Whats playing on your system today?

Dial ’W’ For Watkins, by Geraint Watkins. Geraint is THE keyboard player in the Roots/Blues/Rockabilly/Hillbilly scene in the UK, and has worked in the bands of both Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe (I’ve seen Geraint live quite a few times), amongst many others.

This album is on Yep Rock Records, a cool little U.S. Indi label, and was issued in 2004. Geraint is quite a character, and the album reflects his wide-ranging musical tastes and abilities. A highlight is his version of the brilliant song "Heroes & Villains", written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, and included on The Beach Boys Smiley Smile album. Geraint gives the song a Swing treatment with Scat singing (!), sounding like it could be a weird Louis Prima out-take. NOBODY else would have thought of that! If you love "Heroes & Villains" as much as do I, you just GOTTA hear Geraint’s version.