Brian Setzer going in a new direction.

Blazer · September 22nd, 2006, 09:32 PM

A teaser from his upcoming album

Doesn't sound very rockabilly but nevertheless what a cool song and sound.

TeleTurkey · September 22nd, 2006, 09:56 PM

I don't think that's such a change. The "''68 Comback Special" and "Nitro Burning Funny Daddy" had non-rockabilly songs on them.

Brian may be making a bid to get played on the radio. I don't think this will do it on terrestrial radio, but XM and Sirius should eat it up.

ruger9 · September 22nd, 2006, 09:59 PM

The whole album doesn't sound like that. It's actually a very diverse album, going in all directions. Here's a review:

There’s more than one way to rock, and Brian Setzer proves it on 13.

As you might guess, this is the 13th album (of original material) to feature the three-time Grammy winner’s blazing guitar and swaggering vocals. Whether fronting a big-band extravaganza or leading the legendary Stray Cats to superstardom, he’s earned his place in pop history. Consider:

Two great guitar companies have honored him: Gretsch, by creating a series of signature guitars in his name, Gibson by giving him their Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Rock and Roll Hall of fame tapped him to induct Chet Atkins. He’s co-starred with the Stones and Tom Petty on The Simpsons. Hell, he’s even got an honorary poker chip at Atlantic City’s House of Blues Casino.

But with 13, Setzer does something he never did before: Rather than single-handedly revive an entire musical genre * he’s already been there/done that, with rockabilly in the ‘80s and swing in the ‘90s * he covers these bases and many more: You’ll hear Delta blues, jump blues, hard rock, metal, Texas boogie, a smidgen of Les Paul, a hint of Japanese pop, and even some British music hall, complete with ukulele and tuba, throughout this tour de force.

“The thing is,” Setzer says, “I’ve always thought that you have to have one focus on each album; that just made sense to me. But with this one, I’d written a bunch of songs, and when I played them for people, they’d say, ‘Why don’t you put them all on one record?’ My argument was, ‘Well, records should have one focus or sound.’ Their answer was … ‘Why?’”

For once, the normally loquacious superstar could think of nothing to say.

“Instead, I started thinking about the Beatles,” he remembers. “Their records were pretty much all over the place. And all of my songs are based on guitar riffs, so that ties them together. They’re all rock & roll in one way or another. So, I thought, what the hell, let’s do it.”

That’s all it took for Setzer to book time at a studio in Cannon Falls, not far from his current home in Minneapolis, summon drummer Bernie Dresel and bassist Ronnie “Crusher” Crutcher as his rhythm section, plug in his Gretsch, crank up his Fender Bassman and Supro amps, and unleash a set of performances * 13, of course * that hold up against even the hottest tracks in his catalog.

“I picked this studio because it’s got a big, open, wooden room, like a gym, that let’s me get that live sound I like. I turned my Bassman to seven for the rhythm and ten for the lead parts, and ran my guitar through the Supro too, for that solid bottom end. There’s nothing fancy about it; I didn’t even use my Space Echo on this record, even though I’m normally glued to it. In this case, it was all about getting loud and playing hard.”

This was what you’d expect from the flashiest, raunchiest, and most irresistible guitar monster on the planet. What’s surprising is how this approach works on each of these songs, even with all their variety. You get the point in just the first few seconds of the opening cut, “Drugs & Alcohol (Bullet Holes),” where the spirits of Merle Travis and raw, roadhouse rock somehow find common ground.

To Setzer, though, this performance makes an even more important point. “To me, this is how modern rockabilly should sound,” he insists. “Instead, everybody’s trying to be this straight-out-of-the-book, ‘50s character, like they want to be an exact replica of Johnny Cash. Well, there was only one Johnny, so why not do something new?”

So there is a theme to 13 after all. Whether you’re savoring the vocal harmonies of Brian and Julie Setzer * sorry, guys, she’s married *on the country stomper “Don’t Say You Love Me” or gaping at the blizzard of licks as Japanese guitar giant Tomoyasu Hotei goes toe-to-toe with Setzer throughout “Back Streets of Tokyo,” the mission of 13 eventually becomes clear:

“Basically,” Setzer explains, “I’m just trying to piss people off.”

“People,” in this case, means anyone who settles for music that’s more about hubris than heart. As a kid, Setzer wasn’t immune to the appeal of looking cool, but it was the soul rather than the look of music that drew him to jazz, Delta blues, punk, vintage rock * anything, really, that comes from the gut and pumps out a beat. Whether updating rockabilly with the Stray Cats or yanking swing into the space age with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, he kept his priorities straight: Play what’s real and let others worry about turning it into a fashion statement.

