Brian Setzer Albums (17)
'Songs from Lonely Avenue'
Release Date 10/13/2009
Tracks 13
Label Victor
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What The Critics Say
Three decades into his career, Brian Setzer's sound is so well-established that his only trump card lies in formal aesthetic experiments, and he pulls out a doozy with 2009's Songs from Lonely Avenue. Far from being a Doc Pomus tribute album, Songs from Lonely Avenue is a "soundtrack to an unwritten film," an album equally inspired by '50s film noirs, R&B, and rock & roll, a conceptual stroll through smoky clubs and dimly lit back alleys. There are no surprising sounds here -- Setzer hauls out his jump blues and slow-crawling ballads -- but that doesn't mean this is tired: Setzer is reinvigorated by his concept, turning in his first collection of all-original material in his entire career. Although the songs are essentially vehicles for the concept, the entirety of Songs from Lonely Avenue shows Setzer to be a master of mood, maybe not digging too far underneath the surface, but creating a record that is an engaging slice of noir fantasia. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Wolfgang's Big Night Out'
Release Date 9/25/2007
Tracks 12
Label Surfdog
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What The Critics Say
Brian Setzer reconvenes his big band for its first non-Christmas-related set since 2000's Vavoom! Here he rearranges well-known classical themes from Beethoven, Strauss, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and others into Vegas-ized Rat Pack-era swing. It's a fun concept that buys the guitarist time by not having to compose new material, even though these arrangements, many of them quite complex, must have taken a while to construct. Setzer's well-received jump version of The Nutcracker Suite from 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas probably got this ball rolling as Setzer digs the crazy classical beat with a dozen peppy selections that put his impressive guitar skills to use against finger-snapping horn charts. Song titles are slang for the original works (Flight of the Bumble Bee becomes "Honey Man," Strauss' Blue Danube is reworked into "Some River in Europe," etc.), telescoping the concept of each track. Setzer shifts styles to include jazzy guitar licks for his take on 1812 Overture and, most creatively, a version of Beethoven's Fur Elise ("For Lisa") rearranged into an acoustic Django Reinhardt-styled European Gypsy hot swing number with clarinet and fiddle. Otherwise, it's a fizzy, brassy romp as Setzer dusts off and greases up some stodgy melodies, adding enthusiasm and energy to the proceedings. Some fall on the schlocky side of the bandstand, but that's also part of the charm. The James Bond reverbed guitar in "Take a Break Guys" ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") and its "Caravan" approach of pounding drums are sharp and tight, with time and style changes goosing the charts as Setzer even brings a Clapton/Cream wah-wah psychedelicized kick to the action. Despite a few clichéd moments, this is a rousing success that only occasionally falls victim to its own jive impulses. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After breaking up the Stray Cats in 1984, Brian Setzer spent several years seemingly avoiding the rockabilly issue, first cutting a heartland rock album (1986's The Knife Feels Like Justice) and then forming his swing band the Brian Setzer Orchestra. But Setzer seems to have come to terms with the intersection of twang and bop in the 21st century (particularly since the release of Ignition! in 2001), and this live CD documents Setzer on-stage in Japan in October 2006, cranking up his rockin' guitar for the very audible delight of a packed house. Setzer's band on this set, the Nashvillains, sound like a louder, tighter, and fuller variation on the Stray Cats, with pianist/guitarist Robbie Chevrier filling in the spaces when Setzer is soloing and bassist Ronnie Crutcher and drummer Bernie Dresel laying down a hard but traditionalist backbeat, though with a lot more flash than the average rockabilly act (the rhythm section doesn't solo much on a Gene Vincent session). The musicians blend well with Setzer, and the frontman's guitar skills are as sharp as ever, so any fans hoping to hear him tear off a few choice solos will be amply rewarded on this disc. The set list features a few classic rockabilly covers, including "Red Hot," "Put Your Cat Clothes On," and "Slow Down," and they inadvertently reveal Setzer's weak spot -- he can write a good showcase for his guitar work, but as a lyricist he's never been able to move past the cars/girls/retro-cool clichés that have dominated his work since the Stray Cats, and his own songs usually suffer in comparison, especially on this set. Fans and guitar mavens will eat up Red Hot & Live!, but this album doesn't hold much in the way of surprises, beyond the continued excellence of Setzer's skills as a rockabilly picker. