Feelin' Kinda Lucky

To call Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys a rockabilly band would be broadly accurate, but it misses much of what makes the group’s music so delightful. By the time they recorded this, their fifth album, they had fully integrated elements from rockabilly, honky-tonk country, Western swing, and 1950s rock’n’roll, creating a sound that was deeply and proudly old-fashioned while, at the same time, quite unique. Listen to the little sob that comes from the steel guitar at the end of each verse line on “The Loser’s Blues,” but then notice how hard the band swings on the title track. Throughout the album, notice the exuberant virtuosity of the interplay between guitarist Ashley Kingman and steel player Lee Jeffriess. And above all, notice how bandleader Robert Williams, a.k.a. Big Sandy, wields his sweet, clear tenor voice both to invoke the sounds of 50 years ago and to stake out his own territory. This is revivalism, but it’s also much more – and it’s never less than tons of fun.