A great CD containing a mix of styles which leaves one listening out for new clues on each play. Although at first hearing it sounds fairly rockabilly, there are subtle hints of blues and country in there too, as well as a bit of Psychobilly guitar in places! The mellow guitar in Wanna Go South is brilliant and Tom Cat just wants to be played again and again. Well worth your hard earned cash so buy it today!

Gail and the Tricksters are in town, and we of Rootstime are aware of it. With "Dare To Be Different" they have put forth a strong shot of rockabilly, jump-blues, roots/rock and surf, and they let no grass grow over them. Different styles and each time performed through the vocals of singer/songwriter, guitarist, and front lady Gail Lloyd. From Hawaii originally, but currently in Nashville, a refuge for the Rockabilly/roots world.... Here it is at last:" Dare To Be Different" a full time CD that lives up to our expectations. Rockabilly sound, that here and there ("Twist My Heart" and "Runaround") carries the stamp of Buddy Holly, delicious jump-blues with a special indication for the other band members: Walter Egan, (writer of "Hearts on Fire" and "Magnet and Steal") on acoustic and electric guitars, Steve Haggard, on harp & backing vocals, Supe Granda, on bass (ex-Ozark Mountain Daredevil) and Kathy Burkly on drums. With three live record- ings, a cover of the "Wine-spo-dee-o-dee" -- more classic and "Tom Cat Blues", the first song that Gail ever set on paper, gives you an indication of what you can expect of this group. Moreover Walter Egan does not hold back, from his "Sheik Or Araby" guitar lines to a mix in the surf song "Wet Sand" and former 'guest guitarplayer' Bart Weilburg himself is not inactive on "Wanna Go South" and the older recording "Round 'n' Round" that Gail had recorded with her 'hero' the rockabilly-world knew as "Andy" Starr. Also, so precious a number is "Pink Slip' (with that "Oh Carol" Chuck Berry intro), strong production by Steve Haggard, rocking guitars and a tight rhythm section. The calm blues ballad "Evil Grows" proves that Gail Lloyd posesses a lovely voice and seems to come into her own on this "different " album. It being no "Rockabilly Robots", as you perhaps would expect from this track, on the contrary, Gail & The Tricksters are a delicious pleasant roots band, that we in the business -once in a while- want to see: so that we from the heart can sing along (now, with us).... "Look Out World ......the Tricksters are in town, your hometown" (Mr. Haggard on harp, Walter Egan the real, Kathy Burkly, she can rock, she can swing, is Supe always a "Supa"). A beautiful disk that we very much wished would’ve lasted longer (32 minutes), with seven songs written by Gail Lloyd and we can agree with the words of late Rockabilly hero "Andy" Starr lending his support. .. "You are simply Great: Wonderful: By all means keep up the good worked want and surely good fortune come your way (if it hasn' t already)". "Rockabilly Mama" - Rock on.. & You want be the Biggest Name in Rockabilly & no tellin' what else." (SWA)

Nashville's Gail Lloyd leads her five-piece group of Tricksters in their new release Dare to Be Different on Wild Oat Records. Mixing a blend of blues, rockabilly, 50s rock 'n' roll, and surf guitar riffs, Dare To Be Different contains 12 tracks that spotlight Lloyd's and "harpist" Steve Haggard's writing, interspersed with a few cover songs. The opening title/track "Dare To Be Different" is an original that promotes being yourself. It is reminiscent of Dave Edmonds' work and would definitely have played well on MTV in the early 1990s. This catchy tune has a great alt-rock melody with tasteful harmonica accents by Haggard. "Wanna Go South", a cover written by rockabilly legend Frank "Andy" Starr follows as a swingin' soft rockabilly number and blends nicely into Lloyd's original "Runaround". This smooth Buddy Holly-esque love song is polished to near perfection by the guitar work of Trickster Walter Egan. Dare to Be Different also features three live tracks, "Pink Slip", "Tom Cat Blues" and "Wine-Spo-Dee-O-Dee"—all recorded at Nashville's The 5 Spot. Of the three "Wine-Spo-Dee-O-Dee" is the better of the songs, due to its upbeat rhythm and backing vocals of Steve Haggard. "Twist My Heart", an original by Lloyd, is another catchy alt-rock/country ditty that features a Buddy Holly edge with surf guitar spread on top. This disc easily shows that Gail Lloyd is a fine writer and musician, as are the rest of the Tricksters. And while the first half of this CD is great, the second half seems to be filled with songs that need more development. "Wet Sand" digresses into a semi-political rant, "Rockabilly Robots"—while trying to be fun—just doesn't work as of yet, and "Tricksters Are In Town" is more of a "who's who in the band" song which may be cute live, but on the CD is just a bit self serving. Don't get me wrong—I do like Dare to Be Different and will play it more in the future because there are some real gems here. I'll just be skipping a few of the tracks to get to the good stuff.

Although Gail has a very specific country music voice, she mixes country, rockabilly and blues pretty neat. The bluesy effect is mostly created by Steve Haggard's "harp" (we usually call this a harmonica in Europe). Gail's voice has quite a wide range, and she uses it too, starting with the countrish original title song "Dare To Be Different". Gail also does rockabilly pretty neat, and she proves it with a cool boppin' rendition of Andy Starr's "Wanna Go South". Varying country blues and rockabilly, next is "Runaround", followed by another rocker titled "Pink Slip" and a song with a Buddy Holly rhythm "Twist My Heart". The harmonica is explicitly present on each and every song. "Tom Cat Blues" is a slow blues ballad, with clear lead guitar licks mixed in with the blues harp, and it was the very first song Gail ever wrote. The sensitive "Evil Grows" is indeed very different, and a very beautiful song at that. The duet "Round 'N' Round", another Andy Starr song, picks up speed again, and next in wide stereo is a weird song titled "Wet Sand"... This rendition with lots of harmonica sounds... you guessed it: different. "Rockabilly Robots" falls back on the popular 1950's Science Fiction theme, and it's also an ode to some of Gail's heroes, like Gene Vincent, Wanda Jackson and Elvis too, with a wink to Billy Riley's "Flying Saucer Rock 'n' Roll". Fantastic lyrics... "but the sun's coming up and there's no more beer, so we're blasting home at the speed of light, but we'll be back next Friday night"... cewl! The album closes with another original dance bopper "Tricksters Are In Town". Yes, this album is definitly very different, hence the title "Dare To Be Different" of course. I enjoyed it very much, the blues harp adds a whole new dimension to rockabilly music. Gotta like it...