road” is the new Rockabilly album from UK (Lincoln) trio the Hicksville Bombers and it’s very good. Formed in 1992 the band already have an impressive back catalogue of albums and I’m sure Danger Road will only enhance it. Over the years the line-up may have changed but the 2018 trio of the ever present Dave Brown, ex-Jack Rabbit Slim members Landon Filer on upright bass and Paul Saunders on drums Is killer. With mostly original material, this brand new album sees the Hicksville Bombers rockin' in an exciting new direction and for me it’s all for the better. With a more Rockabilly sound than on previous albums the Hicksville Bombers may just be at their prime. The album was recorded at Sugar rays Recording studios so you know the sound will be authentic 50’s. 9 self-penned tracks and 2 covers on this album. “Danger Road” the album title track is first up a great authentic 50’s sounding Rockabilly bopper and a great track to start the album. This is followed by ”One Night” another up tempo rockabilly bopper, I like this track a lot! “Victims of Love” is a more mid-tempo track with great vocals, while “Stand Up and Fight” has more attitude, the vocals are mainly spoken more than sung and has a mean and moody vibe. An ideal Stroller. “Beast from the East” is a high tempo rockabilly blaster and I like it. “The Man You Want Me to be” starts slow but soon bursts into a mid-tempo dance floor filler. “Red Right Hand” is an up-tempo wild rockabilly track, oh yes. “Blind Eye White Lie” sows the tempo right down with a tender love song. “Jungle Rock” is a cover of the Hank Mizell track, and the guys do a great cover. “Bombs Away Hellz a Fallin'” is a stunner, high tempo wild rockabilly Instrumental that will blow you away, wow. Last track is “Goodbye Roger That Over and Out” is a great last track, great Rockabilly high tempo bopper. What a great album, the band defiantly have a new sound with a much more 50’s rockabilly sound, Great Album, and one not to miss. This one will appeal to Rockabilly fans who like modern and authentic styles alike. Highly Recommended. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSeDH6Fi_qQ Track list: 1Danger Road 2One Night 3Victims of Love 4Stand up and Fight 5Beast from the East 6The Man You Want Me to Be 7Red Right Hand 8Blind Eye White Lie 9Jungle Rock 10Bombs Away Hellz a Fallin' 11Goodbye Roger That Over and Out” - Tony Screti

“'Voodoo Doll' - The Hicksville Bombers 2015 album  'LOVE IT! - some terrific songs on it'” - Chris Jackson The Americana UK

“ Over their long career The Hicksville Bombers have consistently delivered top notch rockabilly.These kats have been kicking it out since 1992 all while staying the course(7 albums),hell you know exactly what your getting here and that's a good thing: rockabilly with a little blues and country on the side. It's been 4 years since the their last album , the pretty stout "Ready To Rumble"and to the band's many fans that's way too long .While the wait is over with the release of "Voodoo Doll " and yes it has been worth the wait.This puppy  koolly rolls in with 15 tracks of rockabilly done just the way you would expect from the The Bombers,meaning damn good.We get a great mix of rockers, strollers and ballads as well as a few older songs that have been rerecorded .Highlights include: "Memphis Cat", "So Hot, She's Cool", " Low On Gas" and " Can't Buy Your Goodbye".      The band decided to have "Voodoo Doll" produced by the folks at Western Star and that has proven to be a smart move.This has a more punched up and  fresher feel than their  previous releases.As a result this is one great sounding album and it's also their best yet! Very  Recommended !!” - John Slam

“Hicksville Bombers- Ready to Rumble cool & crazy records One of the most popular bands on the UK circuit, the Bombers always deliver on-stage, be it in a sweaty little club or on the rockin' stage at the Americana International. Ready to Rumble showcases some of there stage act, and they kick off with title cut 'Ready to Rumble' a story of settling girl-related scores with a touch of violence, something i'm sure these guys are far too busy making music to be too familiar with, but delivered with passion nonetheless. 'Why Don'tcha ever listen' is Dave Brown's rockin' update on 'Honey Hush' and is driven by some well-tasty harmonica from Bassist Paul Chambers. 'Making love to my record machine' revisits the old story of Dansette love before the band slow it down with a semi-ballad 'I've changed my mind', next cut is, for me, the stand out song on the CD, thier take on poet Shelby Silverstein's 'The ballad of Lucy Jordan', an object lesson in how to rock up a song from another genre, and miles better than the Dr Hook verion i've suffered for thirty years. 'Bop with me' features more great harmonica and some heavily treated vocals that make it sound like Howlin' Wolf's in the room. I'll pass on heard-too-many-times 'House of the rising sun' but will take any amount of 'I can't dance' (a straight ahead rocker with more nice harp) and, for that matter, respectful takeson Elvis' 'What now, what next, where to' and 'That's all right Mama' with Dave Brown's guitar work on rhythm and lead impressing a lot. The band slow it down for the plaintive sounds of Claude Gray's 'I never had the one i wanted' and finish in fine style with the self-penned 'Loveaholic'. There's no cut on this Cd where i was anything less than entertained, and some of the songs are absolute rockin' gems. I recommend it.” - Johnny Hop

