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Psychobillly madness and old school R&B: 7 albums you should own on vinyl with The ReChords

Last week, Melbourne Americana trio The Rechords announced that they will be releasing their next batch of tunes in a series of single releases, each on 7-inch vinyl format, kicking off with their latest singles, Mockingbird and Seeing Things, soon to be released as a limited edition double A-side.

It’s a bold move, and being the vinyl fans were are, we’re all about it. So to help The Rechords celebrate a big couple of months ahead, we asked them to share some of the records they reckon anyone should own on vinyl – particularly if you’re into rockabilly, R&B and Americana.

The Rechords

Psychobillly madness, Americana and old school R & B: 7 albums you should own on vinyl with The ReChords.

Four To The Bar – The Sure Shots

A UK combo who performed some great harmonies, belting out modern rockabilly in the late 80’s. Definitely left an impression on me with their peppy sound and probably sparked my interest in multiple harmony groups. Played this album to death during the 90’s – Tyron

Rockabilly Psychosis & The Garage Disease – Various Artists

Another 80’s release containing such a diverse array of rockin’ artists performing garage, crazy rock ‘n’roll, surf from early to mid ‘60’s through to psychobilly from the early 80’s. I played this one over and over loving the mayhem and chaos of crazy vocals and the unbridled approach of some of these recordings. A ‘no limits’ kind of attitude from some of these artists – Tyron

Found this at Slow Boat records in Wellington when I was about 23. Bought it because it had a Cramps track but the real joy of the compilation is absolutely insane tracks like Love Me from The Phantom, the one and only Charlie Feathers and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy’s bugle track. Some great 80’s psychobilly from English band The Meteors on this record too – Leo

Town Hall Party – Collins Kids

The album and songs themselves aren’t that mind blowing, just some fun rocking and poppy tunes from the late 50’s. But if you’ve ever seen this brother and sister team of Larry & Lorrie Collins performing live on some old film footage you’ll be blown away by the energy and amazing stage presence they command and I think part of that comes across in our performances as a band – Tyron

Fire of Love – Gun Club

One record I’ll never forget or get sick of. I discovered this in the collection of my older housemates when I first left home as a teenager. Frantic energy, strange poetic and intensely personal lyrics in a country punk mode, made me fall in love at first listen – Leo

Satan Is Real – Louvin Brothers

Another favourite among us punks who mellow out and discover country music is the Louvin Brothers Satan is Real. I think the initial attraction of this record is the beautiful and kitschy diorama of the fires of hell on the cover, revealing some outrageously Christian themes in the music. But it’s not a joke at all, this album by the two brilliant brothers is earnest, heart felt and rendered in pitch-perfect, mind-melting harmonies – Leo

The Very Best of Johnny Guitar Watson

This album is a killer slice of original R’n’B, Watson’s guitar style is so exciting and full of bite. That along with his snarled twangy vocal delivery and solid backing group makes for some cool tunes, a big influence on my guitar playing and songwriting – Felix

Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs – Marty Robbins

What a voice, Marty Robbins one of the true authentic country & western singers. Beautiful and often minimal instrumentation on a lot of these tracks really let the vocals shine through. Something we make sure of doing in our music. Space is very important – Felix