Fabienne Shine: “Don’t Tell Me How To Shake It” (Blues Again)

Fabienne Shine returns in great shape with an album of fire and thunder. We find the Bouchard brothers of the Blue Oyster Cult, the faithful Ross The Boss (Dictators), Norbert ‘Nono’ Krief (Trust), Freddie Katz (Chris Spedding, Patti Rothberg, Tuff Darts) and many other good friends. Fabienne has always had that voice of a panther meowing, roaring over the walls of guitars of chromed steel. “The World And Me” opens the album as a haunting anthem. Backing vocals from Patti Rothberg, along with Tish and Snooky, former choristers of Blondie is great, while Freddie Katz is killer on lead and rhythm guitars. Continuing with ‘Don’t Tell Me How To Shake It’, it’s obvious that we won’t be asking Fabienne how to ‘shake’! ‘I Gotta Fly’ and ‘Worth More When I’m Dead’ are of the same alloy; felicity and carbon. Impressive. Next, tribute is paid to ‘Candy Darling’, the trans actress from Paul Morrissey’s “Flesh” (1968) who’s quoted in Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’. It’s one of the high points of the album. Air Fabienne. Her so sensual voice whispers to us.

“One two, one two three …” And it’s the arrival of the bass/drums rhythm section of the Bouchard brothers, and Ross The Boss on the six-string for the Shakin’ Street-like ‘I’m Your Girl’. Any healthy male should yield! Next, Nono arrives for ‘Curly Waves’, rock-n-roll at la The Ramones. There’s harmonica and I’m sure it’s Fab’s.

It’s been more than thirty years since the third Shakin’ Street album was written in French. Refused by the label, it must have led to the end of the group. We find renditions of two of those songs included here, “Je Suis Une Fille De Nulle Part” and “J’aime Marcher Dans Les Courants D’Air”. With the rhythm section of Mike Winter and Aurélien Ouzoulias they rock hard. Surprisingly, the album ends with a very nice rendition of ‘Here Comes The Sun’ by George ‘Beatle’ Harrison, a title that certainly touched Fabienne during her early London years.

Madame Essaïgh, we are looking forward to seeing you on tour, and especially hope you that continue to make albums of this caliber. Hats off! – Juan Marquez Leon

Originally published at Blues Again.

Fabienne Shine: “Don’t Tell Me How To Shake It” (Rockn Reviews)

Despite the hardships of life, Fabienne Shine, the muse of the legendary Shakin’ Street is still here. The love of rock’n’roll, of life, and the benevolence of her friends and fans is still ever-present. The proof is the typical rock’n’roll posture she takes on the cover of this album, “Don’t Tell Me How To Shake It”. She still has a lot of budding musicians who love and admire her, and a nice rock panel is present on the album: Albert Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult), Joe Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult), the stainless steel icon Ross The Boss Friedman (Manowar), our French legend Norbert Krief (Trust) and others less known but equally excellent.

The last album of Shakin’ Street dates from 2014 but Fabienne decided to release a solo album, whose gestation took time because Fabienne had a hard time but wanted to finish this album. We must move forward despite everything.

“The World and Me” starts off with Freddie Katz’s guitars, very greasy and fat, just as we like them, excellent throughout the five tracks he’s playing. Fabienne’s voice is sexy, the sound is modern but it’s rock’n’roll! Get louder! “Don’t Tell Me How To Shake” is at the limit of the punk-style of The New York Dolls and The Dictators.

The riff on “I Gotta Fly” is more hard rock but remains in the temper of the two previous titles. No concession is possible; the love of the rock of the 70s is always omnipresent. Greasy guitars, harmonica, rock voice, big rhythm. It’s furious like a hurricane.

Huge bass and guitars rise to a crescendo for the thundering “Worth More When I’m Dead”, no doubt my favorite on the album as it sounds very hard rock. The arrangements are bare, the music and the rhythm are above all. Freddie Katz is amazing. But the folky “Candy Darling” is also a title of beauty. It begins acoustically, soft voice and piano. This title was composed by Fabienne Shine alone. Six minutes of intense musical happiness. Electric guitars come in here and there before softening. Absolutely splendid. It’s a little reminiscent of California in the 60s, 70s.