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Throughout his career, Brian Setzer has successfully led two bands that have explored, and expanded upon, specific areas of pre-'60s American music: the Stray Cats virtually created the rockabilly revival of the '80s and the Brian Setzer Orchestra mined and updated the big band swing and jump-boogie of the '40s. In both contexts, the prescient Setzer proved a winner, an inspired and knowledgeable craftsman armed with truckloads of sizzling, pinpointed guitar licks and terrific songs. On occasion he's chosen, with mixed results, to break out of those molds and piece together solo albums that extend his reach into more mainstream, albeit still retro-based areas of rock. His first, 1986's The Knife Feels Like Justice, was a left-field surprise that seemed to indicate that Setzer was primed to abandon, at least partially, his obsession with the past and to try his luck in the modern rock world. That didn't quite happen, as he returned repeatedly to the more familiar territory, but on 13 -- so named because it's his 13th studio album of new material -- Setzer once again branches out, and this time he's got the balance just right. 13 is stocked with 13 (of course) diverse tracks gliding easily from straight-ahead rock & roll (among the best: "Rocket Cathedrals," "Broken Down Piece of Junk" and the anthemic "We Are the Marauders," which declares that "American Idol is a bunch of crap") to slick instrumental blues ("Mini Bar Blues"). That doesn't mean he leaves the vintage Americana behind, but one of the album's strongest tunes, the hilarious "Really Rockabilly" (which includes Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom) leaves no doubt that Setzer's fed up with the many poseurs who've co-opted and diluted the style without having much of a clue about its origins or rebel spirit. Just to show them how it's really done, he unleashes a series of short-burst licks that provide a crash course in rockabilly guitar. "Don't Say You Love Me" crosses harmonic pop/rock with smooth rockabilly economy, and "When Hepcat Gets the Blues" walks the tightrope between Stray Cats and BSO territory. But although several songs touch on familiar ground, 13 is not intended to be, not does it feel like, a rockabilly or swing album. The opening track, the crunching "Drugs and Alcohol (Bullet Holes)" (it's anything but an endorsement of said substances) takes a look at the hard life of a high-schooler who's been through way too much, while "Everybody's Up to Somethin'," with its stacked Southern rock-style guitars, casts just about everyone into the role of no-goodnik. Setzer closes out 13 with the mostly acoustic "The Hennepin Avenue Bridge," something that might have felt at home in the early-'60s folk revival. Gotta keep 'em guessing, after all. ~ Jeff Tamarin, All Music Guide
'Dig That Crazy Christmas'
Release Date 10/18/2005
Tracks 13
Label Surfdog
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What The Critics Say
As Brian Setzer's second Christmas record in three years -- apparently his Surfdog labelmate Gary Hoey has been rubbing off on him -- it should come as no great surprise that Dig That Crazy Christmas sounds a little bit familiar. It follows the same form as 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas, as Setzer blasts through several familiar carols, tosses in a handful of obscure rockers and blues numbers, does a couple of instrumentals, and throws it all into a Louis Prima blender so it comes out sounding a bit like Doc Severinsen's Tonight Show band with tattoos. While that's neither fresh nor surprising, it isn't bad. At times, it's a little more shuck-and-jive than flat-out jive, but the band rocks, Setzer's playing is energetic (even if his voice is a little rough), and it certainly has quite a bit more flair than the series of Ho! Ho! Hoey! holiday records. And all that means is that rockabilly cats and kittens with a high tolerance, or even love, for Atomic Age kitsch who are looking for a new collection of relatively rocking seasonal tunes should find this right up their alley. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Very Best of the BSO Live'
Release Date 9/21/2004
Tracks 36
Label Toy's Factory Japan
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'Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy'
Release Date 8/25/2003
Tracks 13
Label Toys Factory
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What The Critics Say
After retreating to his big-band persona for 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas, Setzer drops the horns for a leaner, more eclectic sound on this 2003 release. There is straight-ahead doo wop ("To Be Loved" features a cappella vocals with softly strummed guitar and could have come off a Persuasions album), bluegrass (Setzer shows off his banjo skills on "When the Bells Don't Chime," one of two versions of that song), '50s-style slow dance R&B ("That Someone Just Ain't You"), and of course rockabilly (the instrumental "Rat Pack Boogie" sounds as if it were written with the loungy big band in mind and "Ring, Ring, Ring" seems like a "Stray Cats" outtake). This is also the hardest-rocking Setzer album since his mid-'80s work, as he turns the volume up on rootsy guitar rockers like "Don't Trust a Woman (In a Black Cadillac)" and the bluesy ZZ Top-styled scorching leadoff track, "Sixty Years." Setzer sounds great throughout and little seems forced or calculated. Lyrically he stumbles occasionally, especially on "Sixty Years" as he lambasts the corruption of big money, hardly a unique take on the topic. He also sounds unduly angry on "Drink Whiskey and Shut Up," a song that could have been grabbed off a Reverend Horton Heat album. Setzer's guitar is rightly prominent in the mix. He displays his classic, echoed '50s style and nimble fingers, in particular on the jumpy "Smokin' 'n Burnin'." He even shifts into Ennio Morricone territory on a windswept Wild West ballad "Wild Wind," an evocative, cinematic piece that means well but tries too hard to be "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and comes up short. Regardless, this is an enjoyable and extremely varied listen from an artist in his prime who proves that he's far from a one-trick pony. Those who have followed Setzer from his early days will especially appreciate its diversity. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Boogie Woogie Christmas'
