Ah! The Gypsy Pistoleros – there’s a name to conjure with and one that’s been off the radar for far too long! Well 2021 and lockdown sees them reborn with new new line-up that consists of Gypsy Lee Pistolero (vocals/guitars) Mark Westwood of Shadowland (guitars), Gaz Le Bass (double bass), Jan Vincent Vellazco (drums) and Kris Jones (trumpet) and hopefully some shows to come!
As albums go (and as someone who has them all in their collection) I’d go as far as to say that this one is probably truer to Lee’s original vision of the band to the version that toured the US over a decade ago and as such it’s got both that Rock and Roll craziness that came from that much loved version but also a certain refinement here.
Sure there are the out and out rockers that all have a healthy Punk outlook and real Latin flair – like ‘Lost In A Town Called Nowhere’, ‘Viva La Revolution’ and ‘Soho Days’ but there’s also much more. Take the more spacious ‘spaghetti western vision inducing’ soundscapes like ‘Cisco Kid’ and ‘Gonna Die With A Gun In My Hand’ and you get a very real taste of a more mature Pistoleros.
But there’s more, as they say from the hard rocking 80’s flavors of ‘ Just Another Friday Night’ or the change of pace that comes with ‘The Name’s Django’ which does a ‘Nirvana’ to the Flamenco Punk staple and very effectively too. The best might just be the wonderfully overblown ‘The Mescalito Vampires (Welcome To The Hotel De La Muerto)’ that takes a riff on The Eagles and does so to great effect.
Then there’s the mariachi-fueled Punk rock of ‘Roses, Gallows and the Wild Preachers Daughter’, and the Flamenco party of ‘Forsaken’ two that really get it spot on as fusion goes… oh and the wonderful cover of Love’s classic ‘Alone Again Or’ that closes. You’ll love it I’m sure.
This album really is a huge amount of fun and if you like the idea of a traditional Latin inspired rock band that also takes in the late 80’s Sunset Strip (though far less pronounced than in previous incarnations) street punk and a little southern bluesy charm you’ll love this. Just think of the Pistoleros 2021 as “The World’s Greatest Flamenco Sleaze Glam Rock ‘N’ Roll band Ever! … now with extra trumpet…”
8/10