Emerging from the rockabilly scene in their home base of Zurich, they recently turned down an invitation to be the Swiss Eurovision entry. Known to some for their mini-hit ‘Johnny Are You Gay?’, a recent retrospective has propelled them gigging across Europe, including TV shows and a tour supporting Jeff Beck climaxing at the legendary Paris Olympia. A viral Cinéma vérité video from that album has attracted over 50,000 views: http://youtu.be/bANSizYxh-w
A single ‘My Love For Evermore’ precedes the album, on 7” and download. It’s a dark duet by Emanuela and guest Spark Phillips of infamous, wayward psychobilly band Demented Are Go, assisted by Geraint Watkins on organ, and backed with a rockabilly guitar cover of ‘Enola Gay’. A new ‘Bonnie & Clyde style’ video was filmed over 3 days and will be launched on the single release date. Stills from the shoot can be seen here: http://on.fb.me/ia21CJ
The album is produced by Greg Townson of US band The Hi-Risers, and recorded in London at Gold Top Studio, Camden, last year. (Gold Top Studio has now relocated to Gravity Shack, Tooting.)
TRACKS: - Buy Beg or Steal, Broken Heart, She Kicked Me To The Curb, Natascia, Trouble & Strife, My Love For Evermore (with Sparky), Night of the Living Ted, Imagine A World, Goin’ To Milano, Touch Me, Rock’n’Roll Girl, Chalk Farm Breakdown, Enola Gay. 13 tracks.
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"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work up a plausible old-school sound these days—a few twangy guitars, a pile of echo, a sneering lead vocal on top, and presto, you're ready to rumble. There's a difference, however, between a true vintage-tinged update and another in a series of Eddie Cochran copycats. Which brings us to Hillbilly Moon Explosion, Zurich-based rock revivalists who've spent the past few years touring Europe, issuing a pair of acclaimed releases (2002's Introducing The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, 2004's Bourgeois Baby) while watching their fan base grow by leaps and bounds. Mind you, this is no quaint Sun Records send-up; at their best, HME— bassist/vocalist Oliver Baroni; rhythm guitarist/vocalist Emanuela Hutter; guitarist Duncan James and drummer Luke Weyermann—come across like a Sam Phillips-produced soundtrack to a Sam Raimi shock flick, a furious bed of slap bass and pounding snare underpinning layers of menacing guitar lines, wailing background vocals, and eerie keyboard flourishes, with front-woman Hutter providing the perfect aural/visual focal point, fishnet stockings and all.
When it came time to lay tracks for a third independent effort, head Hillbillies Baroni and Hutter eventually headed for the US and wound up at the door of producer-engineer Mark Neill, owner of San Diego's Soil of the South Studios, where it’s all-analog, all the time. One could not imagine a better match-up: Neill, a rockabilly bred Southerner whose client list includes The Paladins, Los Straitjackets and Old 97s, is a rock archeologist of the highest order and vast collector of choice old-school audio tools, who knows how to nail it down in just a few takes using as few tracks possible (the way it was before we all had too much time and tracks on our hands). In order to provide Baroni and Hutter with the proper instrumental framework, Neill enlisted the support of cohorts like guitarist Eddie Angel (of Los Straitjackets fame), sax man Archie Thompson and drummer Craig 'Flash' Packham, with Neill himself overlaying lead and rhythm guitars. The result is All Grown Up, a faithfully prepared (and mainly mono-mixed) amalgam of unbridled rock tracks that clock in at a Ramones-like two-and-a-half minutes apiece, featuring Baroni's saxes-with-axes classic "Live the Life," Hutter’s sensually exotic take on "House of Bamboo," not to mention a tour-de-force rendering of Mel Larson’s "Little Lil," with Baroni's lead vocals authentically distorting like a Little Richard 45. And in case anyone's forgotten what real country is supposed to sound like, there's the Baroni-penned "Brown Eyed Boy," a lilting Loretta Lynn pastiche that belies the murderous intent described within.
How good is this stuff? "To think that these guys came over to San Diego from Europe with a bunch of songs on acoustic guitar and absolutely nailed the vintage rock'n'roll sound—and made it contemporary," remarks the normally reserved Neill. "I've never seen that happen before."
Dave Simons, Rolling Stone Magazine.
