I’m sure you know the feeling. You are raised from your slumbers by the persistent and unforgiving daylight and you get to thinking about what new knowledge that you might today squeeze into the limited space in between your ears. How about a discovering a previously unknown musical genre called Gypsybilly and, shortly before and thereafter, an album from The Vignatis called “50/50 Part 1: Gypsybilly Vol. 5“?
The Vignatis, in case you don’t already know, are a Franco-American flavoured hybrid of soft rockabilly influences and a good time dance until dawn band and it is perhaps no surprise that they prove themselves capable of injecting a fair degree of humour and style into their music. Add in some suitably, sometimes cosmically, altered covers of hits like “Thriller” and - of all songs that a band might cover - “Pride (in The Name of Love)” and the end result is more than merely likely to bring a smile to your face.
There had to be some songs of love in there too – France, after all, invented romance - and, without a hint of sarcasm, The Vignatis duly show themselves capable of using something as simple as a clarinet to evoke all that is Gallic charm and Gitanes compensated heartbreak.
With a wink and a smile, The Vignatis demonstrate that all in the world can be upbeat with their playful and endearing approach to music making their, somewhat curiously named, album “50/50 Part 1: Gypsybilly Vol. 5” sound just like a summer night should. A good time album indeed.
Best song: The very French “Mon Amour. Ma Romance.”