Cat Man and Lou Lou

Hide your daughters. Hide your sons.

Rockabilly seems to be one of those genres, like funk or ska, that is so specific and easily identifiable that you’re not really allowed to get too creative with it. This stuff can be fun—especially when seen live—but within one’s record collection it tends to be something of a novelty, a lighthearted interlude from the stuff you take a bit more seriously. (Conversely, if any of those genres are your main thing, then there's a decent chance you've got a wardrobe to match.)

What always struck me about rockabilly is the rawness. Much of it feels so much more threatening than what followed after. If stodgy parents bit their nails during the Beatles’ performance on the Sullivan show as the bowl-cut Brits yearned to hold their daughter’s hand, how would they have handled Gene Vincent’s “Cat Man” which came out eight years prior?

I’m personally not an aficionado of this stuff, which I believe excuses my one-stop-shopping approach: I bought myself a box set. God bless Rhino—this is very much in their wheelhouse. (They don't actually include a tin of pomade with the box set, which seems like a missed opportunity.)

To call it “punk,” as the compilers of this collection did, is obviously an anachronism (and obviously they knew that), but, in the spirit of things, it feels accurate. These songs are youthful, abrasive, and very much aware of their own newness. Like much of punk rock, it hopes to appear a bit threatening while also announcing: Look, I’m just being myself.

This particular collection has some excellent stuff, but, given the specificity of the genre, some of it starts to sound the same. And, lyrically, a few of the songs prove true that old creative writing 101 mantra: Show don’t tell. As singers declare: I’m a rebel… I’m a juvenile delinquent… You shrug and think: Well, if you say so.

This, for me, makes “Cat Man” and “Lou Lou” stand-outs.

“Cat Man,” we learn, is an acrostic: C is for the crazy hairdo that he wears around… et cetera. This corny device probably should tank the song, but its balanced out by the unbridled whelps and wails belted out between verses. As he warns, better hide your sister. This dude’s not fucking around.

“Lou Lou” makes a perfect contrast. Lou Lou knows what guys to date. Lou Lou knows what steps to take. Lou Lou knows whose heart to break. Lou Lou’s taking this town... Nice to see the tables turned on the 1950s fellas: Lou Lou is very much in charge.