Discography
Introducing The Hillbilly Moon Explosion (2002, Crazy Love Records)
Bourgeois Baby (2004)
By Popular Demand: The Basement Tapes (1999-2005) (2005, Crazy Love Records)
All Grown Up (2006)
Raw Deal (2010, The Freed)
Buy, Beg or Steal (2011, The Freed; Jungle Records)
Damn Right Honey! (2013, Goldtop Recordings/Jungle Records)
French Kiss avec Arielle Dombasle (2015, Mercury Records/Universal Music France)
With Monsters and Gods (2016, Jungle Records; The Freed; Cloud Hill)
The Sparky Sessions feat. Mark “Sparky” Phillips (2019, Freedonia; Jungle Records)
BUY BEG OR STEAL
The Hillbilly Moon Explosion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For the good life you missed
I should have it better
And I should have it now
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Get on my knees and kneel
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal a life from me
Let my dreams come true
Or leave me be
You once knew hunger
And you once knew cold
But I won't return to
The hardships of old
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Get on my knees and kneel
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal a life from me
Let my dreams come true
Or leave me be
My mother came here
Had no soles on her shoes
So I would give my life for
My kids right to choose
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Get on my knees and kneel
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal a life from me
Let my dreams come true
Or leave me be
[x2]
The lyrics to The Hillbilly Moon Explosion's song Buy Beg Or Steal are about the singer's desire for a better life and the sacrifices they are willing to make to achieve it. The first two lines set the tone for the rest of the song, where the singer expresses their hunger for a life they missed out on. They believe that they should have a better life and that they deserve it now. The chorus, "Bye bye - buy, beg or steal, get on my knees and kneel," repeats itself multiple times and suggests that the singer is willing to do whatever it takes to make their dreams a reality. They want their dreams to come true and are willing to do what it takes, but if their aspirations are not feasible, then they would rather be left alone.
The second verse talks about hunger and hardships that the singer has overcome and how they don't want to return to a life of struggle. The bridge of the song, "My mother came here, had no soles on her shoes, so I would give my life for my kids' right to choose," explains that the singer is willing to sacrifice everything for their children's future, just like their mother did for them.
The song can be interpreted in many ways, but overall it is about striving towards a better life and working hard to make it a reality.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got a hunger
You have a strong desire
For the good life you missed
For the life that you never had
I should have it better
I deserve better
And I should have it now
And I expect it to happen immediately
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal
Goodbye, get it by any means necessary
Get on my knees and kneel
I will beg if I have to
Bye bye - buy, beg or steal a life from me
Goodbye, obtain what I have at any cost
Let my dreams come true
Allow me to achieve my aspirations
Or leave me be
Otherwise, just let me be
You once knew hunger
You used to experience deprivation
And you once knew cold
You used to experience the coldness of life
But I won't return to
But I refuse to go back to
The hardships of old
The difficulties of the past
My mother came here
My mother migrated to this place
Had no soles on her shoes
Her shoes were worn out
So I would give my life for
So I am willing to sacrifice myself for
My kids right to choose
The freedom of choice for my children
Contributed by Carson P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Wallychans
0:00 Buy beg or Steal 👍
3:08 Broken Heart
5:49 She kicked me to the curb
8:31 Natascia 👌
11:42 Trouble and Strife
14:38 My Love Forever More 🥰
18:01 Night of the Living Ted
20:17 Imagine a World 🤔
22:46 Goin to Milano
24:44 Touch Me
27:29 Rock N Roll Girl
30:27 Chalk Farm Breakdown
31:52 Enola Gay 😉
Wallychans
0:00 Buy beg or Steal 👍
3:08 Broken Heart
5:49 She kicked me to the curb
8:31 Natascia 👌
11:42 Trouble and Strife
14:38 My Love Forever More 🥰
18:01 Night of the Living Ted
20:17 Imagine a World 🤔
22:46 Goin to Milano
24:44 Touch Me
27:29 Rock N Roll Girl
30:27 Chalk Farm Breakdown
31:52 Enola Gay 😉
Brock Autry
Love it thru and thru. Very different from the heavy metal I usually rock . Very VERY COOL 😎😎
Hernan Reyes
AMO ESTE ALBUM
Yanina Rombolá
I love this album ♥
Cristian grippo
Parece que nunca vendrán a.bs as
Fredrik Andersson
this is probably one of the best bands ive ever heard,soooo fuckin brilliant
Jacobus Opperman
They deserve a Grammy.
Luis Santiago
I looooooooove this album <3 !!!!!
JJ ZZ
I love this so much...excelent !!!!
miguel coradi
Que gran disco es este,movilizador de sentimientos varios.