Fast Floyd and the Famous Firebirds

  • Fast Floyd and the Famous Firebirds
  • Devil's Daughter (Kingpin) 1983 

Onetime Mink DeVille sideman Fast Floyd (Robert McKenzie, vocals/guitar) fronts this red-hot San Francisco R&B quintet, breathlessly belting out sizzling numbers (most of them covers) like “You Talk Too Much,” “Wish You Would” and “Got the Water Boiling.” Floyd’s punkabilly whoop — like Tav Falco on steroids or Lux Interior minus the punk kitsch — adds gusto to the frenzied atmosphere; Franco St. Andrew blows a horny enough tenor sax to steam up some windows of his own. Capping off this dynamite blast of retro-styled party rock, the nudie cover shot of ’50s sex queen Candy Barr nuzzling up to a phonograph perfectly captures the album’s good-natured sleaze.

[Ira Robbins]