Another British group, Ricky Cool & The In Crowd specialize in Swing style Rhythm & Blues in a fashion that brings to mind the 50s and 60s. About that time, too, Jamaican influence was woking into the UK music scene. The In Crowd version of "White Christmas", for example, is what would be called Blue Beat. I'm no musicologist or anything, but, to my ears, the difference between Blue Beat and Ska is that the former leans more to the Jazz side while Ska is clearly Punk influenced (and don't get me started on High Life). Anyway, I'm probably full of crap, so see what Wikipedia has to say about it.
Ricky Cool, himself, has been a London music scene mainstay since the 70s. At that time, it was Ricky Cool & The Icebergs. Later on, it was Ricky Cool and the Rialtos. The Rialtos then became Robert Plant's original Honeydrippers.
The group's current album is "Flamingo Nights". There's a great reggae version of "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" and, if you're into Blues like I am, you should really check out "Must I Holler". The opening track, "Sounds Like Locomotion", is another one you need to hear. Great stuff!
The Christmas song? Oh, right. I knew I was forgetting something. "White Christmas" is free until December 27th, in exchange for joining the Ricky Cool & The In Crowd mailing list at their web site (scroll down).
Ricky Cool, himself, has been a London music scene mainstay since the 70s. At that time, it was Ricky Cool & The Icebergs. Later on, it was Ricky Cool and the Rialtos. The Rialtos then became Robert Plant's original Honeydrippers.
The group's current album is "Flamingo Nights". There's a great reggae version of "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" and, if you're into Blues like I am, you should really check out "Must I Holler". The opening track, "Sounds Like Locomotion", is another one you need to hear. Great stuff!
The Christmas song? Oh, right. I knew I was forgetting something. "White Christmas" is free until December 27th, in exchange for joining the Ricky Cool & The In Crowd mailing list at their web site (scroll down).
RSS Feed
