Rock’n’roll has become something of a devalued concept of late. Since the mid 90s and the so-called halcyon days of Britpop, any number of indie-schmindie chancers have misappropriated the phrase to describe their scratchy, piss-weak efforts and misguided, cocksure swaggering. At best, they may well rock (after a fashion), but roll? Get the fuck outta here.
Rock’n’roll is, to all intents and purposes, fucking music. The phrase itself donates “shagging” after all, so it’s always been pretty laughable to listen to pimply pretenders attempting to sell sexless music as something else to the gullible and misguided. If you want music to make luuurve to then look elsewhere but for quick, up-against-the-wall, knee-trembling thrills, then the 1950s source material still can’t be beaten. And John Moore knows better than most.
A one time hired hand of the Jesus & Mary Chain’s perma-scowling Reid brothers, John Moore is a man on intimate terms with the E to A chord change and his credentials of a corrupter of youth were sealed when he battered brains and added another dimension to the hangover experience as in importer of absinthe. Joining him for the ride are the current Mary Chain rhythm section, bassist Phil King (Earl Brutus) and drummer Loz Colbert (Ride).
Displaying a work ethic that would make the Reids blush, The John Moore Rock’n’Roll Trio concocted this fabulously unruly collection of first generation covers in a mere two days and the results are as feral as the source material deserves. Like The Cramps or The Detroit Cobras before them, The John Moore Rock’n’Roll Trio are three chord evangelists preaching the gospel of deviancy, illicit thrills and slashed cinema seats. So it is that spirits of Little Richard (‘Long Tall Sally’), Eddie Cochran (‘Twenty Flight Rock’) and Jerry Lee Lewis (‘Whole Lotta Shakin”) are invoked to great effect while the one-chord rumba of Bo Diddley raises its head on more than one occasion, most notably on the delightfully demented ‘Who Do You Love’.
While hardly reinventing the wheel, The John Moore Rock’n’Roll Trio breathe new life into old material with a sincerity and sense of unabashed joy that’s utterly palpable. There’s no agenda here other than demanding a spring in your step as your ass hits the floor and for that at least we should all be truly thankful.
