Swing your pants
I wonder if I'll get cast into musical pit where never ending fires lick ones feet whilst a looped tape of the new Skid Row album keeps me in perpetual aural agony, when I admit that I had no idea who Brian Setzer was until his new album '13' landed on my door mat. For those, like myself, who didn't/don't know who Brian Setzer is, and you're as old as me, then I'll remind you by saying that Setzer was the frontman for the Stray Cats. I was only eleven-years-old when the Stray Cats launched into mainstream with the infectious single 'Stray Cats Strut', and I have to admit that I loved it. Since Stray Cats, Setzer moved away from rock-a-billy to swing during the 90s with The Brain Setzer Orchestra. Many albums and solo projects later he received the greatest of accolades. Apart from the three Grammies, he starred as himself in the 2002 episode of The Simpsons: How I spent my strummer vacation. His new album '13' is heralded as a mix of styles encapsulated into one album from Japanese Pop to metal to Texas boogie. Albums that have such diverse styles tend to be directionless and unable to satisfy the listener's love of a particular genre. Having said that The Beatles produced albums that were 'all over the place' as '13s' press release describes. Of course the Beatles wrote great songs, for Brian Setzer's new opus to work, the bottom line was that it had to contain great tunes. So, does it contain great tunes?
'13' gets of to a cracking start with 'Drugs and Alcohol (Bullet Holes)', which has a slight country twang to its guitar licks, but thankfully it doesn't detract from the groove of this up tempo rocker. 'Take a chance on love' then puts a smile on your face by delivering some pure funky rock n roll. It was then I was taken back twenty-five years to the Stray Cats, I can't for the life of me remember what Stray Cat Strut sounded like, but through my rose-tinted ears drums they sound like this.
Brian Setzer never the lets the groove die, 'Broken down piece of junk' gets those shoulders swaying to and fro and contains some extremely hooky guitar licks. At this point the press release statement that the album is a diverse mix of styles seems redundant. The first four tracks are very different in terms of variety in ideas, but a mix of styles I'm yet to hear. 'Don't say you love me' perhaps crosses that evil boundary between quirkiness and country, but 'Really Rockabilly' puts the album back on track with it's 50's Elvis groove, and yet it isn't out of place from the first four tracks on this album.
With the swing of 'When Hepcat gets the blues' I can understand where the idea of a mix of styles comes from. But when you listen to '13' all the way through it sounds like a cohesive and well balanced piece of work, encapsulating some great variation and doesn't rely on one idea to get him through the album. It's a good lesson in song-writing to all those acts who write one song ten times and call it an record. Brian Setzer has recorded a wonderful collection of tunes that doesn't give any rest bite in the grooves. The performances are excellent, the axe work exemplary it's just a pity the occasional dip into county music let's this album down.
Having not heard Brian Setzer's back catalogue, I can't say whether fans of Setzer will like this album or not. I loved it, which is surprising because it's a void away from my normal play list. I'd better stop this review now because I think I've got cramp in my tapping foot.