After Collaborating with ex-White Stripes front man Jack White, The ‘Queen of Rock’ Wanda Jackson is back with a brand new album – The Party Ain’t Over. But is it the real deal, just just a half-hearted kick-on? Dave Roberts investigates.

As many of my more loyal readers would know, I was raised on meat and potatos Rock ‘n’ Roll, Blues, Swamp Rock and indeed Rockabilly. So when Wanda Jackson’s latest album came across my desk, naturally I jumped at the opportunity to review the latest from such a legendary figure in the Rockabilly scene. Now for those of you reading this and asking what Rockabilly music is – think "Deliverance" meets electric guitars and wailing vocals, thumping bass and heavy drums and you pretty much got it.

Or if you like, country music on steroids.

What really intrigued me about this album however was in the collaboration – one of my favourite rock artists had collaborated with her on this album – Mr Jack White – or for those of you who don’t know who he is the guy with the guitar in the White Stripes. So across the datanets came the album and I started listening immediately.

The intro track,"Shakin’ All Over", sounds like something straight out of the fifties or sixties – something that can paint the picture of Marty McFly duck walking across the stage at a certain high school dance – but with the production quality of a 2011 album for sure. And then there’s the guitar solo which was definitely Jack White’s hands at work. The use of light and dark is fantastic, and Wanda’s Vibrato has certainly not diminished at all.

A completely contrasting song on the album is track number four – "Rum and Coca-Cola" which sounds more like a beach song – still straight out of the sixties surfline music era, but it didn’t sound anything like the afore mentioned track – which is more driven and overall more energetic. Mind you that doesn’t make either a bad song – its just highlights the ability of the artist.

Then there are songs like "Nervous Breakdown" which seem to have more drive again, with a chugging guitar and a belting horn section. The overall vibe of the music seems to stay in the sixties era which is fantastic and suits Wanda to the core – although by the end of the song it seems that Wanda’s voice is becoming tired.

The final two tracks on the album are a call back to the country side of the Rockabilly style, with the slower slide guitar, softer vocals, and more melodic overall feel of "Teach Me Tonight", and the simplicity of "Blue Yodel #6’ which is almost haunting and eerie in it’s execution.

On the surface the album is well polished and well performed, but that’s also the problem I have with the album. It seems that Wanda was trying to achieve a sixties or fifties sound with the modern day set up. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible. The gritty and overdriven sound of the sixties came from four people in a room (or in this case it would be more) all competing but working together to get themselves heard on the record and picked up by the two microphones. The trumpets and brass are too clean, the Bass guitar isn’t boomy enough and the drums are too clean. The guitars are spot on and the vocals are almost there, but the authenticity is lost in this small detail.

Unfortunately, this small detail lost the album for me. Sure overall, it was a great album and it’s a definite buy for anyone who likes Rockabilly, but there’s just something missing – and it’s the crudeness of the sixties recording style. If this album had this it would be an almost perfect score. Impressed as I am, a little more attention to detail would have been nice.

A fantastic album for all lovers of Rockabilly, but the cleanliness of the recordings make the album sound too processed and false.

Review Score: 6/10