Chances are you’ve never heard of The Baseballs. Up until recently I know I hadn’t. I also know that out of all the material I’ve listened to for review purposes lately they have proven to have considerably more of that ‘jaw drop’ factor than most (yeah I know that can cut both ways).

Here’s the premise…

Take three guys from Germany, kit them out in slavishly accurate 1950’s attire and adorn them with a set of contemporary songs to be covered and delivered in a hybridized style of mild rockabilly, doo wop and rock ‘n’ roll.

Let’s all take a minute and think about this because if we’re all honest it sounds about as workable as juggling soldering irons. I mean really…

…however against all conceivable odds, ladies and gentlemen we have a winner.

Yes, I’ll grant you it’s one hundred percent pure novelty and this kind of act usually have have shelf life shorter than my attention span. Yet what you have is a strong suite of covers from the likes of Rhianna (Umbrella), Robbie Williams (Angels), Leona Lewis (Bleeding Love), Beyonce (Crazy In Love), Pussycat Dolls (Don’t cha).

Now before you all turn on me like a baying mob and start chasing me out of town with burning torches. You have to realise they’ve taken some pretty strong moments in contemporary popular music and properly bent them out of shape to fit their 1950’s motif.

The results are incredibly authentic and in many cases if you didn’t know the original songs then you might just be able to think of them as 50’s originals (almost). It’s all frightfully odd and without a doubt contrived. However if you don’t think too hard, these are impressive (and often funny) cover versions. How long The Baseballs will last is anyone’s guess but for now they’re worth a little of your time.