“I’m Your Girl” starts really well, with a Ross The Boss who shows that his nickname has not been usurped. The rhythm belongs entirely in the expert hands of the Bouchard brothers. It’s square, it’s clean, it smells like sweat, tears and rock’n’roll. No frills. We go to the simplest: rock! And a fucking short but effective solo!

And now we find our national Nono on the bustling “Curly Waves”, punky rock without pretensions but also effective. Following are two titles in French, “Je Suis Une Fille de Nulle Part” and “J’Aime Marcher dans les Courants d’Air”, both recorded in Paris. Fabienne is a free woman, fragile and strong at the same time. These two titles are surprising; they call to mind the French rock of the 70s, but with the sound of today. I really like it; Norbert Krief sets the tone for these two titles.

“Here Comes The Sun”, because the sun always comes after the rain. A beautiful cover of the Beatles, definitely Fabienne’s own interpretation, but with respect.

Nine rock’n’roll tracks and a cover, for a rock’n’roll, punk album, made with respect and love by Fabienne Shine (and her super friends). The result may seem from another distant time but the production, the sound are resolutely modern so do not hesitate! Order the disc on Fabienne’s website of and it will be dedicated to you personally. Fabienne, we love you.

Originally published at RocknReviews.fr.

THE CARVELS NYC – “Life Is Not a Waiting Room” EP (Jersey Beat)

Some bands make life very to understand; simply put, if you do not love the Carvels, you do not love rock n’ roll. If rock should be swagger and attitude wrapped around angst-fueled talent, then Lynne Von Pang and her crew are all you need. Printed on gorgeous, deep-blue vinyl, the record opens with “Life is not a Waiting Room”, a track that jumps out of the speakers with a blaring sax from “Sweet” David Spinley, rousing guitar, and Von Pang’s snarky and richly melodic vocals. Incorporating classic NYC punk vibes with rock’s original sense of bombast, the Carvels make the past the present with an explosive mixture of fun and frustration. While they do not take themselves overly seriously, the Carvels craft sharp lyrics, particularly on “Scarcity”, with its opening line of “I just write a love letter to the person I might have been”. The song’s mid-tempo pacing and garage meets doo-wop approach mirrors what one hears on the soaring cover of “I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy”. Both tracks allow Von Pang to fully explore her dynamic vocal range and masterful delivery as guitarist Brian Morgan, bassist Mike Dee, and drummer Steve Pang play with a simmering boil that balances raucous energy and refined prowess. The three songs are over far too quickly, and I can now sit anxiously and wait for a full length.

Originally published at Jersey Beat.

The Carvels NYC: “Everything With You Is A Travesty” EP (Scene Point Blank)

Let me tell you something about reviewing and how it is decided what will get a review on here. Sometimes it is very straight forward: our dark overlord gives a direct order to review something. Luckily (for me at least) life is keeping him too busy to that stuff too often. That’s when I get to browse through the seemingly endless lists of releases that are brought to our attention. How to pick something from a pile that big? Sometimes I listen to short clips in the hope a first impression will save me from listening to something that’s just too far out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I just pick something based on the artwork. Which is what happened with The Carvels NYC.

Just look at that artwork. Ain’t it gorgeous? Just because of that artwork it deserves your attention! But there’s more. The five songs on here are a soundtrack to good times. The opening title track sets the tone. It’s a power-pop punky anthem. Without any knowledge beforehand I was a bit surprised about the inclusion of a sax in the line-up. You see, I am a bit of purist when it comes to my punk. I like it as clean as possible, meaning: bass, drums and guitar are all you need. The Carvels NYC prove me that when done correct, a sax can be a perfectly fine addition to a punk band. The other four songs are equally enjoyable. There’s a certain (later) Ramones vibe to be found on all tracks, mixed with a couple of other NY punk bands. Strongest selling point here is not the artwork or the song writing though. No, to me the biggest selling point here is Lynne Von Pangs voice. I don’t know to whom to compare it, but after spinning this EP a couple of times I want more!

If you feel the same as me after listening to this EP, I am happy to inform you that there are a couple of new tracks available in the form of a new EP: Life Is Not A Waiting Room. At this time of year, when the days are pretty short already but keep getting shorter for a couple of weeks I can still get my vitamin D by playing canned sunshine in the form of this EP.

8.0 / 10

Originally published at Scene Point Blank.