One of the great lost sessions of recent times, Cleopatra Records have now seen fit to rerelease HeadCat Plays Buddy Holly. This unusual document is an actually quite faithful rockabilly take on the Buddy Holly songbook, a style actually not so far from his own slightly more polished oeuvre.

Who, then, HeadCat? The answer: Slim Jim Phantom, of the Stray Cats and the similarly inclined Danny B. Harvey. But that’s not all, as the third band member was no less than Lemmy Kilmister–yes, that Lemmy (is there another?)–before that. Drawn together by a love for the rock’n’roll of their youth, these apparently disparate souls from an ocean apart, first grouped for A Special Tribute to Elvis in 1999, as the Swing Cats. One suspects they may have had other shared interests.

In 2006 the trio returned for a set of greased-back standards, releasing Fool’s Paradise. To all intents and purposes, this release seems culled from those self-same sessions, if concentrating only on the Holly-related songs. So no “Cut Across Shorty,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Trying to Get to You,” “Big River” or “Matchbox,” these five songs replaced by three alternate versions of songs already in the package. To add to the mystique, many of the songs include snippets of studio conversation, to add atmosphere.

Anyone hoping for the sonic blast of Lemmy’s trademark bass rumble, assaulting senses and rattling ossicles, can look away now. Kilmister is here mainly employed on acoustic guitar strumming duties. That and singing. It is fair to say his raddled croak is not ideally suited to these midrange croons, all dialed at well under 11. Having said, there is some small charm around the delivery. If you find the timbre of Jonathan Richmond of appeal, imagine him with a (very) sore throat. But, I think, the main point is that, hey, it’s Lemmy, and your opinion will make or break on the strength of the affection you may, or not, have.
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