Yet even Setzer can put up with this silliness only for so long: “I remember being 16 years old and even then there were poseurs on the corner, looking too cool for school. I mean, when you’re more worried about your look than your music, that just kills it for me."

This explains “Really Rockabilly,” a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the tyranny of trendiness, with former Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom driving the beat. “Jim and I used to laugh about these guys who live in this ‘50s world,” Setzer says, “so I had to get his old-buddy rockabilly energy on this one.” Ditto for “We Are the Marauders,” a fist-pumping anthem that Setzer actually wrote for a young band whose story gives him hope even in this era of focus groups and fix-it studio technology.

“The Marauders are these guys in western Pennsylvania who are trying to play their own version of rockabilly in a sea of Eminem wannabes,” he says. “Bands don’t do that kind of thing anymore, where you live in a crummy basement, fight with each other, love each other, and make your own kind of music. Instead, you’re taught that you only need to put on a cool outfit and warble something. You don’t need to play an instrument. You certainly don’t need to read or write music; someone will write it for you. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to be like these guys, who live their music every day.”

Each of these songs is concise. There’s no excessive doodling. There are killer solos * being a Setzer product, there would have to be, no? But every note he plays or sings * the skin-tight lick that kicks off “Everybody’s Up to Somethin’,” the exotic whole-tone riff that he lays out on banjo at the top of “Bad Bad Girl (In A Bad Bad World),” the Django jive of “When Hepcat Gets the Blues” * serves one purpose: to rock as hard as a multi-tattooed, pompadour-topped, former Long Island street kid can.

And if … when … it pisses people off? Setzer shrugs: “I’m not trying to prove anything. I mean, Bob Dylan told me once, ‘You’ll never be pure enough for the purists. And you’ll never be experimental enough for the critics.’”

On the other hand, if all you want is passionate vocals, state-of-the-art guitar, or just to be pummeled into ecstasy by an unstoppable beat and scorched by some of the hottest guitar lines on record, 13 is your lucky number.

Big Tony · September 22nd, 2006, 10:04 PM

Nah...

/ Tony

Mr. Sparkle · September 22nd, 2006, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Tony

Nah...

/ Tony

Yah.....!

Good tune if you listen to it all the way through. In the vein of Nitro Burnin Funny Daddy, Choo Choo Hot Fish, and Knife Feels Like Justice. Good stuff.

Brian blaut · September 23rd, 2006, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeleTurkey

I don't think that's such a change. The "''68 Comback Special" and "Nitro Burning Funny Daddy" had non-rockabilly songs on them.

Brian may be making a bid to get played on the radio. I don't think this will do it on terrestrial radio, but XM and Sirius should eat it up.

exactly what I was going to say. At least the first part. His roots are Rockabilly, but he wears many hats and manages to keep them all within hands reach. His most pure rockabilly is his latest "Rockabilly Riot". The newer albums mentioned "68" and "Nitro" have many Rockabilly inspired songs and influences, but they also contain very healthy doses of Rock, Blues and even Country.

He could be trying to get on the Radio, but I doubt thats the reason. I think he just has a lot of different interests and he wants to pursue them. I think he just makes the music he wants to and what seems interesting to him. He's also obviously interested in mixing styles, keeping one toe in Rockabilly while bringing in other styles. Everytime he puts out one of these records that stretch his muscles into other genres, the hardcore Rockabilly community has a coniption fit. But I really dig em. I love the way he's always trying new stuff, rather than repeating the same old stuff over and over. I'm really looking forward to the album.

BTW, on "When the Bell's Don't Chime", that him picking the Banjo. He's a big Country fan and its really starting to show on some of his albums.

maestrovert · September 23rd, 2006, 02:23 AM

Go Cat, Go !

Blazer · September 23rd, 2006, 08:20 AM

But on "Ignition" and "Nitro" the vein of the music is fifties, with doing Doo-wop, blues and crooners. This new song sounds contemporary, it doesn't even have the one thing all Setzer songs normally have: a stand up bass.

