Celts and Cobras

Celts and Cobras is the second and final studio album from the Scottish neo-rockabilly group the Shakin' Pyramids (billed on the album cover as "Shakin' Pyramids"), released in 1982 by Cuba Libre, a subsidiary of Virgin Records. "Just a Memory" and "Pharaoh's Chant" were released as singles from the album. It features a more diverse instrumental palette than the band's debut album, Skin 'Em Up (1981), but was seen as a departure from the group's original, immediate sound.

Celts and Cobras
Studio album by
The Shakin' Pyramids
Released9 May 1982
Studio
GenreRockabilly
LabelCuba Libre (Virgin)
ProducerBob Andrews (tracks 2, 4, 7 and 9), Roger Bechirian (all others)
The Shakin' Pyramids chronology
Skin 'Em Up
(1981)		 Celts and Cobras
(1982)		 The Shakin' Pyramids
(1983)

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Celts and Cobras features more varied instrumentation than previous Shakin' Pyramids releases, but was seen as a departure from the band's original, immediate sound.[2][3][4] Trouser Press said, "Celts and Cobras offers a higher percentage of their own songs, but on it they're accompanied by piano, accordion, electric bass and even — gack! — a string section... The band still rocks, but they'd better figure out where they're going."[3] AllMusic gave the album 3/5 stars, and opined that "the energy and verve of their debut had been replaced by a stultifying maturity."[1][2] Ethnomusicologist Craig Morrison wrote, "[Celts and Cobras] drifted farther from rockabilly as they broadened their horizons... One writer asked, "From neo-rockabilly to neo-schlock—is this neo-progress?"[4]

Track listing

Side A:

No.TitleLength
1."Pharaoh's Chant"2:42
2."Like Me With No-One"3:48
3."Pretty Neat Come One"2:56
4."Just A Memory"2:29
5."Plainsailin'"2:21
6."Sugar Bee"2:15
7."Rockin' Mystique"2:39

Side B:

No.TitleLength
1."Quit And Split"2:32
2."It Hurts To Be In Love"2:26
3."You Can Bet"1:37
4."Just Rockin'"3:40
5."Ferocious"2:00
6."Who Cares"2:47
7."Reeferbilly Polka"2:23

Personnel

The Shakin' Pyramids
  • Davie Duncan – Lead vocals, drums, percussion, tambourine
  • James G. Creighton – Acoustic and electric guitar, acoustic bass, mandolin, background vocals
  • "Railroad" Ken McLellan – Acoustic guitar, background vocals

Additional Personnel
  • Bob Andrews: Piano, electric bass
  • Geraint Watkins: Accordion
  • Mitch Caws: Slap bass
  • John Willoughby: Upright bass
  • Andy Powell, Paul Hughes: Electric bass
  • Strings arranged by Roy Clark

References
  1. Celts and Cobras at AllMusic
  2. Shakin' Pyramids at AllMusic
  3. Trouser Press. "Shakin' Pyramids". Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  4. Morrison, Craig (1998). Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and Its Makers. University of Illinois Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0252065385.
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