The Rockats: “Start Over Again” (2022) CD Review

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly became popular again. The music was fun, and felt fresh and light. And you know what? It has also aged well. While a lot of music from the 1980s feels dated, the rockabilly hits have a timeless vibe. The Rockats began in the late 1970s. In 1983, they released Make That Move, that record’s title track becoming a hit, thanks in part to the music video getting a lot of play on MTV. The lineup for the band at that point was Dibbs Preston on vocals, Danny B. Harvey on guitar and keyboards, Barry Ryan on guitar, Smutty Smiff on bass, and Mike Osborn on drums. That same lineup is on the band’s new album, Start Over Again, though Mike Osborn plays drums on only one track. Clem Burke (from Blondie) and Lewis King provide the drum work on most of the other tracks. The songs are a mix of originals and covers.

This disc gets off to a great start with “Nervous Breakdown.” As the song opens, Dibbs Preston confesses, “I’m having a nervous breakdown.” Hey, who isn’t? This is a song for our times, for sure, though it was first recorded six decades ago by Eddie Cochran. The Rockats’ rendition features an excellent vocal performance and some delicious work on guitar. The guitar leads feel like they are coming directly from the earliest days of rock and roll. The style, the energy, the spirit of the playing will take you right back to when it was all fresh. Clem Burke plays drums on this one. The fun continues with a cover of “This Is The Night,” which was recorded by Bob Luman And The Shadows in 1957. “This is the night, you are the girl/You got the loving, best in the world/This is the night, with any luck/I’ll have your heart before the sun comes up.” Oh hell yes, this is a tune that makes you want to just dance away any cares that might be plaguing you. Lewis King (also known as Curt Weiss) plays drums on this track. He played drums in The Rockats before Mike Osburn joined, appearing on the band’s 1981 record Live At The Ritz. That’s followed by a lively, hopping cover of Johnny Cash’s “You’re My Baby,” a song that Roy Orbison also recorded. Clem Burke is on drums.

Then we get to the original material, beginning with “50 Miles From Nowhere,” which was written by Dibbs Preston and Tim Scott. This is a song about being on the road, trying to get to the next concert, and having some troubles. It’s delivered at a great pace, the rhythm itself feeling like it is pushing forward, moving down the road. Lewis King plays drums on this one. “Broke down on the highway/Fifty miles from nowhere, a thousand miles from home/Town after town, they all seem the same/Faces all seem similar, no one has a name.” That’s followed by another original number, “Rock, Baby, Rock (All Night Long),” this one written by Barry Ryan. It describes a fun rock and roll scene, the music and lyrics having a timeless appeal. This is what rock and roll is about, right? “When my baby starts rocking, she never ever wants to stop/Spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning like a spinning top.” And the way he sings “Come on over,” he sounds like Jerry Lee Lewis about to tell us there’s a whole lot of shaking going on. And indeed there is.

“Rockabilly Swamp” is another original composition, written by Dibbs Preston. This one finds Danny Harvey playing not only guitar, but also piano and banjo, and Barry Ryan is on slide guitar. So yeah, it has something of a different sound as a result, as you might have guessed by its title. It’s a very cool tune. “Guitar picking, banjo too/Gators better stay away from you/Dragonflies, but you don’t care/A catfish jumping in the air/It’s a rockabilly swamp, rockabilly swamp party.” Then we get the album’s title track, “Start Over Again.” Apparently, this is a song the band used to perform in concerts in the 1980s but did not record in the studio until now. It is credited to Jerry Nolan and the Rockats. Jerry Nolan is yet another musician to have played drums in the band. He was the drummer before Tommy Darnell (more on Tommy in a bit). “It’s been a long, lonely time/Since we walked hand in hand/It’s been a long, lonely time/Since we walked together in the sand.”

“Lucky Old Rockabilly (Walking Down The Pike)” is the track to feature Mike Osborn on drums (I hope you’re keeping all these drummers straight in your mind). This is another original tune, written by Dibbs Preston. It’s a fun, cheerful number, and includes references to “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Daddy Sang Bass,” “Honey Don’t” and “Put Your Cat Clothes On.” Maybe this is a good time to comment on the tendency of these rockabilly groups to have the word “cat” in their names in some form. In addition to the Rockats, there is The Stray Cats, of course, and then there is The Polecats. Cool cats, all. “Lucky Old Rockabilly (Walking Down The Pike)” is followed by a delicious cover of “Rock Around With Ollie Vee,” written by Sonny Curtis, and recorded by Buddy Holly. This song was also covered by The Stray Cats. Clem Burke plays drums on this track. “Working Man” is the final of the newly recorded tracks on this disc, with Clem Burke again on drums. This one was written by Barry Ryan. “Well, I work, work, work as the clock goes round/I see the sun go up, I see it going down/I try, try, try the best I can/But life ain’t easy for a working man/I’m doing all right so I don’t complain/I guess I’m just tired of feeling shortchanged.” And as is the case with all of these tracks, this song features some good work on guitar.

The disc’s final two tracks are from a single released in 1980, and they feature Tommy Darnell on drums. As I have gathered, Tommy Darnell joined the band after Jerry Nolan left, and before Lewis King came aboard. Anyway, this single has long been out of print, and it’s great to have these two tracks included here. And they’ve been remastered. The first song, “Rockabilly Doll,” has a totally cool vibe, with a somewhat darker sound. It’s about dating a chick into rockabilly. “Her legs are long, and dress so tight/Man, she’s way out of sight/Well, I take her home all alone/She just don’t want to stop ‘til dawn.” This song was written by Tim Scott, who played guitar in the band from the very late 1970s until late 1981. Besides these two tracks, you can hear him on the 1981 album Live At The Ritz. The flip side to that single, and final song on this disc, is “Tanya Jean,” a song written by Bobby Paine and Larson Paine (the brothers that also wrote Josie Cotton’s “Johnny Are You Queer”). This is another totally fun number. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “Hey, Tanya Jean, Tanya Jean/I’d marry you, baby, but you’re just sixteen/Tanya Jean, Tanya Jean/I’m waiting for you, baby, and you know what I mean.” I hope all the other early tracks from The Rockats are re-issued.

CD Track List

1. Nervous Breakdown
2. This Is The Night
3. You’re My Baby
4. 50 Miles From Nowhere
5. Rock, Baby, Rock (All Night Long)
6. Rockabilly Swamp
7. Start Over Again
8. Lucky Old Rockabilly (Walking Down The Pike)
9. Rock Around With Ollie Vee
10. Working Man
11. Rockabilly Doll
12. Tanya Jean

Start Over Again was released on September 9, 2022 on Cleopatra Records.