Tom P. · September 23rd, 2006, 10:14 AM

Big fan here. Great player and musician. He knows his theory and history. I buy his stuff for learnin' and lisnin".

hal · September 23rd, 2006, 10:24 AM

This is a guy that probably play anything. Kudos for his versatility.

eddiewagner · September 23rd, 2006, 10:57 AM

i really dig this. stuff like this can be on my radio all day and all night. ill get the album for shure.
thanks for the tipp.
eddie

goldtopper · September 23rd, 2006, 12:17 PM

Love to listen to Brian to groove and learn.
His interview strikes me as odd- kinda double speakish. Sort of like the guy who yearns to get away from the city, so he visits the country on weekends. Pretty soon he makes friends and winds up moving to the country. After living in the country, he hates the city folk coming out to where he lives and "ruining" his peace and quiet.

Stefan · September 23rd, 2006, 12:21 PM

Not my kind of song really. But I dig the guitarplaying. I prefer a more "traditional" Rockabilly sound.

Tele295 · September 23rd, 2006, 12:44 PM

Take a listen to his first two solo albums, The Knife Feels Like Justice and Live Nude Guitars. Great songs, but not rockabilly. Title track from Knife sounds like Tom Petty (may even have Mike Campbell playing on it). There's a track from Live Nude called "Love is Repaid By Love Alone" which is just a great rock song all around.

NEPATelecaster · September 24th, 2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeleTurkey

Brian may be making a bid to get played on the radio. I don't think this will do it on terrestrial radio, but XM and Sirius should eat it up.

Thank you Satellite Radio! I'm actually getting pleasure of Saying "No" when someone asks me if I heard the new "insert your crappy radio friendly band here" song...

Roli · September 24th, 2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tele295

Title track from Knife sounds like Tom Petty (may even have Mike Campbell playing on it).

Definitely! I like it.

Paul in Colorado · September 25th, 2006, 03:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tele295

Take a listen to his first two solo albums, The Knife Feels Like Justice and Live Nude Guitars. Great songs, but not rockabilly. Title track from Knife sounds like Tom Petty (may even have Mike Campbell playing on it). There's a track from Live Nude called "Love is Repaid By Love Alone" which is just a great rock song all around.

I have those two albums. Remember the video on an Indian reservation? Brian's got a LOT of music in him.

Mr. Sparkle · September 25th, 2006, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul in Colorado

I have those two albums. Remember the video on an Indian reservation? Brian's got a LOT of music in him.

I do! I remember on the Knife video he was playing a solid-body Guild 12-string. Very cool guitar in the '80s vein.

I love Knife--still one of my favorite albums.

Telehackster · September 25th, 2006, 11:40 AM

I love Setzer's playing and was lucky enough to catch him with the Stray Cats once, but there's something else about him I like even more: he seems very genuine when he branches off into a different style.

To have the chops and taste he's demonstrated throughout his career, one would almost certainly need to have a diverse if not eclectic background of influence and inspiration. Who knows where else this guy might go? Wherever it is, I'll give it a listen. I'm looking forward to the new CD.

September 22nd, 2006, 09:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
Blazer Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,416	Brian Setzer going in a new direction. A teaser from his upcoming album Doesn't sound very rockabilly but nevertheless what a cool song and sound. __________________ "I reject your reality and subsitute my own." - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

September 22nd, 2006, 09:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
TeleTurkey Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North Carolina Age: 42 Posts: 804 5 Photos	Very Nice I don't think that's such a change. The "''68 Comback Special" and "Nitro Burning Funny Daddy" had non-rockabilly songs on them. Brian may be making a bid to get played on the radio. I don't think this will do it on terrestrial radio, but XM and Sirius should eat it up. __________________ The culture of the country has been hijacked by life-style hotshot pimps who join with consumer fascists in selling you back to yourself. Ry Cooder

