Artist: Commander Cody and His Western Planet Airmen
Album: Live From the Sunbanks Festival, Electric City
Label: Liberation Hall
Release Date: 09.08.2019
Commander Cody has returned from the ozone with three other musicians he calls his Western Airmen to rock again in a way that made his live shows legendary among fans of boogie-woogie rockabilly. The Commander, nee George Frayne IV, calls this lineup his finest ever, a claim difficult to accept given the original Lost Planet Airmen featured the likes of Master of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen and was one of the hardest-rocking outfits around.
Comparisons across time and space are always difficult, so it’s good just to have the Commander and his music back. Steven Barbuto has played drums alongside Frayne’s keys for 25 years. Bassist Tim Eshliman shares vocals with guitarist and pedal steel player Sean Allen. The current release, Live from the Sunbanks Festval, was recorded in September 2018. There are live standards such as “One of Those Nights” and “Truck Drivin’ Man,” but the 11-song CD is far from a “Best of” collection. Several notable Lost Planet Airmen favorites are absent in favor of lesser-known tunes like “They Kicked Me Out of the Band” and blues covers such as “Hello Josephine.”
It’s all good fun, just as it’s intended to be. There are several great Lost Plain Airmen live recordings as well as latter-day releases with the Modern Day Airmen. The Western Airmen represents yet another chapter in the long-running Commander Cody serial.
—Lou Montesano
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