Keepin’ Up With The Jones – The Ballbusters (Vicious Kitten)

You might question the validity of this four-song EP from the Worcester, Massachusetts, band that used to be Rick Blaze and The Ballbusters until their frontman’s demise in 2011 following protracted health issues. After all, it’s been 23 years since their second album and first for Vicious Kitten (the “Manhattan Babylon” CD) and one of the guitarists, Dave Cuneo, has also since shuffled off this mortal coil.

It was easy back then to write off Rick Blaze and The Ballbusters as yet another Thunders-besotted outfit from the backblocks whose fascination for JT's dubious lifestyle choices got in the way of them making it out of their own backyard. The cover art for this EP is all a bit too obvious but its arrival prompted re-visits of “Manhattan Babylon” and its 2001 follow-up “People’s Republic of Rock and Roll”, and they retrospectively hold up as righteous slices of swagger that owe as much to Mick and Keef as  J. Genzales.  

The good news is that second guitarist Jeff Crane and drummer Jimmy Buscarino are very much alive and kicking with new bandmates, and the three 2024 recordings are red-blooded rockers. The title track is all bout copping drugs and roars with blaring guitars, courtesy of Crane and Jeff Pappas, and the engine room that fairly bristles. “Don’t Hide Your Light” has some switchblade slide to mix things up and is almost as good.

Flip it over and Crane makes a great vocal fist of “People’s Republic of Rock and Roll”. The Ballbusters may be "just" a bar band (term not used derisively) but they're one most of us would pay to see at their local. 

The kicker for many will be the fact that Frenchman Freddy Lynxx joined Crane on guitar on the final track, a 2004 cover of the Stones’ ”Till The Next Goodbye”. It's a low-key contrast and very much in the style of JT’s “Hurt Me”. Nice.

Buy from Vicious Kitten in Australia and direct from The Ballbusters on Facebook if you’re elsewhere. Vinyl only.