September 22nd, 2006, 09:59 PM	#3 (permalink)
ruger9 Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hackettstown, NJ Posts: 1,653	The whole album doesn't sound like that. It's actually a very diverse album, going in all directions. Here's a review: There’s more than one way to rock, and Brian Setzer proves it on 13. As you might guess, this is the 13th album (of original material) to feature the three-time Grammy winner’s blazing guitar and swaggering vocals. Whether fronting a big-band extravaganza or leading the legendary Stray Cats to superstardom, he’s earned his place in pop history. Consider: Two great guitar companies have honored him: Gretsch, by creating a series of signature guitars in his name, Gibson by giving him their Orville H. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Rock and Roll Hall of fame tapped him to induct Chet Atkins. He’s co-starred with the Stones and Tom Petty on The Simpsons. Hell, he’s even got an honorary poker chip at Atlantic City’s House of Blues Casino. But with 13, Setzer does something he never did before: Rather than single-handedly revive an entire musical genre * he’s already been there/done that, with rockabilly in the ‘80s and swing in the ‘90s * he covers these bases and many more: You’ll hear Delta blues, jump blues, hard rock, metal, Texas boogie, a smidgen of Les Paul, a hint of Japanese pop, and even some British music hall, complete with ukulele and tuba, throughout this tour de force. “The thing is,” Setzer says, “I’ve always thought that you have to have one focus on each album; that just made sense to me. But with this one, I’d written a bunch of songs, and when I played them for people, they’d say, ‘Why don’t you put them all on one record?’ My argument was, ‘Well, records should have one focus or sound.’ Their answer was … ‘Why?’” For once, the normally loquacious superstar could think of nothing to say. “Instead, I started thinking about the Beatles,” he remembers. “Their records were pretty much all over the place. And all of my songs are based on guitar riffs, so that ties them together. They’re all rock & roll in one way or another. So, I thought, what the hell, let’s do it.” That’s all it took for Setzer to book time at a studio in Cannon Falls, not far from his current home in Minneapolis, summon drummer Bernie Dresel and bassist Ronnie “Crusher” Crutcher as his rhythm section, plug in his Gretsch, crank up his Fender Bassman and Supro amps, and unleash a set of performances * 13, of course * that hold up against even the hottest tracks in his catalog. “I picked this studio because it’s got a big, open, wooden room, like a gym, that let’s me get that live sound I like. I turned my Bassman to seven for the rhythm and ten for the lead parts, and ran my guitar through the Supro too, for that solid bottom end. There’s nothing fancy about it; I didn’t even use my Space Echo on this record, even though I’m normally glued to it. In this case, it was all about getting loud and playing hard.” This was what you’d expect from the flashiest, raunchiest, and most irresistible guitar monster on the planet. What’s surprising is how this approach works on each of these songs, even with all their variety. You get the point in just the first few seconds of the opening cut, “Drugs & Alcohol (Bullet Holes),” where the spirits of Merle Travis and raw, roadhouse rock somehow find common ground. To Setzer, though, this performance makes an even more important point. “To me, this is how modern rockabilly should sound,” he insists. “Instead, everybody’s trying to be this straight-out-of-the-book, ‘50s character, like they want to be an exact replica of Johnny Cash. Well, there was only one Johnny, so why not do something new?” So there is a theme to 13 after all. Whether you’re savoring the vocal harmonies of Brian and Julie Setzer * sorry, guys, she’s married on the country stomper “Don’t Say You Love Me” or gaping at the blizzard of licks as Japanese guitar giant Tomoyasu Hotei goes toe-to-toe with Setzer throughout “Back Streets of Tokyo,” the mission of 13 eventually becomes clear: “Basically,” Setzer explains, “I’m just trying to piss people off.” “People,” in this case, means anyone who settles for music that’s more about hubris than heart. As a kid, Setzer wasn’t immune to the appeal of looking cool, but it was the soul rather than the look of music that drew him to jazz, Delta blues, punk, vintage rock anything, really, that comes from the gut and pumps out a beat. Whether updating rockabilly with the Stray Cats or yanking swing into the space age with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, he kept his priorities straight: Play what’s real and let others worry about turning it into a fashion statement. Yet even Setzer can put up with this silliness only for so long: “I remember being 16 years old and even then there were poseurs on the corner, looking too cool for school. I mean, when you’re more worried about your look than your music, that just kills it for me." This explains “Really Rockabilly,” a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the tyranny of trendiness, with former Stray Cat Slim Jim Phantom driving the beat. “Jim and I used to laugh about these guys who live in this ‘50s world,” Setzer says, “so I had to get his old-buddy rockabilly energy on this one.” Ditto for “We Are the Marauders,” a fist-pumping anthem that Setzer actually wrote for a young band whose story gives him hope even in this era of focus groups and fix-it studio technology. “The Marauders are these guys in western Pennsylvania who are trying to play their own version of rockabilly in a sea of Eminem wannabes,” he says. “Bands don’t do that kind of thing anymore, where you live in a crummy basement, fight with each other, love each other, and make your own kind of music. Instead, you’re taught that you only need to put on a cool outfit and warble something. You don’t need to play an instrument. You certainly don’t need to read or write music; someone will write it for you. But that’s not how it’s supposed to be. You’re supposed to be like these guys, who live their music every day.” Each of these songs is concise. There’s no excessive doodling. There are killer solos * being a Setzer product, there would have to be, no? But every note he plays or sings * the skin-tight lick that kicks off “Everybody’s Up to Somethin’,” the exotic whole-tone riff that he lays out on banjo at the top of “Bad Bad Girl (In A Bad Bad World),” the Django jive of “When Hepcat Gets the Blues” * serves one purpose: to rock as hard as a multi-tattooed, pompadour-topped, former Long Island street kid can. And if … when … it pisses people off? Setzer shrugs: “I’m not trying to prove anything. I mean, Bob Dylan told me once, ‘You’ll never be pure enough for the purists. And you’ll never be experimental enough for the critics.’” On the other hand, if all you want is passionate vocals, state-of-the-art guitar, or just to be pummeled into ecstasy by an unstoppable beat and scorched by some of the hottest guitar lines on record, 13 is your lucky number. __________________ "I've got callouses, from all those nights, spent playin' a Telecaster, 'till my fingers bled Bud Light" - Travis Tritt