“Hi Dave, Got the CD 'Aroused' and have been listening all day. Love it! Anyway, here is the review I've written for Crackerjack...hope you approve. I'll be playing some on rockabilly radio as well soon..will let you know when. Mike Review; A new CD from the Hicksville Bombers is becoming an annual event, coinciding nicely with the Americana International Festival, at which they seem to be the resident band. Last time they released one, “Deal with the Devil”, regular readers may remember that I remarked upon the change in lead singer, Dave Brown’s voice. A Year ago, he had developed a huskey burr to his voice, which I felt was a definite improvement on his previously clean cut tones. This time around he seems to have gone for back to a cleaner sound, but with a slight growl to his voice and once again, I have to say it suits the material that he’s performing. The Bombers work hard, travel a lot and put on a great live show. What more could you want? Well, actually if you’re asking (rhetorical), I would suggest that you SHOULD want this CD for your collection! The album kicks off with the driving rocker, “Lonesome feeling”, which has a short but very nice quality guitar break. For “Checking on my baby”, there is a definite Chicago blues feel, with a persistent harmonica riff in the background and a restrained guitar break that threatens to explode but never quite strays from where it should be. “Bad things” follows, and this one will fill the dancefloor with strollers, this is followed by an up tempo cover of Skeets McDonald’s “Heartbreaking Mama”, a favourite song of mine, so that went down well. “It aint your Business” is next and a return to that Chicago blues feel, but with the Distinctive mouth harp more in prominence, creating a great feel....arguably the best guitar break on the album, great stuff! Next comes the title track, and that’s a nice driving stroller complete with wolf howls, that again will fill the dancefloors...this is followed by a cover of ACDC’S seminal, “Whole lotta Rosie”. Ican understand why bands want to cover ACDC’s material, because it is basically rock n roll, but I think doing this number, which in it’s original form is nothing short of explosive, is quite brave. Those that know the original will be appalled, but the Bombers do a good job on it, and it has grown on me from the first listening. “Prettiest girl in town”, is a Dave Brown composition which I really like. A nice melody on top of a good 12 bar blues, which works really well. Several more original tunes follow, including my favourite track, “Southbound Train”, a lovely slow blues number called, “Not enough Alcahol”, a really nice version of “Little Pig”, then a great cover of Slim Harpo’s, “Don’t start crying now”. The album is finished off with some live tracks, meant to show their talents as a live outfit, but frankly, thanks to the rather quiet audience...they should have been raising the roof, so they DON’T do them justice as a live outfit...they are really good live, so that’s a bit of a shame. All in all though, this is a really solid album and whilst dedicated Bombers fans will probably already have it and a T Shirt, which displays the really great cover. But to anyone that doesn’t have this yet....go and get it. It’s a must have for your collection! ” - Mike

“Deal With The Devil - The Hicksville Bombers The Hicksville Bombers have by far surpassed themselves in this their latest release. Deal With The Devil is a long time in coming and now it's here it will possess you from your head to your toes. It'll have you clawing your way through your local record shop for this little gem. These three guys from Lincoln are renowned for their individual style, their humour and their professionalism. So are these guys who so righteously signed their sole to the devil? Firstly you have their long time front man: Dave Brown (Vocals & Guitar), Paul Chambers (Slap Bass) and finally Andy Turner (Drums). I have to be honest when I say that it's brave yet risky move when you look at the track list. Their stripped down, blown up re-vamped versions of Robbie William's hit Let Me Entertain You, The Body Rockers I Like The Way You Move and Steppen Wolf's Born To Be Wild. Well worry not! These guys pulled it off in pure Hicksville style and fashion! Track listing: Bad Boy ~ Baby Your Mine ~ Deal With The Devil ~ Someone's Playing Tricks ~ Knock Knock Rattle ~ Let Me Entertain You ~ Why I Never Have The Blues ~ What About Love ~ I'll Never Stand In Your Way ~ I'm Into Something Good ~ Desperate Living ~ I Like The Way You Move ~ Secret Love ~ Born To Be Wild. Get you copy NOW! whilst stocks last, priced £8.99 (+P&P) from Raucous Records.. ” - Mike