Release Date 1/1/2002
Tracks 12
Label Surfdog
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What The Critics Say
Brian Setzer takes his horn-fueled big band on a sleigh ride into Christmas/holiday music with generally impressive results. Meshing his rockabilly guitar solos with brassy charts and a lounge/Vegas sensibility that is part tribute and part retro characterization, Setzer dusts off and polishes up obscure nuggets like Kay Starr's "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With the Bag" and Lionel Hampton's swinging "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus." He rocks up played-out chestnuts "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells," slightly altering the latter's lyrics to, "Oh what fun it is to ride in a '57 Chevrolet." Elvis' "Blue Christmas" succeeds despite, or maybe because of, its obvious inclusion, narrowly missing a parody of the original due to Setzer's reverb-heavy guitar solo. A rough, blues-heavy "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" successfully kicks the tune into classic urban R&B territory, with the bandleader's guitar getting down and dirty and the horns blasting away like Doc Severinsen's orchestra. Ann Margaret sounds a little tentative playing the sultry sex kitten next to Setzer's slick Bobby Darin on a nevertheless frisky duet romp through "Baby It's Cold Outside." But the album's obvious highlight is an intricately rearranged, instrumental big band blowout of "The Nutcracker Suite," originally written for Les Brown's orchestra in the '50s. It displays the group's stop-on-a-dime chops and swings like mad. A 30-piece choir backs Setzer doing his best Presley mannerisms on a smarmy "O Holy Night" and closes the album on a serious note with a prayerful "The Amens." ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Jumpin' East of Java: Live in Japan'
Release Date 8/7/2001
Tracks 16
Label Toy's Factory
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What The Critics Say
Brian Setzer enjoyed a bit of a career renaissance during the mid-'90s with his Brian Setzer Orchestra, and the success carried over into the popularity of his live show. Long considered one of rock's top guitarists, Setzer issued a solo live disc in 2001, Jumpin' East of Java: Live in Japan, which saw Setzer perform tracks from his the Stray Cats and Orchestra days, along with some old-time standards. Setzer's big-band accompaniment adds muscle to the Stray Cats classic "Rock This Town," and the track that helped touch off the swing revival craze of the '90s, "Jump, Jive, An' Wail," gets an airing as well. Setzer also gets to show off his surf guitar chops on the set-opening cover of "Hawaii Five-O." ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Brian Setzer has enjoyed a 20-year career as pop music's most consistent champion of rockabilly, first as the leader of the Stray Cats in the 80s, followed by solo stints, and a then by a resurgence in popularity in the late '90s fronting a swing orchestra. Setzer's latest incarnation is a return to a trio, named the Brian Setzer '68 Comeback Special. If the name represents homage to Elvis, the trio's disc, Ignition!, represents a return to purist rockabilly. Unlike the outings fronting his swing orchestra, there are no horns or swing standards on this disc. In fact, the absence of any covers is a departure for Setzer. Except for the traditional Spanish instrumental "Malagueña," Setzer writes all songs with help from collaborator Mike Himelstein. Joe Strummer of the Clash, who has worked with Setzer in the past, contributes to "Who Would Love This Car but Me." As expected, the songs are populated with gum-cracking gals with fast engines, hot rod's, guitars, and late-night regrets. At first listen, the disc seems sparse compared with the manic swing of Setzer's orchestra and his crooning falsetto standards. But the more you listen to Ignition!, the more it lights a rockabilly fire. Setzer has truly returned to his roots and produces an amazingly rich sound with the trio. Snappy snares and standup bass buoy his revving guitar and smoky vocals. "Hell Bent" is an atmospheric ode to Johnny Cash's hell-bent drifters. "8-Track" is gleefully country, with rollicking twangy guitars and yodeling. Rave-ups like "5 Years, 4 Months, 3 Days," "Santa Rosa Rita," and "Get 'Em on the Ropes" continue Setzer's mission to not just preserve rockabilly, but to keep it alive as a fresh form of music. His guitar playing is effortless and joyful. At times, the quaint lyrics lose their novelty, but the passion and love of the music is so apparent the lyrics are secondary. ~ Theresa E. LaVeck, All Music Guide
