The Gypsy Pistoleros "the ideal house band for the Titty Twister bar of Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn!" (their words, not mine, seehere), a band with a long and colourful history released their new album The Mescalito Vampires via Off Yer Rocka on 14 August.
The current line-up sees the return of Gypsy Lee Pistolero, on vocals, and the addition of a brass section with Kris Jones on trumpet.
The album takes you on one hell of a thrilling 'Titty Twister' of a roller coaster ride. You board this particular roller coaster Lost in a Town called Nowhere with a telephone ringing in your ear, and it's a good old fashioned telephone bell, if you can recall the day's telephones had dials not keypads and some Crazy Frog type ringtone. A song with a fiery Mexican flavour, think Popes of Chilli Town, as you wander through Spaghetti Western territory searching for a place called somewhere!
Viva la Revolution, Viva Zapata starts off with some gentle flamenco guitars before picking up speed to be something more akin to Anti-Pasti's Viva Che with some elements of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (theme by Ennio Morricone) thrown in.
Next stop, the track which gives the album it's name, Mescalito Vampires (Welcome to the Hotel de la Muerta). Or the hotel of the dead. (If google translate serves me right!) Although the song has a Flamenco vibe and would be ideal for a Paso Doble. Y Viva Espana or so said Sylvia back in 1974, we're taken over to the West Coast of the United States, this track is the Gypsy Pistoleros take on The Eagles' 1977 classic Hotel California.
We then go further back in time, to the beginning of the 20th Century, and the song España cañí written by Pascual Marquina Narro. Fittingly the literal translation of España cañí is Spanish Gypsy. Mix the two songs together you'll come out with something like Mescalito Vampires (Welcome to the Hotel de la Muerta). If you listen intently, midway through the song the demon waiter is asked 'Hey man have you got any wine' and the response is 'We haven't had that spirit here Sir, since 1979'. I was trying to work out if there's any relevance to that year, other than the fact that nine rhymes with wine! I’m (un)reliably informed by Gypsy Lee that it’s the year his first band ‘Punk Spirit supported The Damned.
I'm not going to cover every track, but needless to say, it's all in the same vein. With highs and lows as you roll along, as in upbeat tracks interspersed with mellower numbers.
A few more observations The name’s Django is a gentle, melodic song given the violent subject matter, reminiscent of Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues. Cisco Kid is a rousing number with a pounding beat and a nod to John Leyton's Johnny Remember Me.
Alone again or is a cover that remains true to the original by Love. Alas, like any thrilling ride, the roller coaster comes to the end of the line but we're going out with a bang! Gonna die with a Gun in my Hand is an uptempo song that leaves you wanting more!
Track List:
- Lost in a Town called Nowhere
- Viva la Revolution, Viva Zapata
- Mescalito Vampires (Welcome to the Hotel de la Muerta)
- Soho Daze, just another Friday Night
- Roses, Gallows and the Wild Preachers Daughter
- The Forsaken
- The name’s Django
- Cisco Kid
- Wild is the Wind
- Alone again or
- Sangre on the Roses
- Gonna die with a Gun in my Hand
Gypsy Pistoleros Line Up:
- Gypsy Lee Pistolero – Vox, Bad Rumba Guitar
- Mark Westwood (Shadowland, Clive Nolan, GLP) – Great Guitars
- Gaz Le Bass (The Delray Rockets) – Double Bass
- Jan Vincent Vellazco (Pendragon, Ghost, PIG) – Drums
- Kris Jones - Trumpet
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