The Corvairs - Mashed Potatoes Time & The Corvairs (1963) @ 320

 

Biography by Sébastien Desrosiers

Four Montrealers met at the end of the 1950s: Louis Vital (vocals, guitar), Bobby Inch (drums), Robert Baril (bass) & Claude Picotin (lead guitar). The group recorded three 45's on the labels Aladin, Fleur-de-Lys, and Olympia. Proud of a constant tour of cabarets between Montreal and Quebec, the group signed a contract for two albums with the latter label. Possibly recorded in a single session, the two albums were quickly pressed in 1963; the title of the first (Mashed Potatoes Time) already refers to a title that will only be found on their second.

Of the 10 titles on offer, only The Corvairs Beat and Peppermint Style are original creations; the rest of the album boils down to honest covers of hits popularized by Wilbert Harrison (Kansas City), Duane Eddy (Movin and Groovin), Herbie Hancok (Water Melon Man), Jimmy Forrest (Night Train), Hank Ballard ( Let's go) or The Ventures (Ram-Bum-Shush). However, the whole thing does not lack bite, especially on the side of the live capture invigorated by a good dose of reverb. Vocal interpretation, for its part, is too often reserved; to listen to Vital sing, one can indeed hardly believe that there is a lot of sheeking going on [sic] ... The Corvairs Beat starts with class on a rather conventional rockabilly riff. The introduction of Peppermint Style will still be enough to get you a smile before rocking the boat: What are we gonna do now, a chacha? No! A mambo? No! A twist? Yeaaaahhh! The group seems more solid on its own compositions as well as on the other instrumental tracks.

The group broke up suddenly after having burned their two albums for Olympia. They would reform in 1967, exchanging Picotin for a new soloist (Gerry Dusseault) until their dissolution in 1978. 

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Mashed Potatoes Time 1963

01. The Corvairs - The Corvairs Beat  (1:49)

02. The Corvairs - Let's Go  (2:06)

03. The Corvairs - Night Train  (2:14)

04. The Corvairs - Whole Lot Of Shaking Going On  (2:17)

05. The Corvairs - Movin And Groovin  (1:50)

06. The Corvairs - Peppermint Style  (1:52)

07. The Corvairs - Water Melon Man  (2:29)

08. The Corvairs - Ram-Bum-Shush  (1:01)

09. The Corvairs - Wells All Right  (2:55)

10. The Corvairs - Kansas City  (2:14)

The Corvairs 1963

01. The Corvairs - My Girl Josephine  (2:23)

02. The Corvairs - Black Paper  (2:05)

03. The Corvairs - Anybody But Me  (2:11)

04. The Corvairs - Twist And Shout  (1:57)

05. The Corvairs - The Corvairs Beat Rock  (2:29)

06. The Corvairs - My Whole World Is Falling Down  (2:21)

07. The Corvairs - You Are My Sunshine  (2:38)

08. The Corvairs - Mashed Potatoes Rock  (1:49)

09. The Corvairs - Bulldog  (2:17)

10. The Corvairs - Pretty Baby  (2:15)

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