September 22nd, 2006, 10:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
Big Tony Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Sweden, by golly! Posts: 2,522 28 Photos	Nah... / Tony __________________ {8^)> myspace.com/tonypersson

September 23rd, 2006, 02:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
maestrovert Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Branch Mi. Posts: 6,537	Go Cat, Go ! __________________ Sing the Song Bro' Play on Drummer www.godonthe.net

September 23rd, 2006, 08:20 AM	#8 (permalink)
Blazer Friend of Leo's Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 3,416	But on "Ignition" and "Nitro" the vein of the music is fifties, with doing Doo-wop, blues and crooners. This new song sounds contemporary, it doesn't even have the one thing all Setzer songs normally have: a stand up bass. __________________ "I reject your reality and subsitute my own." - Adam Savage, Mythbusters

September 23rd, 2006, 10:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
Tom P. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Eastern Ct. Posts: 909	Big fan here. Great player and musician. He knows his theory and history. I buy his stuff for learnin' and lisnin". __________________ Just Pickin'

September 23rd, 2006, 10:24 AM	#10 (permalink)
hal Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 835	This is a guy that probably play anything. Kudos for his versatility. __________________ Wherever you go, there you are.

September 23rd, 2006, 10:57 AM	#11 (permalink)
eddiewagner Friend of Leo's Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ROCK!linghausen/germany Age: 50 Posts: 4,004 27 Photos	i really dig this. stuff like this can be on my radio all day and all night. ill get the album for shure. thanks for the tipp. eddie __________________ My Drum/Guitar-Duo: www.myspace.com/captaintwangandhisrhythmcat

September 23rd, 2006, 12:17 PM	#12 (permalink)
goldtopper Tele-Holic Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell Posts: 935	Love to listen to Brian to groove and learn. His interview strikes me as odd- kinda double speakish. Sort of like the guy who yearns to get away from the city, so he visits the country on weekends. Pretty soon he makes friends and winds up moving to the country. After living in the country, he hates the city folk coming out to where he lives and "ruining" his peace and quiet. __________________ ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

September 23rd, 2006, 12:21 PM	#13 (permalink)
Stefan Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sweden Age: 29 Posts: 1,824 36 Photos	Not my kind of song really. But I dig the guitarplaying. I prefer a more "traditional" Rockabilly sound. __________________ 1981 Capri Orange Fender Telecaster 1976 Fender Stratocaster 2007 Martin Backpacker 2005 Martin HD-28

September 23rd, 2006, 12:44 PM	#14 (permalink)
Tele295 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Haunted Amp, CA Posts: 3,397 14 Photos	Take a listen to his first two solo albums, The Knife Feels Like Justice and Live Nude Guitars. Great songs, but not rockabilly. Title track from Knife sounds like Tom Petty (may even have Mike Campbell playing on it). There's a track from Live Nude called "Love is Repaid By Love Alone" which is just a great rock song all around. __________________ "Turn it up and it doesn't need any reverb." - Danny Gatton www.dannygatton.info Tiger Town Aces - Music That Bites Back In Redd we trust! Free Bill Kirchen! If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

September 25th, 2006, 11:40 AM	#19 (permalink)
Telehackster Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas, USA Age: 42 Posts: 1,029	I love Setzer's playing and was lucky enough to catch him with the Stray Cats once, but there's something else about him I like even more: he seems very genuine when he branches off into a different style. To have the chops and taste he's demonstrated throughout his career, one would almost certainly need to have a diverse if not eclectic background of influence and inspiration. Who knows where else this guy might go? Wherever it is, I'll give it a listen. I'm looking forward to the new CD.