“Just perfect! This is the greatest rockabilly I've heard in a long, long time. And I have been listened to very much music in and around that style. The Hicksville Bombers got a fresh lightness in their music, beautifull melodylines, a perfect driving beat and a hearttearing use of minorchords. A perfect balance between roughness and sweetness, fury and poetry. Clear vocals and quite interesting guitarplaying. It was music like this that first turned me in to rockabilly many years ago. I've heard enough that turns me off. This cathing on. I hear it all the time. Since I've got this album- a pair of weeks ago - I've heard it almost every day. Sometimes several times a day. For all fans of rockabilly who got sick and tired of songs about vampires and zombies, of what sounds like competitions in speed/fast playing, of the music getting lost in hair and tatoos, of a lot of noise, and of screaming and stuttering singers going "b-bop-b-bop" through tuneless tunes, here is someting else! Real songs with real melodies, lyrics about plain ole love and heatache. Not pop or polished, but cathing the true romance of the style, but still with a touch of something raw, used in the way it is suposed to be. Relaxed and controlled, but still getting off and blasting away. Getting a quite unique mood 'n' atmosphere in the way smiling and driving goodtime-feel of wellswingin' rockabilly meets the melancholia of heartbreak. The Hicksville Bombers are loyal to the 50's but not sounding like some specific 50's star. It's not that "Oh - they like ..." stuff. Not copying any idol - just plaing that kind of music. If you are notoric about references, you could perhaps describe it as some kind of blend of Ricky Nelson, Charlie Feathers, Carl Mann, Sanford Clarke, Mac Curtis and early Gene Vincent mixed with some flavours from such 80's revivalists as The Rimshots and The Magnetics. I guess that makes it central and typical rockabilly from the lesser noisy end, but with it's own personal aproach, extremely charming, and really great. Not new or original, but just sounding so good that it filles you with warm good-feel from head to toe, and played with autority. These guys put them self into it. I really think they mean it - and mean it from the heart. ” - Carl M. Nielsen

“The Hicksville Bombers The Prettiest Girl In The World Raucous Like the blues, honky-tonk and classic rock, in fact any style that’s carved its own Grand Canyon size niche in music’s core, rockabilly is always going to be crafted in approximation of the well chiselled cheekbones of silver screen icons by sharply dressed desperados. Currently enjoying another resurgence of popularity The Hicksville Bombers are one reason why this music will keep seducing new blood and causing unsuspecting pulses to pound with a V8 thrum. Denigrators may carp that such retro attention to detail should be left in the fifties but play the Hicksvilles and any of their near contemporaries like The Crawdads, The Rhythmaires or The Tennessee Trio in comparison to a set like Proper’s recent Classic Rockabilly and quickly disabuse them of such trite ideas. Originating around the Lincoln area and rarely venturing away from the Rockin’ circuit this trio are a primo deluxe proposition straddling the bonnet-bucking bop-beat, country swing and midnight blues in fine voice and Brilliantined slinky strings. While drawing indelibly on the Sun sound such sad-eyed, self-penned titles as Weather Baby, Don’t Let Me Face The Rain and Within These Four Walls show the superficiality and fallacy of simple likenesses. Easily standing collar to collar, if not tower over, classic I’ve Changed My Mind, these are articulate laments in best Buddy Holly or Felice and Boudleaux Bryant manner that smoulder like Rick Nelson (indeed, Get Out Of My House could be a cold kiss-off to Hello Marylou), while some brazen fuel-consumption boogie breaks bail on Hey Judge, drinking I’ve Got A Problem, Moonshine Mama and comic-strip caper of jack the lad cool cat Johnny Valentine. Well worth blazing a trail to a hick town of your own shaking, stirring full-house slamming on table causing drinks to spill invention. - Stu Gibson ” - Stu Gibson

“HICKSVILLE BOMBERS The Best of The Bombers Raucous Records RAUCD 154 Blackout Baby / Coming Home Baby / Crazy Baby / Playboy / Do The Bop / The Worrying Kind / Alabama Jailhouse / Kaw Liga / When It Rains It Really Pours / Ice Cold / Bombs Away / Cindy Lou / So Hot She's Cool / Bopper And A Shaker / Desperate Living / Greenback Dollar / I've Changed My Mind / Moonshine Mama / Love Is My Business / Knockdown Dragout / What Kinda Fool / Get Outta My House / Bopper And Shaker / Swamp Walk / Just Like An Old Hank Williams Song The Bombers seem to have been around forever and if you've never picked up any of their albums before then I would say this compilation of all their best bits would be a a good deal. They are a fantastic live band who always seem to be gigging - when a band gets plenty of bookings it tells you something about them. Sadly, I don't think their recorded material does them justice somehow. I've seen them a few times and they've always blown me away with a lively energetic set. This CD, though musically and technically pretty good, sounds mild in comparison to the real thing. That said, they are still a Top Ten UK band and deserve all the success in the world. There are plenty of groups kicking around the scene with albums which are more professionally produced and designed than this one - but still could not touch The Bombers with a 10 foot barge pole when asked to play live. A great lead singer and first rate musicians, their own material is really strong and is the best stuff on the CD - all the Hicksville Bombers need is to find a producer capable of capturing the magic they have on stage. 7/10 reviewed by Gordon” - 7/10 reviewed by Gordon