Monday , March 18 2024
The new all-originals album by the Stray Cats' guitarist-vocalist is a road-trip romp from start to finish.

Music Review: Brian Setzer – ‘Rockabilly Riot!: All Original’

brian setzer rockabilly riotEver since the 1980s heyday of the Stray Cats, guitarist-vocalist Brian Setzer has bounced happily between two revivals: rockin’ big band swing (with the Brian Setzer Orchestra) and the 1950s rockabilly sound that put the Stray Cats on the charts 30 years after most people assumed the style had become a museum piece.

Setzer’s new small-group album Rockabilly Riot! All Original is a celebration of guitar fireworks and playful creativity. The dance-rocker “Let’s Shake,” the ballad “The Girl with the Blues in Her Eyes,” and the superb opening number “Blue Lights Big City” could be lost Elvis classics.

The jazzy “Lemme Slide” calls to mind the pop pizzazz of Louis Armstrong. “Cock-a-doodle-Don’t,” “Calamity Jane,” and the time-warping “I Should Have Had a V8” are pure comic fun.

There’s a splash of everything from Gene Vincent to Jason and the Scorchers here, knit together by Setzer’s lightning-fast fingers and a killer backing band consisting of Mark Winchester (bass), Kevin McKendree (piano) and Noah Levy (drums).

“When I was 17, I got this here guitar
We’ve had our ups and downs, but it’s gotten me this far
It’s made a lot of money, it’s been around the world
It’s been with me longer than any other girl.”

That guitar sounds like a force of nature in “Rockabilly Blues,” “Cock-a-doodle-Don’t” and even a trifle like “Stiletto Cool.” Now and again Setzer gets so excited he leaves the scales of a song entirely, like some kind of wild thing is possessing him. It wouldn’t be rockabilly to the nth degree without a touch of inspired chaos.

The same goes for songwriting. “Once you get that idea of what you wanna write, you get excited about it,” Setzer told Esquire.com. “And once you move in that direction they do come hot and heavy. It really is a gift from somewhere. The songbird comes.”

“When the next big thing has come and gone,” he sings, “Just remember you can always put on your vinyl records.” I write this while listening to the album via my iPhone piped through the car speakers in my Honda Fit – an excellent stereo, but about as far as you can get from a V8. But the message comes through loud and clear. Rockabilly Riot! is a road-trip romp from start to finish.

About the Author

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About Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to Music, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

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